The Social Life of Appalachian Englishes

FAIN: FT-285977-22

Jennifer Suzanne Cramer
University of Kentucky Research Foundation (Lexington, KY 40506-0004)

Revisions to four chapters of a book that explores how gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and age shape language use throughout the Appalachian region. 

Appalachian Englishes possess an array of linguistic features that distinguish them from other American Englishes, yet the rich history of language in the United States has created a wealth of linguistic resources though immigration, contact, etc., providing the environment for these varieties to grow and adapt in ways that are also like other varieties. No single monograph exists in the linguistics or popular literature that exemplifies the diversity of Appalachian Englishes in terms of language production, perception, and their entanglement with identity factors. This project seeks to remedy this situation; with a colleague, I am working on a book project (under contract with Routledge) called The Social Life of Appalachian Englishes, which takes a sociocultural approach to exploring specific linguistic features of Appalachian varieties and connecting those to the social life of Appalachian varieties in terms of linguistic perceptions and use.

Associated Products

The Social Life of Appalachian Englishes (Book)
Title: The Social Life of Appalachian Englishes
Author: Allison Burkette
Author: Jennifer Cramer
Abstract: Appalachian Englishes (AEs) possess an array of linguistic features that distinguish them from other American Englishes, yet the rich history of language in the United States has created a wealth of linguistic resources though immigration, contact, etc., providing the environment for AEs to grow and adapt in ways that are also similar to other varieties. AEs have a long history of representation in linguistic literature, but no single work exemplifies the diversity of language production, perception, and their entanglement with identity factors like this proposed book. In The Social Life of Appalachian Englishes, we take a sociolinguistic/sociocultural approach to exploring specific linguistic features highlighted in the Linguistic Atlas Projects and the social life of Appalachian varieties in terms of perceptions and use. This book is designed for students and researchers interested in general linguistics, sociolinguistics, American Englishes, language variation, linguistic anthropology, and Appalachian Studies. By using a unified narrative voice focused on the single theme of the social life of language in Appalachia, the book aims to explore the implications of the kinds of variation found, reinforce the notion that social meaning and variation are inseparable, and illustrate how linguistic production and perception as interrelated. It uses new data to amplify the theme, presenting a novel combination of data from different sociolinguistic traditions (specifically perceptual dialectology and traditional atlas-style dialectology) to appeal to this broad audience. It is structured in such a way as to be easily accessed and explored, with additional opportunities for engagement with the material offered in each chapter.
Year: 2024
Primary URL: https://www.routledge.com/The-Social-Life-of-Appalachian-Englishes-A-Sociolinguistic-Introduction/Cramer-Burkette/p/book/9781032224886
Publisher: Routledge
Type: Multi-author monograph
ISBN: 9781032224886
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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