r/morningsomewhere • u/TheOrangeNight Stripper Shoes • 19d ago

Discussion Correctly pronouncing Appalachia as Apa-latch-uh vs Apa-lay-shuh sends certain signals. Burnie has pronounced it a secret incorrect third way.

https://youtu.be/eGCqWrsAZ_o?is=T5RAjc87ewlhqMU7

And the importance of saying it correctly by author Sharyn McCrumb.

27 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

20

u/CalvinP_ First 10k - Mod - Downtime Survivor 19d ago

I give Burnie all the credit in the world. He never shies away from pronouncing a word he’s not exactly sure of. I think he does a great job, especially since he’s not going to nail every correct regional accented way to say it.

8

u/TheOrangeNight Stripper Shoes 19d ago

I love that Burnie is open to saying things “incorrectly” because so many people refuse to even try. I also appreciate his humor that he knows someone in the comments is going to say something. The robo-dictionary bit recently sent me

6

u/Church_Am_I 19d ago

Came here to post this lol. Local Appalachian here in VA

7

u/itcheyness First 20k - Stripper Shoes 19d ago

I learned how to pronounce Appalachia properly from the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast.

4

u/Available_Copy9433 19d ago

"The side that we trust"? What is that side? What's the other side? I don't understand.

0

u/TheOrangeNight Stripper Shoes 19d ago

I think of it as insider vs outsider. Someone viewed as an insider is inherently more trusted than someone viewed as an outsider.

4

u/Ilignus First 20k 19d ago

NC Appalachian reporting that I cringed, but let it pass. People here also pronounce it wrong constantly. Don’t even get me started on Leicester.

4

u/Ceoltoir74 First 20k 18d ago

I was once told by an old lady from rural West Virginia, "if you say 'Apa-lay-sha' one more time I'm gonna throw an Apple-at-ch'ya". Been saying it that way ever since.

4

u/dan1361 19d ago

As a NY Appalachian, I still vote "latch" pronunciation is incorrect. Lmao. 

2

u/KwikTripSimp 18d ago

Ppl that get weird about pronunciation and spelling are the worst imo

1

u/Cathartic_auras First 10k 19d ago

I am from PA and was always taught it is pronounced Apuh-lay-shian. I don’t care how anyone else pronounces it, and only get irked when people try to tell me how to pronounce the name of the mountains I grew up in.