Mountain Talk… Southern Appalachian language is so lovely. Scots Irish settlers influenced the language here. It can vary from county to county, cove to cove, holler to holler (community). I love being here and just wish I could have been born and lived here instead of our family moving away before I was born. One of the ladies on this video said she left once, but she’d rather be in ‘Hell with a broke back’ than be away.
“Where you are from determines who you are and the cornerstone or the foundation of that is really tied up in language.” I know people who are globalist and they reject patriotism or nationalism, to the point of even saying they wouldn’t fly their country’s flag. I feel sorry for those who have bought into that way of thinking for I agree whole-hearted with this thought. Each country, ethnicity has its own culture and it’s who we are. We need to embrace that not throw it out with the bath water. Even though I didn’t get the privilege of growing up here I think a lot of who I am is rooted in my grandparents growing up here, it’s in my blood.
This video talks about more than just language. It’s a whole culture. I remember grandma going out in the woods and she’d find ‘lettuce’ to eat. They’d cook it with bacon grease and call it wilted lettuce. She’d see ‘poke’ on the side of the road and make mom stop to pick it. My aunt played the guitar and her and my grandma would sing. It was wonderful. Old songs we hear now when we go to mountain music festivals here. The flat foot or buck dancing that is so common here is from the Irish roots and their step dancing. There is a negative stereotype of mountain people, but it’s not true!
I love these mountains and just can’t imagine leaving them now. I just want to get further up in them. I guess I’d rather be in Hell with my back broke than ever leave here now! Please don’t come here and change it!
