AFRICANISMS

IN T H E

GULLAH DIALECT

By

Lorenzo Dow Turner

T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F C H I C A G O PRESS
 PREFACE

T r e distinctiveness of Gullah, the dialect of a large number of

Negroes in coastal South Carolina and Georgia, has provoked
comment from writers for many years. The assumption on the part
of many has been that the peculiarities of the dialect are traceable
almost entirely to the British dialects of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries and to a form of baby-talk adopted by masters
of the slaves to facilitate oral communication between themselves
and the slaves. Other persons have not been wholly satisfied with
this explanation. The present study, by revealing the very consider-
able influence of several West African languages upon Gullah, will,
i t is hoped, remove much of the mystery and confusion surrounding
this dialect.
Gullah is a creolized form of English revealing survivals f r o m
m a n y of the A f r i c a n languages spoken b y the slaves who were
brought to South Carolina and Georgia d u r i n g the eighteenth cen-
t u r y and the first half of the nineteenth. These survivals are moet
numerous in the vocabulary of the dialect b u t can be observed also
in its sounds, syntax, morphology, and intonation; and there are
m a n y striking similarities between G u l l a h and the African languages
in the methods used to form words. The purpose of this s t u d y is t o
record the most i m p o r t a n t of these Africanisms and to list t h e i r
equivalents i n the West African languages. One chapter in the
volume is devoted to G u l l a h texts, in phonetic notation, t h a t show
v a r y i n g degrees of indebtedness to African sources.
?The present study is the result of an investigation o f the dialect
that has extended over a period of fifteen years. The communities in
coastal South Carolina that furnished the most distinctive specimens
o f the dialect were Waccamaw (a peninsula near Georgetown) and
James, Johns, Wadmalaw, Edisto, St. Helena, and H i l t o n Head
Islands. Those in Georgia were Darien, Harris Neck (a peninsula
near Darien), Sapeloe Island, St. Simon Island, and St. Marys. On
the mainland of both South Carolina and Georgia m a n y of the com-
munities in which specimens of the dialect were recorded are situated
t w e n t y miles or f a r t h e r from the coast.
In seven of the communities where the dialect was studied, a t
least three informants were selected, two being above sixty years of
Vv
v i PREFACE

age and one between f o r t y and sixty. B o t h sexes were represented,

and w i t h one exception! all the informants were natives of their re-
spective communities. Their parents were also natives. I n studying
the vocabulary of Gullah, however, I consulted a great m a n y addi-
tional informants throughout the Gullah area.
Specimens of the dialect were gathered b y means o f i n t e r v i e w s
w i t h i n f o r m a n t s d u r i n g w h i c h work-sheets were used s i m i l a r t o those
prepared b y the staff of the L i n g u i s t i c A l l a s of the U n i t e d Staies a n d
Canada b u t made suitable for use a m o n g the Gullahs. I n a d d i t i o n ,
phonograph recordings were made t h r o u g h o u t the G u l l a h area o f
m a n y varieties o f material, i n c l u d i n g autobiographical sketches o f
informants, narratives of religious experience, prayers, sermons, re-
ligious and secular songs, folk tales, proverbs, superstitions, descrip-
tions of l i v i n g conditions on the Sea Islands, recollections o f slavery,
methods of p l a n t i n g and harvesting crops, methods of cooking, sya-
tems of counting, etc.
T h i s s t u d y has been made possible t h r o u g h the generosity o f t h e
American C o u n c i l of Learned Societies i n the f o r m of several granta
given at intervals since 1932. These include one g r a n t i n 1932, three
grants-in-aid i n 1933, 1937, and 1940, respectively, a n d one fellow-
ship in 1938-39. W i t h o u t such assistance the s t u d y could n o t possibly
have been developed into its present form.
T o the H u m a n i t i e s I n s t i t u t e of Fisk U n i v e r s i t y 1 am i n d e b t e d f o r
& g r a n t - i n - a i d which was used i n connection w i t h the c o m p l e t i o n o f
certain details of the investigation.
I n addition t o the m a n y G u l l a h a n d A f r i c a n i n f o r m a n t s (listed i n
A p p e n d i x 1} w i t h o u t whose interested a n d generous cooperation t h i s
w o r k would have been impossible, I wish to acknowledge m y g r a t i -
tude to the following persons:
F o u r members of the staff of the L i n g u i s t i c Atlas o f N e w E n g l a n d ?
D r . Hans K u r a t h , director a n d e d i t o r ; Professor M i l e s L . H a n l e y ,
associate d i r e c t o r ; D r . Bernard Bloch, assistant e d i t o r ; and t h e late
D r . G u y 8. L o w m a n , Jr., p r i n c i p a l field i n v e s t i g a t o r ? g a v e me v a l u -
able criticisms and suggestions and manifested a keen interest i n t h e
s t u d y t h r o u g h o u t the period d u r i n g w h i c h i t was i n preparation. D r .
L o w m a n accompanied me on one of m y field t r i p s and p a r t i c i p a t e d
in the interviews w i t h m y p r i n c i p a l G u l l a h i n f o r m a n t s . D r . K u r a t h ,
D r . R o b e r t A. H a l l , Jr., of Cornell U n i v e r s i t y , and D r . M . M .
M a t h e w s , of the staff of the D i c t i o n a r y o f American English, read
the entire w o r k i n m a n u s c r i p t and made i m p o r t a n t suggestions.
 PREFACE vii

