What did Americans Sound Like 250 Years Ago?

What did Americans Sound Like 250 Years Ago?

What did you think of this episode? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/fan_mail/new] 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 Co [https://www.etsy.com/shop/IvyAtticCo] Jewelry from coal, river glass, and discarded books handcrafted in the central Appalachian Mountains Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/support] *Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)! *Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social *Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content: Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/TalkingAppalachianPodcast] *Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian *To sponsor an episode or collaborate: talkingappalachianpodcast@gmail.com or message me at the link here or on social. Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP_J2nFRJqaXdUeHM7Uy2fA]

Why We Talk Funny: a Conversation with Valerie Fridland on the Origins of Accents and Attitudes About Them

What did you think of this episode? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/fan_mail/new] Author Valerie Fridland is the author of the new book Why We Talk Funny: the Real Story Behind Our Accents (Viking, 2026.) In this fascinating episode that launches Season 4, we'll talk about the Revolutionary-era origins of our American accents, how mainstream American English arose as the 'prestige' dialect, the shibboleth (which explains the hostility people feel about 'latch' versus 'lay' in Appalachia, and Virginia's complex linguistic landscape. A professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada (that's ne-va-da as in "cat"), Fridland is also the author of Like, Literally Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English. She's also originally from the South, so she gets it when we talk about how important accents can be to speakers. A bonus episode on the histories of Y'all, You's, and Yinz is available to paid subscribers here, on Facebook, and on Patreon. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/support] *Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)! *Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social *Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content: Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/TalkingAppalachianPodcast] *Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian *To sponsor an episode or collaborate: talkingappalachianpodcast@gmail.com or message me at the link here or on social. Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP_J2nFRJqaXdUeHM7Uy2fA]

Encore Episode: An Appalachian Dish Called "Kil't Lettuce," Storyteller Ray Hicks, and the Intrusive -t in Appalachian Englishes

What did you think of this episode? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/fan_mail/new] "Kil't" lettuce is an Appalachian delicacy. In this encore episode from Season 1, we discuss how to make this delicious summer salad and why people use -t at the end of the word instead of -ed. We'll also hear clips from storyteller Ray Hicks, who illustrates this Appalachian English pronunciation. So, get your onion, bacon grease, leafy greens, and intrusive -t ready because summer's on the way! Ivy Attic Co [https://www.etsy.com/shop/IvyAtticCo] Jewelry from coal, river glass, and discarded books handcrafted in the central Appalachian Mountains Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/support] *Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)! *Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social *Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content: Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/TalkingAppalachianPodcast] *Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian *To sponsor an episode or collaborate: talkingappalachianpodcast@gmail.com or message me at the link here or on social. Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP_J2nFRJqaXdUeHM7Uy2fA]

Appalachian Voices in WWII Letters and Recipe Books, A Voiceplace Story, and the phrase "Up And"

What did you think of this episode? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/fan_mail/new] In this episode, we're looking for voice in some WWII-era letters and recipe books from my great-grandparents' era (I found a recipe called "Masculine Potato Salad"!) You'll also hear a voiceplace story from a western NC listener, who has decided to return to his voiceplace to teach his young daughter about her linguistic heritage. Then, we'll talk about the phrases "up and" and "up in," as in "She up and slapped me for no good reason!" or "We've had up in 50 people at a time come to the house on holidays." Ivy Attic Co [https://www.etsy.com/shop/IvyAtticCo] Jewelry from coal, river glass, and discarded books handcrafted in the central Appalachian Mountains Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/support] *Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)! *Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social *Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content: Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/TalkingAppalachianPodcast] *Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian *To sponsor an episode or collaborate: talkingappalachianpodcast@gmail.com or message me at the link here or on social. Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP_J2nFRJqaXdUeHM7Uy2fA]

A Conversation with Bestselling Writers Beth Macy and Silas House

What did you think of this episode? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/fan_mail/new] Beth Macy is the bestselling author of Dopesick, Factory Man, and Paper Girl. Dopesick, her investigation of the opioid crisis, was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, won the L.A. Times Book Prize for Science and Technology, and was described as a “masterwork of narrative nonfiction” by The New York Times. Dopesick was made into a Peabody- and Emmy Award-winning Hulu series on which Macy served as an executive producer and cowriter. Her most recent book, Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America, is a combination memoir and reported analysis of the rural-urban divide told through the lenses of backward mobility, political polarization, and the decimation of local news.  Silas House is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the novels Clay’s Quilt, 2001; A Parchment of Leaves, 2003; The Coal Tattoo, 2005; Eli the Good, 2009; Same Sun Here (co-authored with Neela Vaswani) 2012, Southernmost, 2018, and Lark Ascending, 2022, as well as a book of creative nonfiction Something’s Rising, co-authored with Jason Howard, 2009; and four plays. His first book of poetry, All These Ghosts, was the recipient of the 2026 Southern Book Prize. He recently published his first murder-mystery (under the pseudonym S.D. House), Dead Man Blues. He was also Poet Laureate of Kentucky. I sat down with these two amazing writers at the 50th John Fox, Jr. Literary Festival at Mountain Empire Community College to talk about writing, their process, and a what it means to chronicle the complex stories of this region. Special thanks to MECC's Dr. Amy Greear, Brandon Maggard for audio, and MECC for allowing me to create this episode from our conversation. Ivy Attic Co [https://www.etsy.com/shop/IvyAtticCo] Jewelry from coal, river glass, and discarded books handcrafted in the central Appalachian Mountains Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2224742/support] *Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)! *Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social *Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content: Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/TalkingAppalachianPodcast] *Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian *To sponsor an episode or collaborate: talkingappalachianpodcast@gmail.com or message me at the link here or on social. Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP_J2nFRJqaXdUeHM7Uy2fA]