Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English

Michael B. Montgomery, Jennifer K. N. Heinmiller, Michael B. Montgomery, Jennifer K. N. Heinmiller

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781469662558
• Print ISBN:
  9781469662541
• Subtopic: North American History

The Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English is a revised and expanded edition of the Weatherford Award–winning Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English, published in 2005 and known in Appalachian studies circles as the most comprehensive reference work dedicated to Appalachian vernacular and linguistic practice. Editors Michael B. Montgomery and Jennifer K. N. Heinmiller document the variety of English used in parts of eight states, ranging from West Virginia to Georgia—an expansion of the first edition’s geography, which was limited primarily to North Carolina and Tennessee—and include over 10,000 entries drawn from over 2,200 sources. The entries include approximately 35,000 citations to provide the reader with historical context, meaning, and usage. Around 1,600 of those examples are from letters written by Civil War soldiers and their family members, and another 4,000 are taken from regional oral history recordings. Decades in the making, the Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English surpasses the original by thousands of entries. There is no work of this magnitude available that so completely illustrates the rich language of the Smoky Mountains and Southern Appalachia.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Figures and Tables
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Authors’ Note
• History of the Dictionary
• User’s Guide to the Dictionary
• Pronunciation Key
• Abbreviations Used in the Dictionary
• Background and Context of the Dictionary
• Scope and Sources of the Dictionary
• Index of Joseph Hall Speakers from the Smoky Mountains
• Grammar and Syntax of Southern Appalachian and Smoky Mountain English
• Notes
• Dictionary A–Z
• Chronological List of Works Cited with Abbreviated Titles
• Alphabetical List of Works Cited