Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Geechee, Gullah, Sea Island Creole
CLASSIFICATION		English-based, Afro-Indigenous creole
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO
LANGUAGE CODE		gul
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Gullah Geechee Afro-Seminole
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (5)

Information from: “Personal communication regarding Geechee-Gullah” . Walt Wolfram (2021)

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
300
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
200,000
SEMI SPEAKERS
5,000

DATE OF INFO: 2021

PLACES: Along the Atlantic coast from southeast North Carolina to northern Florida, but concentrated on the Sea Islands and in the cities of Savannah and Charleston (Wolfram, 2021)

PLACES: Gullahs live along the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coastline, from the northern tip of North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida; especially in the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia and the bordering mainland low country areas. Some Gullah-speaking black Seminoles were forced out of northern Florida in the 1830s and relocated to central Oklahoma, western Texas, and northern Mexico. (Hopkins, 2006)

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
SPEAKER ATTITUDE: Past negative stereotypes and misconceptions discouraged some older speakers from passing Gullah on to their descendants, for fear outsiders would ridicule them. Now Gullah functions as a significant marker of culture, history, and identity in the communities where it is spoken. There is a concerted effort to preserve and promote the language and culture through storytelling, Bible translation, heritage tours, music festivals, and other initiatives. (Weldon, 2006)
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT: Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission (U.S. National Park Service)
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: The Penn Center
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: Gullah is spoken along the U.S. south Atlantic coastline from Sandy Island near Georgetown, South Caroline to St. Simmons and St. Marys, Georgia; possibly from North Carolina to upper Florida. The Afro-Seminole dialect is spoken by the descendants of those who fled South Carolina and Georgia to Florida, then were exiled to Oklahoma in the 1830s. (Weldon, 2006)

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
SPEAKER ATTITUDE: Proud of their language and culture, willing to share it in community activities and public festivals; enthusiastically pressing on from reading to speaking; economically capitalizing on artistic, culinary, historical, and linguistic aspects of the culture (Campbell, 2011)
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT: Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission (U.S. National Park Service)
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: The Penn Center
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: Gullah Geechee communities are found along the U.S. Atlantic low country from North Carolina to to northern Florida, and in Northeastern U.S. cities. Afro-Seminole Creole is spoken by Black Seminole communities are found in Oklahoma (Seminole Freedmen), Texas (Scouts), northern Mexico (Mascogos), the Bahamas, and Cuba. (Campbell, 2011)

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
SPEAKER ATTITUDE: Gullah-Geechee is a living language with an expanding sphere of use in the arts (Ranky Tanky won a Grammy), education (established curriculum at Harvard University), and social media (strong following on Twitter & TikTok). Native speakers now have access to drive the narrative of Gullah-Geechee rather than being described by outsiders. Local schools are incorporating the language and culture more, especially for cultural mediation.
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: Harvard University

PLACES: Along the U.S. Atlantic low country from North Carolina to to northern Florida, in Texas, and in Mexico.

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Components of this language came from the Guinea Coast and Sierra Leone, colonial American English, and Indigenous communities of the region. It is mutually intelligible with Bahamian Creole, due to shared ancestry, particularly of European and African resettlement from South Carolina to the Bahamas in the late 18th century.

			2021	Personal communication regarding Geechee-Gullah									Walt Wolfram	200,000	300	2021	100-999	5,000					Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Along the Atlantic coast from southeast North Carolina to northern Florida, but concentrated on the Sea Islands and in the cities of Savannah and Charleston (Wolfram, 2021)
	September		2021	Personal Communication re: Gullah-Geechee			We spoke via video call.						Sunn m'Cheux								Gullah-Geechee is a living language with an expanding sphere of use in the arts (Ranky Tanky won a Grammy), education (established curriculum at Harvard University), and social media (strong following on Twitter & TikTok). Native speakers now have access to drive the narrative of Gullah-Geechee rather than being described by outsiders. Local schools are incorporating the language and culture more, especially for cultural mediation.	Harvard University	Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	11	14	15	Along the U.S. Atlantic low country from North Carolina to to northern Florida, in Texas, and in Mexico.	Components of this language came from the Guinea Coast and Sierra Leone, colonial American English, and Indigenous communities of the region. It is mutually intelligible with Bahamian Creole, due to shared ancestry, particularly of European and African resettlement from South Carolina to the Bahamas in the late 18th century.
978-0-08-087774-7		1st	2006	Gullah	Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World	470-471		Keith Brown and Sarah Ogilvie	Elsevier Ltd.				T. Hopkins														Gullahs live along the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coastline, from the northern tip of North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida; especially in the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia and the bordering mainland low country areas. Some Gullah-speaking black Seminoles were forced out of northern Florida in the 1830s and relocated to central Oklahoma, western Texas, and northern Mexico. (Hopkins, 2006)
9781469616636		1st	2006	Gullah	The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture	69-71		Michael Montgomery and Ellen Johnson	University of North Carolina Press		5: Language		Tracey L. Weldon						English	Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission (U.S. National Park Service)	Past negative stereotypes and misconceptions discouraged some older speakers from passing Gullah on to their descendants, for fear outsiders would ridicule them. Now Gullah functions as a significant marker of culture, history, and identity in the communities where it is spoken. There is a concerted effort to preserve and promote the language and culture through storytelling, Bible translation, heritage tours, music festivals, and other initiatives. (Weldon, 2006)	The Penn Center	Severely Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	14	14	14	Gullah is spoken along the U.S. south Atlantic coastline from Sandy Island near Georgetown, South Caroline to St. Simmons and St. Marys, Georgia; possibly from North Carolina to upper Florida. The Afro-Seminole dialect is spoken by the descendants of those who fled South Carolina and Georgia to Florida, then were exiled to Oklahoma in the 1830s. (Weldon, 2006)
			2011	Gullah Geechee culture: Respected, understood and striving: Sixty years after Lorenzo Dow Turner's masterpiece, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect	The living legacy of Lorenzo Dow Turner: The first African-American linguist	77-84			Taylor & Francis, Ltd.	The Black Scholar	41(1)	doi:10.5816/blackscholar.41.1.0077	Emory S. Campbell						English	Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission (U.S. National Park Service)	Proud of their language and culture, willing to share it in community activities and public festivals; enthusiastically pressing on from reading to speaking; economically capitalizing on artistic, culinary, historical, and linguistic aspects of the culture (Campbell, 2011)	The Penn Center	Severely Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13	14	14	Gullah Geechee communities are found along the U.S. Atlantic low country from North Carolina to to northern Florida, and in Northeastern U.S. cities. Afro-Seminole Creole is spoken by Black Seminole communities are found in Oklahoma (Seminole Freedmen), Texas (Scouts), northern Mexico (Mascogos), the Bahamas, and Cuba. (Campbell, 2011)

Gullah-Geechee

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Discussion

Gullah-Geechee

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Discussion

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