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A Study in Gullah As a Creole Language, Supported with a Text Analysis

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A Study in Gullah As a Creole Language, Supported with a Text Analysis Linguistics and Literature Studies 2(2): 58-64, 2014 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/lls.2014.020203 A Study in Gullah as a Creole language, Supported with a Text Analysis Noura F. Abdou Department of English Linguistics, Faculty of Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies, University of Regensburg, 93053,Regensburg, Germany *Corresponding Author:[email protected] Copyright © 2014 Horizon Research Publishing All rights reserved. Abstract This paper investigates Gullah language in light linguistic situation, is devoted primarily to the factors that of some of the discussions that have been revolving around it; contributed to the retention of Africanism in the Gullah such as the nature of Gullah, its history, the demographic dialect, and the views regarding whether Gullah is setup, the linguistic situation, and the typical features. A text decreolizing or not. Section 6, the typical features, provides taken from the New Testament in Gullah Sea Island Creole is an elaboration of some of the linguistic features that analyzed in light of a discussion of its features. characterize contemporary Gullah. In section 7, the text is taken from the New Testament in Gullah Sea Island Creole, Keywords The Sea Islands, Geechee-speaking with marginal text of the King James Version, (Matthew Communities, British Dialect, Baby-talk, Africanism in 5:1-5). It is analyzed in light of the typical linguistic features Gullah, Decreolization, Code-switching, Identity Marker characterizing Gullah. Section 8 is concerned with the conclusion. 1. Introduction 2. The Nature of Gullah The Sea Islands are well known as Gullah or Earlier linguists considered Pidgins and creoles as inferior Geechee-speaking communities. Many researchers assume languages and this resulted in disregarding the latter that the word Gullah may be derived from Angola because completely. Lately, linguists have changed the previously several African slaves were taken from Angola in West mentioned attitude because they recognized that pidgins and Africa. Gidzi is considered as a potential source for the word creoles are just new languages enjoying their own origin, Geechee. The Sea Islands are located along the coast of history, and typical linguistic features [1]. South Carolina, Georgia and the northeast part of Florida. Gullah is a Creole language developed throughout the The coastline has approximately a thousand islands and most period of slave trade. Until recently, Gullah has been of the islands are not suitable for human beings to dwell [4]. depicted as corrupted and unintelligible to the outsiders as it Gullah is a Creole language, as advocated by many lacks many of the grammatical structure such as plurality, linguists such as Jones-Jackson, Mufwene, and others. copula, gender distinction, uninflected verbs, preverbal Gullah is a Creole language as it is the result of the markers, etc [2]. Actually, the Gullah language is part and combination between English and other languages spoken parcel of the cultural and social environment from which it along the West African coast [4]. It is a Creole language was derived. As for the Gullah people, they are a group of because it emerged and passed through the same social and black Americans who speak a language which is akin to economic circumstances that other creoles passed through. It Sierra Leone Krio. They have been viewed as backward and has many features in common with the other vernaculars. ignorant as they have been thought to be speaking bad Moreover, The Gullah people have an African origin, which English [3]. They are famous for making crafts such as is also another characteristic shared by speakers of the other baskets, jewelry, and pottery [4]. vernaculars [5]. The upcoming sections of this paper are organized within various aspects of Gullah. Section 2 discusses the nature of Gullah. Section 3, the history of Gullah, is concerned with 3. Origin of Gullah providing background information regarding the region of the Sea Islands and the people inhabiting it. Section 4, the The origin of Gullah has been the focus of many linguists. demographic setup, handles the population of Gullah Jones-Jackson in [6] explains that this language was first speaking communities and their distribution. Section 5, the viewed as an “inferior dialect of English”. There have been Linguistics and Literature Studies 2(2): 58-64, 2014 59 two controversial points of view revolving around its origin. South Carolina was also a spot for the slaves from other Some linguists such as George Krapp [2] and Woodson [7] American colonies who showed a regular misbehavior. believe that Gullah is the survival of British dialect and Gullah islanders gained their independence during the baby-talk. For them, Gullah is nothing but a very simplified Civil War (1861-1865). The first school established for the and reduced form of