Our Southern Highlanders

[BrassBlower]

Isn't Scots also known as "Lallans"?

I always figured that's the language Stacy (she of the bodacious fipples and flashy avatars) uses for her posts.

I always thought that was Doric, the language of a thousand creepy old songs.

[Darwin]

Only found one single book on Scots (the language), though.

Go to http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea ... e&sortby=2 and scroll down to numbers 16 (Scottish English, English Scottish) and

17 (The Pocket Scots Dictionary).

Then, on to

19 (Pocket Guide to Scottish Words),
21 (The Pride O' Scotland. A Scots-English Parallel of Matthew , Mark, Luke and John),
27 (The Old Scots Tounge : Scottish Words and their Meanings -- '10,000 Scottish Words and their meanings.' A useful little book but please note the typeface is very small and a magnifying glass may be required),
30 (Scottish Words and Phrases), and
49 (The Scots Dialect Dictionary --on the second page).

There are several pages of stuff. Many entries appear more than once--different prices from different sellers. Pay attention to the condition, which is usually noted. American Book Exchange is one of my major sources for academic texts. A used text book can cost a quarter of what it would sell for new, and they can be in really good condition.

On searching for "lallans" (thanks to DCrom) as a keyword, I found http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea ... ans&bsi=30 and

number 36 (THE SCOTTISH TONGUE, a Series of Lectures on the Vernacular Language of Lowland Scotland),
89 (and 94 & 95) (LALLANS, A SELECTION OF SCOTS WORDS ARRANGED AS AN ENGLISH-SCOTTISH DICTIONARY WITH PRONUNCIATION AND EXAMPLES and
98 (Scots : The Mither Tongue).

That should get you started. If I recall correctly (what are the chances?) from discussions on sci.lang, "Scottish English" and "Scots" are quite different. "Scots" is not just a variety of English.

A quick Google found http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Scots_language saying:

Scots (or Lallans, meaning 'Lowlands'), properly Lowland Scots, is a Germanic language used in Lowland Scotland, as well as parts of Northern Ireland and border areas of the Republic of Ireland, where it is known in official circles as Ulster Scots or Ullans but by speakers simply as "Scotch" or "Scots". On the whole, Lowland Scots descends from the Northumbrian form of Anglo-Saxon, albeit with influence from Norse via the Vikings, Dutch and Low Saxon through trade with, and immigration from, the low countries, and Romance via ecclesiastical and legal Latin, Anglo-Norman and later Parisian French owing to the Auld Alliance. Lowland Scots also has loan words resulting from contact with Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language distinct from Lowland Scots still spoken by some in the Highlands and islands to the west. Loan words from Scottish Gaelic are mainly for geographical and cultural features, such as clan and loch ('lake'). Like any living language, Lowland Scots has changed to some extent over the years, though it has arguably remained closer to its Anglo-Saxon roots than English. Many Lowland Scots words have become part of English: flit, 'to move home', greed, eerie, cuddle, clan, stob, 'a post'.

[Jack]

Ooooooh. Thanks.

I know they're different, Darwin...but apparently nobody else does.

So many people confuse Scots with Scottish Gaelic and Scottish English, but it is neither.

[Darwin]

Isn't Scots also known as "Lallans"?

I always figured that's the language Stacy (she of the bodacious fipples and flashy avatars) uses for her posts.

I always thought that was Doric, the language of a thousand creepy old songs.

Found this, but lost the URL after copying the text:

There are at least five Scots dialects:

* Northern Scots, spoken north of Dundee, often split into North Northern, Mid Northern --- also known as Northeast Scots and affectionately referred to as the Doric ---- and South Northern.
* Central Scots, spoken from Fife and Perthshire to the Lothians and Wigtownshire, often split into North East and South East Central, West Central and South West Central Scots.
* South Scots Spoken in the Border Areas.
* Insular Scots spoken in the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands
* Ulster Scots, spoken by the descendants of Scottish settlers in Northern Ireland, and sometimes described by the neologism Ullans as a merging of Ulster and Lallans .

[Lambchop]

Ooooooh. Thanks.

I know they're different, Darwin...but apparently nobody else does.

So many people confuse Scots with Scottish Gaelic and Scottish English, but it is neither.

Umm, I knew.

[Jack]

Ooooooh. Thanks.

I know they're different, Darwin...but apparently nobody else does.

So many people confuse Scots with Scottish Gaelic and Scottish English, but it is neither.

Umm, I knew.

But you're special, like me.

[cowtime]

Great reading so far.

I've always had a fascination with the culture of the mountains Ever since I was a wee lad and our family made a couple trips to the Huntington WV area to visit an aunt who'd married a coal miner from there. I'm sure the image I've developed, in spite of trying, is still flawed but there's no doubt that my love of bluegrass music and Old Time fiddle tunes exists because of the strong associations between it and my childhood impressions.

I'm sure "The Waltons" gave the general population a different viewpoint about the people of the mountains but was it accurate?

The importance of family that was portrayed in this series was certainly accurate. Many of us live in extended family households of several generations too, just like the Waltons. What happens to one of us, happens to all of us. The sense of being tied to the land is also true for many of us.

But, folks like me, deep in the mountains, don't really consider anyone living near the Shenandoah Valley, like the Waltons, as as "mountain people".

Mountain people still live in somewhat physical isolation. And that's the way we like it, which is why we stay here.

[Flyingcursor]

But, folks like me, deep in the mountains, don't really consider anyone living near the Shenandoah Valley, like the Waltons, as as "mountain people".

Well then I don't either! Sheridan should've burned it all. Oh wait...he did. (I'm just kidding folks.)


A barrage of questions Cowtime.
What are those buildings on Temple Hill? Some look like a trailer park.
St. Paul looks a little larger then Castlewood, is that where you go for some of your shopping needs?
What is the name of the river that runs north of Castlewood?
What kind of farming or husbandry predominates the little valley?
What do the people there do for livelyhood?

I wasn't too far from there a couple years ago. I came up from Knoxville through Bristol on the interstate. We stayed the night in a motel near Bristol and I took a drive around to the northwest of the highway. I didn't get as far as Castlewood though. The roads were winding and it started getting dark so it defeated the purpose.
I was so intrigued with the country I sent a resume to King Pharmaceutical in Bristol. Never heard anything.

[cowtime]

But, folks like me, deep in the mountains, don't really consider anyone living near the Shenandoah Valley, like the Waltons, as as "mountain people".

Well then I don't either! Sheridan should've burned it all. Oh wait...he did. (I'm just kidding folks.)


A barrage of questions Cowtime.
What are those buildings on Temple Hill? Some look like a trailer park.
St. Paul looks a little larger then Castlewood, is that where you go for some of your shopping needs?
What is the name of the river that runs north of Castlewood?
What kind of farming or husbandry predominates the little valley?
What do the people there do for livelyhood?

I wasn't too far from there a couple years ago. I came up from Knoxville through Bristol on the interstate. We stayed the night in a motel near Bristol and I took a drive around to the northwest of the highway. I didn't get as far as Castlewood though. The roads were winding and it started getting dark so it defeated the purpose.
I was so intrigued with the country I sent a resume to King Pharmaceutical in Bristol. Never heard anything.

Answers:

I don't know what buildings you refer to on Temple Hill. The only Temple Hill I know is a cemetery in Castlewood. My father-in-law graduated from a school called Temple Hill which is long gone. Now there is a Gray Hill in St. Paul which is mostly residential with everything from low-income housing apartments,trailers, to a sub-division of mostly 60s-80s homes to some really nice retro-50s homes to new 2000's McMansions.

St . Paul is an actual town. Castlewood has the debatable distinction of once being the second largest town in VA until it voted to unincorporate.
There's no town as we think of it. It's just spread all over.Castlewood is actually the oldest. It was an early settlement here and Daniel Boone even lived here for a while before heading on to KY(one son was killed here by Indians- they did not live here but it was a favorite hunting ground for many tribes)

I love St. Paul. It's a little town that is still nice but also progressive. Low crime, wonderful old Craftsman houses(a passion of mine) and good folks. That's where I go to the grocery store and to church- about 10 min. from me since I'm in the country. But most other shopping is done in Lebanon,Abingdon or Bristol.

That river you mention is the dark and mighty Clinch River. It runs through St. Paul.

Most farms are small family farms.Many are being sold. The cash crop was tobacco until this year when quotas are being bought out. The other main farm crop has always been and still is beef cattle. In recent years, alternative crops have been starting up which are pretty diversified. We were quiet successful in growing french hybrid winegrapes, in additon to tobacco and beef cattle. (we sold the majority of our farm last spring due to my husband's failing health)

As for making a living- well you've got a bit of everything you would find in most areas I'd think. There are several industries in our county(Russell) with of course more in the larger area around the Tri-Cities-Bristol,Kingsport,Johnson City. The usual professions, several colleges and universities are within easy driving distance. Coal mining is still on-going but much less than it was a couple of decades ago. For example, I am a rural mail carrier for the USPS and before that a vet tech, my husband is a farmer/carpenter and was a coal miner for many years. One of my daughters is a geologist/engineer/geophysist for an engineering firm in Abingdon.

Seems like I remember hearing that King sold out to some other company recently. It's a big one in Bristol that's for sure. Raytheon use to be the other biggy in Bristol. My uncle worked there back in the 60s.

I love it here. We've got the VA state theater- Barter Theatre in Abingdon- the Carter Fold in Hintons, The Birthplace of Country Music in Bristol,and even a GHB pipe band that I am part of , so lots of music although sadly no sessions anymore. Within 10 minutes of my house I can be deep in the coalfield mountains, in fertile farm valleys, or in town.

But mostly we have a quite rural living and ways of life.

[Flyingcursor]

Thanks. Always interested in stuff.
The "temple hill" is what Mapquest called it.

I was looking at terraserver (do a google to get the url) for the pictures. It has satallite photos of nearly the whole country. I traced my whole route to Norfolk via terraserver and found where my daughter is going to live. I found Chattiekathy's town that way as well since we're stopping there on the way back.

I ordered a copy of "Our Southern Highlanders" from Barnes and Noble yesterday. I told my kids about it and they want to read it.

[cowtime]

Thanks. Always interested in stuff.
The "temple hill" is what Mapquest called it.

I was looking at terraserver (do a google to get the url) for the pictures. It has satallite photos of nearly the whole country. I traced my whole route to Norfolk via terraserver and found where my daughter is going to live. I found Chattiekathy's town that way as well since we're stopping there on the way back.

I ordered a copy of "Our Southern Highlanders" from Barnes and Noble yesterday. I told my kids about it and they want to read it.

Tell the kids that they may want to skip the biography about the author. It's pretty dry reading. BUT, when the actual book starts it is great.

Intresting about the photos you mentioned. I bet that the hill you are talking about is where the cemetary is located. There are a number of houses/trailers in the area but most is farm land.

That was fun. Here's our house ,and part of the farm we had until last year.
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image. ... 7cVirginia