On the Sea Islands of Georgia and South Carolina m y collection

of Gullah material was greatly facilitated b y the cooperation of the
following persons: on St. Simon Island, Georgia, Mrs. L y d i a Parrish;
on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, Dr. Y. W . Bailey and the
officials of the Penn Normal, Industrial, and Agricultural School,
especially M r . and Mrs. J. P. K i n g ; and on Edisto, Wadmalaw,
James, and Johns Islands, South Carolina, the Reverend W. L.
Metz, Miss Lillian A. Patrick, Mra. M . Fields, and Miss Lorene
Poinsette, respectively.
I n connection w i t h m y i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f several W e s t A f r i c a n l a n -
Guages a n d cultures, I a m g r e a t l y i n d e b t e d t o still o t h e r persons. A t
the School o f O r i e n t a l a n d A f r i c a n Studies of the U n i v e r s i t y o f L o n -
d o n d u r i n g the y e a r 1936-37, D r . I d a C. W a r d , w h o was head o f the
d e p a r t m e n t o f A f r i c a n languages, a n d u n d e r w h o m I s t u d i e d five
W e s t A f r i c a n languages, gave me v e r y helpful criticisms and sugges-
tions, a n d a t U n i v e r s i t y College, L o n d o n , Professor Daniel Jones was
eager t o cooperate. Some measure of m y indebtedness t o b o t h these
scholars is revealed in m y m a n y references t o t h e i r publications.
Sir W i l l i a m A. Craigie, e d i t o r of the Ozford D i c t i o n a r y a n d t h e
D i c t i o n a r y o f A m e r i c a n English, also gave me several useful sugges-
t i o n s ; and i n Paris d u r i n g the s u m m e r of 1937, Professor H e n r i
L a b o u r e t m a d e i t possible for me t o i n t e r v i e w at length m o r e t h a n
t w e n t y natives of F r e n c h W e s t Africa. F o r t h e use of m a n y m a t e r i a l s
r e l a t i n g t o the U m b u n d u language, I am indebted t o the R e v e r e n d
H e n r y C. M c D o w e l l , f o r m e r missionary at N g a l a n g i , Angola, and a t
present p a s t o r of the D i x w e l l A v e n u e Congregational C h u r c h in N e w
H a v e n , C o n n e c t i c u t . D r . M e l v i l l e J. H e r s k o v i t s , of N o r t h w e s t e r n
U n i v e r s i t y , has also made accessible t o me numerous materials
r e l a t i n g t o A f r i c a and has given me encouragement in m a n y o t h e r
ways. F i n a l l y , t o m y wife I wish t o express m y g r a t i t u d e n o t o n l y
for p r e p a r i n g t h e maps a n d the d i a g r a m of t h e Y o r u b a and G u l l a h
vowels b u t also f o r generously assisting me i n o t h e r phases o f the
investigation.
Lorenzo D. T u r n e r
Roosgvett Cou.sas
January 1, 1949
 CONTENTS
Last o r Iezusreanions .

1, Bacnarounps
Importation ofS l a v e s t o ?South Carolinaa e dG e o r g i aD i r e o t from Africa
The British Dialects and Baby-Talk . : :

Difficulties Which Have Confronted Investigatorso f Gullah

2, P a o n g n c A L p u a p e r a n p D i a c r i t i c s .

Phonetic Alphabet
A. Vowels

3. W e s t A r r i c a n Wonne i x Guinan
Personal Names
A. T h e T w i . . .
B. The Dahomeans
C. T h e Mandingo .

D. T h e Y o r u b a
E. T h e l b o . | . .

F. The NorthernT r i b e so f Nigeria

G. The Ovimbundu .

HH. Pereonal Names Used byt h e Gullaha

Abbreviations
Other Words U s e din Conversation .

Some Expressions Heard O n l yin Stories, Songs, andPrayers

4. S r w r a c t i c a , F e a t o r s s
Voice
Verb Phrases :

da a s a Verb of Incomplete Predication

Comparison of Adjectives
Verbal Adjectives
Word O r d e r .
Frequent Repetition of Wordsa n d Phrasesth r o u g h o u tt h eSentence _

8. M o r r u o t o o i c a , F r a t o n s s
Number
A. Nouns
B. Verbs
 Tense
Case
so

A. Pronouns
B. Nouns.
Gender .

6, Somz Worn-Formarions :

T h e U s o f Group o f Word forP a t of Brome

Reduplicated F o r m s . .

Onomatopoetic Expressions

7. Sounps
Consonants
Vowels.

8. IvronaTion

9. G u a n T e x t s
Numerals
Songs . .
Bome Mende ExpressionsO c c u r r i n g i n G u l l a hS t o r i e s
H a r d Times on E d i s t o .
The Earthquake (1886). B yD i e n a B r o w n
The Earthquake [1886]. B y Rosina C o h e .n
APrayer . .
Narratives ofR e l i g i o u s Experience
The H a g
The G h o s. t :
Recollections of Slavery . :

M a k i n g M a n u r e on St. Helena Idland

The Chief o f the Stevedores

apvenmx
I. Esrormants

Tl. Bretiocnaray

Norzs 301

Inpex . ail
 LIST OF I L L U S T R A T I O N S

M a r o r Taz G u t i a n A u r a

M a p o r t a r W e s t C o a s t oF A r n i c a

D i a c r a u o r THE Y o r u s a ano G r i t a n V o w r . s

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