How to Properly Pronounce Appalachia
A P P A L A C H I A. Ten letters with quite a bit of controversy. How do we correctly pronounce the word? For many years, people have been pronouncing the word in two completely different ways: Appa-latch-uh and Appa-lay-shuh.
It is commonly stated that those who are from Appalachia pronounce it Appa-latch-uh. People who were born and raised in the area often believe that is the correct way to say the word. If you pronounce it any other way, you will likely be corrected.
Image by Ish ishwar, CC-by-2.0
Background of Appalachia and Appalachian
Have you ever stopped to think about where the words Appalachia and Appalachian came from in the first place?
Much like the debate over pronunciation, there is speculation over the true origin of the words themselves. Back in the 1500s, the Apalachee Indians were indigenous to the panhandle of Florida.
Image by Himasaram, via Wikimedia Commons
According to Spanish settlers, the Apalachee spoke what is now an extinct language, Muskogean. Many in the Southeast used this language.
The word Appalachian dates back to the 1500s as well when the Narvaez Expedition took place. This was a period when the Spanish explored and colonized in Florida and came across Tocobaga, the chiefdom who claimed further north there was a country called Apalache.
Thus, the word Appalachia was derived, referring to both the tribe and region.
Words from an Appalachia Novelist
Image by Ocgiii at English Wikipedia
Sharyn McCrumb, a Southern author from North Carolina who writes about Appalachia believes those who pronounce it in her eyes as the correct way, Appa-latch-uh, are to be trusted, whereas those who use Appa-lay-shuh are not.
According to McCrumb, “Appa-lay-shuh is the pronunciation of condescension, the pronunciation of the imperialists, the people who do not want to be associated with the place, and the pronunciation Appa-latch-uh means that you are on the side that we trust.”
Having a lot of experience with Appalachia life, McCrumb’s books are written from her point of view about living in the middle of Appalachia culture. Her opinion on the pronunciation of Appalachia is widely recognized.
A Line Drawn
Though some believe it is just a matter of whether or not you are from Appalachia on how the word should be properly pronounced, others believe it is a matter of what part of Appalachia you grew up.
It has also been considered that people from the northern part of Appalachia are more likely to pronounce it Appa-lay-shuh, while people from the south are more likely to pronounce it Appa-latch-uh. McCrumb fits this stereotype, as she is from Southern Appalachia and strongly agrees that the correct pronunciation is Appa-latch-uh.
Which was First?
Appa-latch-uh ihas given credit as the first way the word was pronounced. Though Appa-lay-shuh was also used, it did not officially show up in any dictionaries as a way to pronounce the word until much later.
Though there seems to continually be a cloud of confusion sitting over the pronunciation of the word Appalachia, I think we can all agree on one thing. Whether it is pronounced Appa-latch-uh or Appa-lay-shuh, the region is breathtakingly beautiful.
Try taking a trip to Appalachia yourself and create some memories. Maybe even ask some locals along the way how they pronounce it and the reasoning, then you can form your own opinion on what is right. Perhaps that is the best way to learn after all: through personal experience and storytelling.
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My ancestors lived in Appalachia before the United States was the United States.And at least 4 were in the Revolution military. I have approximately 100 pages of correspondence where my Granny on the German side tried to get a widow’s pension. She eventually got it but I’m pretty sure she did not write in English and had to hire someone to write the letters for her. A history teacher once told my son that the word came from Indians in Florida and there is no long A their language.
I lived in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (about an hour from the NC mountains) as a child. All my life I heard the word pronounced Appa-latch-uh. It wasn’t until I watched TV shows that were obviously narrated by non-Southerners that I heard it pronounced Appa-lay-shuh. If it’s spelled with a -chia, why would anyone pronounce it -shuh with that ridiculous long *a* sound?? Pronounce that ch sound, people! Don’t substitute, as if you know better than Appalachia people how it should be pronounced. I think the non-Southerners believe Appa-lay-shuh sounds more educated somehow. Go figure.
I feel like anyone saying ‘shuh’ at the end of Appalachia isn’t enunciating properly. It should be she-uh or tchi-uh.
In regards to how the word should be pronounced, I feel that the word ‘Appalachian’ pronounced as expected by an American English speaker should be Appa-lay-shian. If it is supposed to be said Appa-latch-ian, the word should have been spelled with a tch, not a ch.
So ultimately, I think the argument comes down to whether the spelling is bad or not. Northerners say it as it’s spelled. If the southern way of saying it is actually the proper pronunciation, then it ought to be spelled differently.
Ah yes, choosing how to pronounce native American words is the providence of the colonizer, eh? Sarcasm, but, seriously, the spelling was transcribed incorrectly. The native word for it has the -shuh sound, the spelling does not do that justice.
I am an appalachian, born and lived here for 93 years.
Prounenced
app al ach an
My family is from Southwest Virginia (Wytheville/Pulaski), and until recently I have only heard it pronounced “ah-puh-LAY-CHUH”. I realize language is fluid & dynamic, but I am sticking with that.
