Share Share Comment Shyla Carter was recently beefing with a classmate
It is so funny because I remember people using the word or phrase "beefing" in middle school. Like 'oh they beefing" or "They are about to start some beef," it's funny how these phrases come and go but they always can come back
: The younger generations get to build a language of their own, distinguished from the older norms, as they have always done throughout history.
Honestly, though, how cool is that to think about the fact that these slang terms can catch on with just one post and become a part of the language in our generation for years to come? It truly shows how powerful dialect and slang are.
The internet has transformed how Gen Z communicates. Our language is built on memes and a collective sense of wry existentialism, with our humor often turning dark or potentially dangerous
I believe some of this is true, especially thinking about the meme part and how TikTok has become such a big part of our culture. Even the gov ban on TikTok lasted barely a day and was back up again because of how big it is with Gen Z and it's a form of communication we use.
Affrilachian artistry and identity allows Appalachia to be fully seen as the diverse and culturally rich region that it is, bringing to the forefront those who have historically been pushed to the margins, out of mind and out of sight.
It is so mind-blowing how essentially there is a language group inside another language group. That honestly i just thought the Appalachian dialect was interesting and haven't heard of it really but there is an even more of an expansion on it in the African American community. That they made this language their own as well, that it truly shows the diversity of the small region.
But as Black poets and scholars living in Appalachia, we know that this simplified portrayal obscures a world that is far more complex. It has always been a place filled with diverse inhabitants and endowed with a lush literary history.
I feel like sometimes we forget how much generational impact literacy has on keeping the language going since we are the ones currently living in it. But, I wouldn't be surprised if 30 years from now we look back and see how much of an impact we have made on the generation below us. This is what history is all about, literacy and our dialect become apart of our society or group's history that makes us all unique.
The second example of changes in Appalachian language variation patterns is in fact one shared with most of the English-speaking world: the use of the verb “be like” to introduce a quote. (“They were like, ‘No, the market is not open on Saturdays.’”
This just is funny to me because the amount of times I hear people turn "like" into a filler word is endless. It went from introducing a quote to becoming a filler word for example when nervous public speaking people us "like"and "um." I agree that this word is used way to much and I feel it has lost its emphasis.
Many qualities come prepackaged with the hillbilly stereotype: poverty, backwardness and low levels of education. One of the most prevalent is the idea that the way the people of Appalachia speak – the so-called Appalachian dialect – is somehow incorrect or malformed.
Stereotyping is such a big subject on dialect and talking, it is a topic that will unfortunately never go away. The Appalachian dialect could make complete sense if someone explained it, but since there is that stereotyping that they have low education and live in poverty. So, this automatically makes someone create assumptions about this group and how they speak. That if we took the time to observe and understand these people there could be true intelligence in their dialect.
In it I saw how a thing is made whole, how the intricate gathering together of the unlikely can make sense.I am reminded of it now when I consider the seemingly disparate layers of my own voice and identity – multi-generational Appalachian, first generation college graduate, economically privileged, queer, feminist, antiracist, mother, writer, teacher.
I like that she mentions that there are parts that make up their whole, and she has a voice that has defined who she is in some ways. That the way a person speaks can help define their identity too and what they want people to know about them. She wants people to know that she is proud of her dialect and family culture, and its a beautiful thing.
Now that I have learned to articulate issues about representation and gender politics, I want to do so in my own voice – to let my vowels relax into to the shape that they wanted to take all along. I want to honor the voices that were the soundtrack to my upbringing and respond to the calls of Uncle Joe, Granny, Aunt Lena, Aunt Betsy, Pa and Mom. I want to draw thick that perforated line to my past. I want to claim the voices belonging to my people.
This is so empowering to hear, I feel that in this world some people could easily give into society's norms, in this case the way a community talks. But, she is choosing to have her own voice that her family shaped and to keep passing it down for generations to come. I think it's all about communication, if it works for them let them speak in a way that is comfortable to them.
When saying ‘eeny, meeny, miny, moe’, have you ever felt like you were kind of counting? Well, you are – in Celtic numbers, chewed up over time but recognisably descended from the ones rural Britishers used when counting animals and playing games. ‘Hickory, dickory, dock’ – what in the world do those words mean? Well, here’s a clue: hovera, dovera, dick were eight, nine and ten in that same Celtic counting list.
Wow, I never knew that this was a thing, who knew we were using Celtic numbers without us realizing it? Like it said in the text it sounds like a game to us but everything comes from the root of a language or word, so i think its amazing how words like that evolve into a different meaning overtime.
people speaking Old English were Celts. Crucially, their languages were quite unlike English. For one thing, the verb came first (came first the verb)
This is crazy to think about because basic grammar when we were younger would be the verb is that action and it comes 2 or third in the sentence, just like how I typed out now. But to have it first seems so bizarre but it wasn't to the Celts speaking Old English.