Acknowledging the role of immigration and settlement in shaping southern linguistic and cultural diversity, the volume covers a range of Native American, African American, and Euro-American speech communities. One essay explores the implementation of “dialect awareness programs†and the ethics of the relationship between researchers and North Carolina’s Lumbee and Ocracoke communities. Another essay focuses on a single Appalachian community to explore the interplay between linguistic variables commonly associated with Appalachian speech and others commonly associated with African American speech.
Other essay topics include Creek language preservation efforts by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the history of language contact and linguistic diversity in the Carolinas, and the changing relationship between English and Mvskoke in Oklahoma. Also covered are the stereotypes, varied realities, and language ideologies associated with Appalachian speech communities; the mobilization of dialect by Cajun English speakers for creating humor, expressing solidarity, and setting boundaries; and the creative use of academic and religious discursive models in the construction of Melungeon and Appalachian Scotch-Irish discourses and identities.