Gullah as Language

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Gullah culture and an intensifying
debate as to what exactly Gullah is. Is it a culture? Are they a people group? A language?
Dialect? While Gullah can be deconstructed and studied in each of these categories, it is
important to note that each one informs the other. he cultural and linguistic traditions of Gullah
people are so tightly intertwined that it does the academic study of Gullah somewhat of a
disser!ice to try to "eep them distinct from one another. #till, it is beneficial to analy$e the
components indi!idually, though an understanding of their interdependence must not be elided.
he %&D defines a language as a 'system of spo"en or written communication used by a
particular country, people, community, etc., typically consisting of words used within a regular
grammatical and syntactic structure,( while it considers a dialect to be a 'manner of spea"ing,
language, speech.( he missing element for Gullah to )ualify by a standard definition of
language is 'written( communication. *any scholars would argue that Gullah is indeed a dialect
of AA+&, African America +ernacular &nglish. In numerous texts, Gullah is described as
dialect, howe!er, other scholars disagree and consider Gullah to be a language
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. If the only
thing that is separating scholars on the )uestion of Gullah as language is its ability to be written
down, does it nullify Gullah.s ability to be a language? his metric, some might argue, is
inherently biased toward languages and groups allowed by cultural dominance and historical
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*ore information exploring Gullah as dialect can be found in the following texts/
0auset, Arthur 1. 2American 3egro 0ol" Literature.2 The New Negro. 4y Alain Loc"e. 3ew 5or", 35/ #imon 6
#chuster, -778. 9:;<9==. >rint.
Ir!ine, Alison. 2?ontrast And ?on!ergence In #tandard @amaican &nglish/ he >honological Architecture %f he
#tandard In An Ideologically 4idialectal ?ommunity.2 World Englishes 98.- A9BB;C/ 7. Advanced
Placement Source. Web. 9= @une 9B-:.
*ufwene, #ali"o"o #. 2he &cology %f GullahDs #ur!i!al.2 American Speech - A-778C/ E7. JSTOR Arts & Sciences
III. Web. 9= @une 9B-:.
roi"e, Fudolph ?. 2Assessing he Authenticity %f @oel ?handler 1arrisDs Gse %f Gullah.2 American Speech :
A9B-BC/ 9;8. JSTOR Arts & Sciences III. Web. 9= @une 9B-:.
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conditions to be able to generate Aor desirous of generatingC a written iteration of their spo"en
language. he Gullah<as<language proponents reHect the written component as the defining
feature of a language and instead point to Gullah.s geographical and cultural spread and its
mappable grammar. hose who lobby for Gullah as language present their own, well<thought<out
arguments.
Gullah is a synthesis of '&nglish and West African languages( that began in the ?arolina
Islands and spread throughout Georgia and Alabama
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. 1owe!er, Gullah spea"ers can be found
e!en further than this. Iueen Iuet, ?hieftess of the GullahJGeechie 3ation asserts that Gullah is
spo"en by some ?aribbean people, 0lorida #eminoles, and e!en *exicans. 1ow does one
explain this dissemination of Gullah? Iuet argues that GullahJGeechie people are a people
'indigenous( to 3orth America, and became a 'Diaspora( that resulted from the earlier African
Diaspora, sla!ery. Although many Gullah people were displaced as a result of economic and
social conditions, Iuet belie!es that they spread out largely as a result of being 'shamed into
belie!ing( they should not spea" about who they are, and that includes spea"ing the Gullah
language. 0or the Gullah, the thought was to get as far away from their nati!e land and as
possible in order to fully assimilate into Western society. Iuet attributes her ability to
communicate in Gullah with ?aribbean people, #eminoles and *exicans to the !ast proliferation
of Gullah people. he theories proposed by academia do not fully apprehend Gullah as language
and culture but merely as dialect. he fact remains, howe!er, that though there is dissension
about whether or not Gullah itself stands as a language, the con!ersation is happening and
understanding is being pursued.
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Lerer, #eth. Inventing English A Porta!le "istor# o$ the %anguage. 3ew 5or"/ ?olumbia G>, 9BB8. >rint.
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It is important to "eep in mind that Gullah is a collecti!e of language, culture and people
specific to 3orth America. Gullah people are composed of many different African and 3ati!e
American tribes. Iuet explains that Gullah people are the 'amalgamation of Ibo, *andin"a,
*alen"e, 5oruba, GolaKand ?usabo and 5emassee, &disto peoples.( hey are 'sur!i!ors who
ha!e passed along their unwritten language, &li$abethan &nglish combined with a blend of West
African and other languages, o!er the centuries through oral traditions of storytelling through
con!ersation, prayer and song(
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. hese are only a few of the contributing factors that ma"e
Gullah people uni)ue. hey are a people who endured the harshest circumstances during the time
of sla!ery by creating language and incorporating their own ancestral traditions in their forced,
Western li!es. It is through their language and traditions that the li!ing Gullah people are in
many ways our closest historical ties to both Africa and the displaced and ensla!ed Africans who
crafted a culture in 3orth America. hat resiliency of spirit is still a cherished cultural !alue.
Louise *iller ?ohen, founder of the Gullah *useum of 1ilton 1ead Island, stands united with
Iueen Iuet and other Gullah representati!es, stri!ing to learn more, share more, and teach more
about Gullah L the culture, the people, the language, and the history.
M0or a more, in depth analysis of Gullah as dialect, !isit/
http/JJwww.litsouth.comJstaticJcommentary
:
1art!igsen, Nristine. 2>reser!ing GullahDs %ral raditions < And *uch *ore.2 South &arolina 'usiness 97.9
A9BB;C/ 99. Regional 'usiness News. Web. -; @une 9B-=.
:
Wor"s ?ited
1art!igsen, Nristine. 2>reser!ing GullahDs %ral raditions < And *uch *ore.2 South
&arolina 'usiness 97.9 A9BB;C/ 99. Regional 'usiness News. Web. -; @une 9B-=.
Lerer, #eth. Inventing English A Porta!le "istor# o$ the %anguage. 3ew 5or"/ ?olumbia G>,
9BB8. >rint.
Iueen Iuet. 2Gullah/ >eople, ?ulture and Language.2 >ersonal inter!iew. 8 @une 9B-=.
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