Appalachian Dialect

My project is centered around Appalachian Dialect and how outsiders tend to judge people from the area, no matter what their degree may be in or what they have accomplished in their lives based on how they sound when they talk. Colloquialisms come into play here, along with accents, vocabulary choice, everything comes into play when considering what makes one area different than another, but why individuals feel the need to comment on it is what interests me the most. The interviews that I have performed so far have showed me that some people tend to be ruthless with their answers, while others are in the same boat as the rest of Appalachia and are ridiculed for it themselves. Even if someone from Appalachia did go out and get the bachelors, masters, or even doctorate degree and even move out of the area, their accent leaves a big enough mark on people for them to just assume that they will never be anything better than a hillbilly . I performed this project to get the perspective of that hick that is just trying to get through college and make something of themselves, yet their accent could be the reason they do not get a specific job that they dreamed of having one day