D&D 5E Fantasy Appalachia

[Bedrockgames]

I hope you can appreciate that there are reasons why we talk now of Mumbai and not "Bombay" or Sri Lanka and not "Ceylon." Likewise recent events saw many people learning to how to say and spell "Kyiv" rather than "Kiev" or "Ukraine" rather than "The Ukraine." Plus there is Derry or Londonderry. How you choose to call these places is both a cultural and political matter that can communicate how you view them.

I think this is complicated and very situation dependent (and potentially getting us into political stuff). I will say there are definitely instances where I prefer the local name of a place for political reasons. But most of these cases are actual differences in name rather than just regional differences in pronunciation. The difference between Derry and Londonderry isn't the same as the difference between differing pronunciations of Appalachia. Londonderry is an actual name change from Derry and part of a conflict that we can't really get into here.

 

[Bedrockgames]

The issue here for me is that this is false, and you would know that if you lived in the Appalachia heartlands. There may not be people telling me my local pronunciation is wrong on this thread, but that is not true in the real world and the actual lived experiences of the Appalachian people. I have been told repeatedly to my face that our pronunciation is wrong, redneck, hickish, uneducated nonsense, and more. My experience is not unique here.

And to be clear, I would object to anyone doing that. Like I mentioned earlier I was told when I moved out west that I said words wrong because I had a Boston accent (and the Boston accent definitely has a class connotation to it). So I understand not wanting people to correct your way of speaking, tell you that the local people are uneducated or using slurs to describe you. But that isn't what people on this thread are doing. They are just pointing out that there are regional differences in pronunciation without at all suggesting yours is wrong, less aesthetically pleasing or in need of change.

My sister faces the same in her experiences in New York and Conneticut. There is more than a century of non-Appalachians telling us that our dialect and pronunciations are wrong, with "Appalachian" being one word in our long list of mispronunced words. We have transplants who come down south who are quick to "correct" how locals speak. We are called hillbillies, rednecks, hicks, and bumpkins for our dialect and culture. There is "poverty porn" exploitation and condescension directed towards us. There are Appalachians who feel forced to shed their dialects because of the judgment against the dialect. There are people who stop saying Appalachian here because they believe it makes them sound "more educated" and believe that the Southern Appalachian pronunciation must be wrong because of the enormous biases against it.

Again that stuff is wrong. I can't imagine visiting a place and telling the people there that their pronunciation of words is incorrect. I also can't imagine going there and using insulting language to describe people. So again, I am not asking you to shed your dialect, to change your pronunciation. I am just with the other people on this thread pointing out we have our way of pronouncing the word.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Well, the Appalachian Mountains and "Appalachia" are not the same thing.

Appalachia, the region, extends through 12 states, with associated regional dialects and pronunciations, established before mass media.

View attachment 271086

Note also the sub-regions...

View attachment 271088

The commuting map on that page is quite interesting. It is very easy to look at a map, not understand how local geography, roads and economic pressures impact things like travel and what folks consider to be their area. I'll drive anywhere north of Boston without a thought but I would hesitate more for any trip that involves I90 or going through Boston to the South Shore, because the traffic situation is likely to be a lot more challenging.

 

[Desdichado]

Calling one pronunciation or another "wrong", can be very problematic. There's a lot of racism and classism to be found in such declarations.

That's an ironic observation, given the actual history of the pronunciation divide.

 

[Clint_L]

As a Western Canadian, I am learning a lot from this thread! My takeaway is that Appalachia is far larger and more complicated than I had thought, and would probably be a cool inspiration for a D&D setting.

 

[hedgeknight]

I was born and raised in southwest Virginia, spent many a day hiking the Trail...and could really care less about the pronunciation of the region. If it's going to be that big of a stink, don't even use the name. Change it to something else > The Mountains That Shall Not Be Named...or the like.

 

[Aldarc]

As a Western Canadian, I am learning a lot from this thread! My takeaway is that Appalachia is far larger and more complicated than I had thought, and would probably be a cool inspiration for a D&D setting.

Thankfully there has been a recent wave of Appalachian writers and designers out there producing new TTRPGs that use an Appalachian backdrop, such as Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse for Savage Worlds by Tim Early (Rutherford, NC) and Old Gods of Appalachia for the Cypher System by Shanna Germain based on the podcast of the same name by Cam Collins and Steve Shell (Wise County, Virginia).

I'm not aware, however, of an Appalachian TTRPG for D&D, either 5e or otherwise.

 

[Umbran]

That's an ironic observation, given the actual history of the pronunciation divide.

There's more than one pronunciation divide. One was presented, and that's the one that matters to some, but claiming that is the only source of difference across a dozen states seems a bit reductive.

 

[Umbran]

I was born and raised in southwest Virginia, spent many a day hiking the Trail...and could really care less about the pronunciation of the region. If it's going to be that big of a stink, don't even use the name. Change it to something else > The Mountains That Shall Not Be Named...or the like.

You also raise a point that is worth noting, so thank you for reminding me:

The pronunciation of one word shouldn't be dominating an entire thread about setting.

It'd be really good if folks could move on.

 

[Aldarc]

And to be clear, I would object to anyone doing that. Like I mentioned earlier I was told when I moved out west that I said words wrong because I had a Boston accent (and the Boston accent definitely has a class connotation to it). So I understand not wanting people to correct your way of speaking, tell you that the local people are uneducated or using slurs to describe you. But that isn't what people on this thread are doing. They are just pointing out that there are regional differences in pronunciation without at all suggesting yours is wrong, less aesthetically pleasing or in need of change.

Again that stuff is wrong. I can't imagine visiting a place and telling the people there that their pronunciation of words is incorrect. I also can't imagine going there and using insulting language to describe people. So again, I am not asking you to shed your dialect, to change your pronunciation. I am just with the other people on this thread pointing out we have our way of pronouncing the word.

It's not just insulting language. It's a century of derogatory media with negative and harmful Appalachian stereotypes. It's a century of federal programs, politicians, and volunteers who treat us as a problem to be fixed, both culturally and linguistically. You may have your way of pronouncing the word, but it's important IMHO to understand the significance of pronunciation of that word has as a politically and culturally-charged Shibboleth.

Edit: saw mod note, so I'll drop it. The point has been made and I have drawn attention to the issue at stake. There are plenty of other sources out there if people here would like to be better informed.