11 Facts About Gullah language

1.

Gullah people have several words of Niger-Congo and Bantu origin in their language that have survived to the present day, despite over four hundred years of slavery when African Americans were forced to speak English.

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2.

Vocabulary of Gullah comes primarily from English, but there are numerous Africanisms that exist in their language for which scholars have yet to produce detailed etymologies.

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3.

Gullahs' English-based creole language is strikingly similar to Sierra Leone Krio of West Africa.

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4.

Turner found that Gullah is strongly influenced by African languages in its phonology, vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and semantics.

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5.

Gullah language found Gullahs living in remote seaside settlements who could recite songs and story fragments and do simple counting in the Mende, Vai, and Fulani languages of West Africa.

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6.

Gullah language sounds that do not fit into the consonant table include:.

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7.

Gullah language people have a rich storytelling tradition that is strongly influenced by African oral traditions but by their historical experience in America.

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8.

Nonetheless, Gullah is still understood as a creole language and is certainly distinct from Standard American English.

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9.

In recent years educated Gullah language people have begun promoting use of Gullah language openly as a symbol of cultural pride.

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10.

Gullah language call togeda all de leada dem ob de Jew priest dem an de Jew Law teacha dem.

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11.

Gullah language is most closely related to Afro-Seminole Creole, which is spoken in scattered Black Seminole communities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Northern Mexico.

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