Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Demon Copperhead (Bookshop|Amazon) is a modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield (Bookshop|Amazon). Set in Appalachia, it won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. When Martha interviewed Kingsolver at her rustic...
Katie, an 11-year-old in Tallahassee, Florida, asks about I swanee, a phrase her grandfather from the mountains of Virginia used when he was frustrated but did not want to swear. The mild oath, also heard as I’ll swanny and shortened to I’ll swan...
Dog chewing waspers, a Virginia expression Rona heard from her father in the Blue Ridge area, pictures someone chewing gum with their mouth open and plenty of teeth showing. Waspers means wasps, with related pronunciations such as warshpers heard in...
A recent PBS special about Appalachia has a caller wondering how to pronounce that region’s name. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Appalachia Pronunciation” Hi there, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Sherry. Where are you...