The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture

The fifth volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture explores language and dialect in the South, including English, Native American languages, and other non-English languages spoken over time by the region’s immigrant communities. Immigration helped spread features of Southern English to other regions and countries and brought linguistic influences from Europe and Africa to Southern English. The fascinating patchwork of English dialects is also fully presented, from Gullah and Cajun English to the English spoken in Appalachia, the Ozarks, the Outer Banks, Charleston, and elsewhere. Topical entries discuss ongoing changes in the pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar of English in the increasingly mobile South, as well as naming patterns, storytelling, preaching styles, and politeness, all of which deal with ways language is woven into southern culture.