This explanation makes sense of what noticed when I moved from SE Pennsylvania to the mountains of Eastern West Virginia 25 years ago. My neighbor still says, "poosh" for "push", as do many other 'old-timers'. Other vowels are sometimes pronounced with what I called a Spanish accent. Since this area was settled by Scots-Irish (along with…
This explanation makes sense of what noticed when I moved from SE Pennsylvania to the mountains of Eastern West Virginia 25 years ago. My neighbor still says, "poosh" for "push", as do many other 'old-timers'. Other vowels are sometimes pronounced with what I called a Spanish accent. Since this area was settled by Scots-Irish (along with German) immigrants who were essentially frozen in what I called a 'traditional' culture, this makes sense to me. Sadly, the arrival of the internet has removed most traces of traditional culture and pronunciation in the newer generations.
This explanation makes sense of what noticed when I moved from SE Pennsylvania to the mountains of Eastern West Virginia 25 years ago. My neighbor still says, "poosh" for "push", as do many other 'old-timers'. Other vowels are sometimes pronounced with what I called a Spanish accent. Since this area was settled by Scots-Irish (along with German) immigrants who were essentially frozen in what I called a 'traditional' culture, this makes sense to me. Sadly, the arrival of the internet has removed most traces of traditional culture and pronunciation in the newer generations.