I wanted to write a story set in Appalachia. Do folks have any advice in terms of word usage and choices? Would "skunk" become "polecat?"
I don't have any suggestions other than to check out the Foxfire books, although a lot has probably changed since then.
A search for "Appalachian glossary" turns up some good resources. https://artsandsciences.sc.edu/appalachianenglish/dictionary.html https://www.wanderingsmokymountains.com/smoky-mountain-words/
You'en's is a really common one I have heard from people from Eastern Kentucky. It's pronounced Like you-in's. For example, instead of saying "how are you doing?" They would say "How are you'en's doing?" I guess you can change the spelling to however you prefer to spell it. I live in Kentucky, so I come across people who speak like this from time to time.
Read some of Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad Novels series. She is familiar with the southern Appalachians and does a fine job of translating the accents to the written word. You realize that hillbilly is a pejorative term, right? Try mountain people or hill people instead. Catriona, who comes from a long line of southern hill people and probably some hillbillies as well.
Hmm ... naturally, to the people who live in the Appalachian region, an "outsider" who uses a term like "hillbilly" would be perceived as insulting. But I wonder if people who live in that region also use this term? After all, they've earned the right to do so. Then again, of course, it's not right to use "hill people" or "mountain folk" as synonymous with the word "hillbilly". Not everyone who lives in the Appalachians conforms to the stereotype. I've seen lots of TV and Hollywood depictions of so-called "hillbillies". Some are relatively benign; for instance, Television programs of the 1960s such as The Real McCoys, The Andy Griffith Show, and especially The Beverly Hillbillies, portrayed the "hillbilly" as backwards but with enough wisdom to outwit more sophisticated city folk. The popular 1970s television variety show Hee Haw regularly lampooned the stereotypical "hillbilly" lifestyle. Of course, a darker and negative image of the hillbilly was introduced to another generation in the film Deliverance (1972), which depicted some "hillbillies" as genetically deficient, inbred, and murderous. Similarly, films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its sequels has Leatherface and his family, the Sawyers, portray a particularly violent "Hillbilly" stereotype that is common in horror films. The truth, I'm sure, is not found either in TV or in Hollywood. But it's better not to end on a negative note, so here's a piece of music I always adored: "Appalachian Spring", by Aaron Copland. With its tale of a new life in a new land, it embodies hope, joy, and the simple fineness of the human spirit. Enjoy
