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appalachia, appalachian mountains, how to pronounce appalachia, how to say appalachia, sharyn mccrumb
How do you pronounce Appalachia? Do you say Appa-LAY-shuh or do you say Appa-LATCH-uh?
Tomato, tomAHto, let’s call the whole thing off. Or not.
If you are from Appalachia then you, without a doubt, say Appa-LATCH-uh. If you say Appa-LAY-shuh you are not only identifying the mountain range but you are also announcing to all that you are not from there. You can say a lot in just one word. In my 35 years, I have not met one person from my precious Appalachian Mountains that says that they are from Appa-LAY-shuh. There is a right way.
However, when I travel I run in to folks who argue with me about the pronunciation. Usually the debate ends with, well, “this is the way we say it here.” Does it matter how people say it elsewhere? I feel that the pronunciation of the locals is pretty persuasive in establishing the right way. Yet, many folks (probably those holding on to the nonsense stereotypes that all of us are shoeless, toothless, and uneducated) think that they know best; but they are wrong.
This morning I was introduced to what I believe is the best way to explain why everyone should say “Appa-LATCH-uh.” Southern novelist Sharyn McCrumb tells it best (she speaks the truth) . . .
“Appa-LAY-shuh is the pronunciation of condescension, the pronunciation of the imperialists, the people who do not want to be associated with the place and the pronunciation Appa-LATCH-uh means that you are on the side that we trust.” Sharyn McCrumb.
This was a great find and a great explanation. Thanks!
I’m not from there but have always pronounced it the ‘correct’ Appalachian way. Does that make me an honorary member of the club?!
Absolutely! You say it right and you are in, for sure.
I’m not from the area but have always pronounced it the ‘correct’ Appalachian way. Do I get to be an honorary mountain membership?!
Several years ago, while engaged in an educational consultancy in Appalachia, I was corrected on the pronunciation of Appalachia by a board member of the institution…”Say it right–it is like throwing an apple at cha.” This is one admonition I have never forgotten.
Joe – You were wise to remember the important details!
As a fellow Southerner from NC let me add further validation to your claim. The most beautiful part of my state is the Appa-LATCH-uhn mountain range. If someone tells you they are headed to the Appa-LAY-shun mountains for a weekend, you immediately know they are a transplant (due to our state’s beauty and weather, we have many). Of interest, however, is that no one mispronounces the name of one of our state universities locate there…it is pronounced Appa-LATCH-uhn State by everyone…go figure.
Well, I’m from Ohio but have lived in East TN for 15 years. I learned the “correct” way to pronounce it, from some friends in Ohio, before I even moved down here, and whenever I hear people pronounce it the “incorrect” way, it does have a fingernails-on-a-chalkboard kind of effect. AND YET, there is such thing as regional dialectical variation. And I get uneasy when I see people sorting others into the good and the bad — the sinners and the saved — based on their pronunciation of certain words. That’s actually the classic definition of a “shibboleth” (look that up on wikipedia). Johnny Cash pronounced it app a LAY sha. Is he a bad man? His wife was from Hiltons VA, but until the year he died, he pronounced it the “wrong” way. People in the Ohio-river valley region of Kentucky say it the “wrong” way. People in Central Appalachia–especially western PA–say it the “wrong” way. Are they condescending and colonizing? Not necessarily. Oh, and are Kentuckians wrong to say ver-SALES Kentucky, instead of ver-sigh (versailles). If some French person came to Versailles KY and started berating people for mispronouncing the name of their town, I wouldn’t like that person. Pronunciation varies, from region to region, –even family to family, within a region –and over time, and dialectical variation is a beautiful thing, not a sword we should use to divide ourselves from others. There’s a hint of linguistic despotism to McCrumb’s comments. Oh, also, what’s wrong with being a “transplant”? Are people bad because they migrate, either out of choice or necessity?
Wow, I’ve never thought of it that way. This is such a great post