English. This assumption of baby-talk independent slaves was Penn school and it was built on Saint characterizes early linguistics only and is no longer upheld at Helena Island. After 1890 the rice and cotton economy of all today. On the contrary, Turner in [8] illustrates that both Georgia and South Carolina suffered from a sharp Gullah is strongly influenced by African languages in many breakdown due to many destructive floods and storms. The respects such as the sound system, semantic system, rice plantations became gradually deserted by 1900. By 1970, grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure. Turner asserts the ratio of farmers reached 10 and 15 percent in Johns and that those linguists have undervalued the influence of the Wadmalaw islands respectively, and consequently, the fields African factor in Gullah. This is because they have counted became once again marshlands. Before 1940 there was very only on the features that Gullah shares with certain British limited number of bridges binding the mainland with the dialects of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the islands. This consequently resulted in their isolation, which baby-talk mechanism that the Europeans used while dealing resulted in turn in the perpetuation of Gullah. Later, there with their servants. Thus, in order to solve any problem was a tendency towards building more bridges which presented in Gullah, they resorted to the solutions introduced contributed to facilitating access to and from the islands. by the British dialects and baby-talk. Thus, linguists who are Gullah people have been combating in order to maintain interested in conducting a research to explain Gullah should their traditions, culture, and customs [4]. A translation of the acquaint themselves with some knowledge of the African New Testament in the Gullah language started in 1979 and languages, which are the native tongues of those people. lasted for twenty five years. In 2005 the American Bible Turner’s extensive research highlights that Gullah contains Society published De Nyew Testament. over three hundred loanwords from many different African languages and approximately 4000 African personal names. 5. Demographic Setup 4. History Jones-Jackson in [4] illustrates that throughout the slave trade the whites were a minority compared to the black Before the Europeans and the Africans lived in America; slaves in the Sea Islands coastal region. In 1830 the federal the Sea Islands were originally the homelands of the Indians, census figures indicated that the number of African and who were obliged to migrate in the early 1700s. Then, the African-American inhabitants was extremely high. For Sea Islands became the habitat of the African slaves, some instance, the number of whites in Georgetown district was white farmers, and others including the ex-slaves and their 1,940, while the number of blacks was 18,000. Charleston descendants [4]. In 1708 the number of African slaves, who County had 30,922 whites compared to 71,868 blacks by were taken directly from the West African coast to South 1880, as pointed out by the federal census. The black people Carolina and Georgia, reached approximately 100,000. The remained a majority in the sea island till 1940. In 1970, the number of the previously stated slaves was much bigger than blacks were no longer the majority, i.e. the federal census the number of the slaves who lived before in the West Indies. demonstrated that the black people formed 31.4 percent of On the contrary to the slaves who came from different Charleston County. This highlights that the number of the regions of America and the West Indies, the slaves who came blacks in 1970 became less than that of the 1930’s, which directly from Africa to South Carolina had no previous was more than 50 percent. knowledge of the English language. Those people were Only the economically flourishing areas of the Sea Islands picked for their knowledge of how to cultivate rice, indigo, witnessed great changes in population. For instance, James and cotton. During the eighteenth century and the first half of and Johns Islands in South Carolina showed considerable the nineteenth century, there was a persistent importation of population increase. This is due to some factors such as the African slaves because the nature of the crop required a presence of suitable services, i.e. bridges and roadways continuous influx of slaves born in Africa not in other which in turn facilitated the access to and from Charleston colonies [8]. This is because the plantation, harvesting, and area, the increasing industrialization and commercialization processing of rice is an old African cultural tradition in in Johns Island, and the highly urbanized nature of the James which they had vast experience [4]. Thus, the labor of the Island. Those Islands were inhabited mainly by the whites. It black people was of a great importance. This consequently is noteworthy that in 1940 black people were a majority of led to a constant intensification of Gullah. Therefore, the the Johns Island, i.e.
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