A Creole Language

A CREOLE LANGUAGE
The Gullah language, a
creole blend of sailors’
English and African languages,
was born of necessity on
Africa’s Slave Coast, and
developed in the slave
communities of the isolated
plantations of the coastal
South.
People who speak Gullah
sound somewhat like people
who speak Krio, one of the
common languages spoken
among the people of Sierra
Leone, West Africa. The
similarity in the languages is
an example of the connection
between West Africans and the
people from the Sea Islands of
South Carolina and Georgia.
Gullah is a creole form of
English. Like most creoles,
Gullah began as a pidgin
language, transforming into a
language in its own right with
the first generation of Gullah
speakers born in America.
A similar form of plantation
creole may have been
widespread at one time in the
southern United States, but
Gullah now differs from other
African-American dialects
of English. Though creole
languages the world over
appear to share some of their
structure, the speakers of one
creole can seldom understand
speakers of another on first
contact.
Gullah as a language and
a culture has become an
intricate part of the Language
Arts curriculum in the Gullah
Corridor—the area stretching
from Wilmington North
Carolina to St. Augustine,
Florida.
The teaching of Gullah is
seen as a means to bridge
the gap created by the false
impressions that Gullah, the
language, and the culture,
is old fashioned and lacks
authenticity. On the contrary,
use of the Gullah language is a
reliable source of literature for
today’s students.
Through the confidence
gained in the Gullah literacy
program, a quilt maker began
to use the Gullah language as
the medium to describe her
work. Students have begun
to write poems, short stories,
and to write and sing Gullah
music. They have performed
for senior citizens and other
civic groups
The enthusiasm resulting
from the publication of De
Nyew Testament the New
Testament in the Gullah
language, has been a spring
board toward introducing
Gullah as a viable language.
Congressman James E.
Clyburn, Majority Whip
for the U.S. House of
Representatives, took his oath
of office with his hand on
the Gullah New Testament,
which had been presented
to him by Mary E. Ravenell,
international spokesperson for
the Gullah.

EXAMPLES FROM GULLAH LITERATURE

De Gullah Story Book by Ronald Daise “Jes fo dayclean, shree mudfish

nibble on a line.” Just before morning, three mudfish nibbled on his line.

De Nyew Testament John 3:16 “Cause God lob all de people een de wol

sommuch dat e gii we e onliest Son. God sen we um so dat ebrybody wa

bleebe pon um ain gwine dead. Day gwine lib faebamo.” For God so loved

the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in

him should not perish, but have everlasting life.