Podcast: How to speak Southern Appalachian English

A chat with one of the authors of the ‘Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English.’
The Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English assembles the distinctive words and syntax of this much-mythologized region. Photos: courtesy University of North Carolina Press

Credit: University of North Carolina Press

Credit: University of North Carolina Press

The Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English assembles the distinctive words and syntax of this much-mythologized region. Photos: courtesy University of North Carolina Press

accessAtlanta is your weekly podcast about things to do in and around Atlanta and beyond. This week, we’ll talk about the Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English.

When Jennifer K.N. Heinmiller inherited the million-word project that would become the “Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English,” its principal author had blown past several deadlines, lost his publisher and then died. The dictionary was a unique but expensive undertaking. It represented 85 years of research that would eventually produce a 1,225-page volume weighing about 12 pounds. Bo Emerson spoke with Heinmiller about the dictionary and he’ll bring us that conversation. Find it at ajc.com/podcasts and at the Apple Podcast store.