I grew up in England. When we studied the region in geography class it was commonly pronounced as apple-aysheeuh, but what did we know? I’ve never liked the appalatchuh pronunciation – the esthetics of it don’t suit. It sounds gritty and ugly to me.
I grew up in West Virginia (Mid-Ohio Valley), and I pronounce the word Appa-lay-shian.
The following information is from https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2016/02/ch-sounds.html
As you know, there are three ways to pronounce the letter combination “ch” in English.
It can sound like k (as in “chasm” or “school”), like sh (as in “charade” or “brochure”), and like tch (as in “champion” and “child”).
Finally, US place names in which “ch” is pronounced sh (like “Chicago” and “Michigan”) generally come from French versions of American Indian names.
I’m glad you brought up the 3 pronunciations of the CH phonogram. This is true. The 3 different sounds relate to the origin of the language. English is a mix of native English and Latin with a large influence of French, and lesser influence of Spanish and Italian (among others).
That being said:
All of our words derived from native English will have a hard ch sound like change, child, and church.
All of our words derived from Latin will have a /k/ sound like school, schism, and choir.
All of out words derived from French will have a /sh/ sound like chauffer, chef, and chandelier.
Appalachia is a transliteration from Spanish, meaning that it would follow the Spanish pronunciation. Therefore, Appalachia should be pronounced as “Appa-latch-ee-uh,” and not as if it is a French word with a /sh/. Not to mention that the earlier dictionaries confirm the correct pronunciation.
As a side note, we have a lot of French influence in our English mistakes. We pronounce “colonel” with an /r/ because the French pronounce it that way, despite that English would pronounce it with an /l/. During the French and Indian war, a LOT of French got mixed in with our English words. I’m sure that started a lot of the confusion with the pronunciation with Appalachia, and not that some people were just trying to sound superior.
I grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, and I only heard it pronounced “Appa-latch-a” and “Appa-latch-un” . Like nails on a chalkboard to hear it pronounced with a long a….
Within the first few minutes of JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy audiobook, he pronounced it “Appa-lay-shia” and my only thought was the guy had been away at Yale too long and they done learnt the hillbilly out of him….
I think arguing about the pronunciation is dumb and anyone who gets offended over it has a chip on their shoulder.
He who sakeeth my breathern spake!!
Here in Virginia it’s pronounced “Appa-latch-uh” or “Appa-latch-uhn”, those that say it the other way are outsiders.
It’s awful to treat people as “outsiders” based on the way they speak.
We have a good chunk of the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania, and most people here seem to say “appa-lay-shia.” But then, most Pennsylvanians won’t treat you any differently if you say “appa-latch-uh.”
this is why Benjamin Franklin thought the “c” should be dropped from the English language… just use K or S (sh)
I’m from New Jersey and we have almost 50 beautiful miles of the Appalachian Trail here (I’ve hiked it and it is gorgeous!) and I grew up hearing “Appalayshun”. I honestly don’t think there’s anything wrong with either pronunciation, I think it’s just a matter of where you’re from, and it’s honestly disheartening to hear that commment from Ms. McCrumb; it comes off like she’s actually being more of an elitist than the so-called “imperialists” she’s railing against. Why not just enjoy the absolutely stunning natural beauty of a mountain region that’s millions of years older than the Rockies instead of arguing over a word the mountains probably don’t even care about? Also, although less so for the younger folks, if you grew up in the tri-state area in a certain era, the “Appalatchun” pronunciation would immediately make you think of the the infamous Apalachin Conference of 1957, where delegates from the Five Families (the five most prominent families in the Italian Mafia in New York) met and purportedly hashed out territories and illicit enterprises, as famously fictionalized in “The Godfather”.
I’m from Pennsylvania. The Appalachian Trail runs through. We always pronounced it Appa-LAY-shin or Aappa-LAY-chin. I was a member of an Appalachian Clogging team in the early 80s, which stemmed from a team in North Carolina. We never pronounced it with a Latch.
Then, again, we say LANK-is-ter and not Lang-cast-er.
I am from Indiana and have always pronounced it App-uh-lay-shu. I’m not saying that is right or wrong because we all pronounce things differently depending on where we come from. Different accents are a beautiful thing and should be accepted as such. For someone to say that people from that region say it one way and that is the only correct way is quite rude. Southerners also tend to say things like “y’all” which is fine with me because I love to hear regional colloquialisms. However, if the only correct way to prounce the word is how they say it in that region, we have a problem. It can be pronounce at least 2 different ways depending on which part of the Appalachians you are from. Who is right and who is wrong? Also, in Texas they don’t say oil. They say “all”. That is their regional dialect and that is wonderful. But do they try to correct everyone else into saying it the same? No. Regional dialects are a beautiful thing and should be treated as such. One final note. I’m sure every dictionary is slightly different from one another. But I have a Merriam-Websters English dictionary at home that gives 2 pronunciations for Appalachia. The first one given is App-uh-lay-shu, so that is at the very least acceptable.