The Talking Appalachian Podcast
Talking Appalachian is a podcast about the Appalachian Mountain region's language or "voiceplaces," cultures, and communities. The podcast is hosted by Dr. Amy Clark, a Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. The podcast is based on her 2013 co-edited book Talking Appalachian: Voice, Identity, and Community. Her writing on Appalachia has appeared in the New York Times, Oxford American Magazine, Salon.com, on NPR, and Harvard University Press blog. She is also founder and director of the Appalachian Writing Project, which serves teachers, students, and the communities of the central Appalachian region.
The Talking Appalachian Podcast
What did Americans Sound Like 250 Years Ago?
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As America celebrates 250 years, we're reflecting on how Americans may have sounded from the colonists to Confederados. Drawing on a prior episode with Dr. Valerie Fridland and research by linguists like Michael Montgomery, I'll discuss how settlement patterns, class, mobility, and political affiliations shaped regional speech, contrasting Scots-Irish and North Midland influences in Appalachia with London-oriented coastal Virginia, and discussing rhotic vs. r-less pronunciation and shifting prestige norms. I'll also touch on Michael Montgomery’s study of Confederado descendants in Brazil whose 1970s speech preserved 19th-century Southern traits.
Ivy Attic CoJewelry from coal, river glass, and discarded books handcrafted in the central Appalachian Mountains
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Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain
