Based on the Idiolect Synopses of the basic materials of the linguistic atlas of the gulf states, this summary offers the first interpretation of evidence gathered in southeastern United States, 1968-80. The phonological, morphological and lexical data outlines a principal source of the speech of the Upper South. Although primarily a South Midland dialect, East Tennessee folk speech shows a complex regional and social structure that includes relics and innovations with patterns that distinguish this subregion from the dominant forms of American English spoken in the South and elsewhere.