Also Known As:
Geechee, Gullah, Sea Island Creole
Dialects & Varieties
- Gullah
- Geechee
- Afro-Seminole
Personal Communication re: Gullah-Geechee
Personal Communication re: Gullah-Geechee
Endangered
80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 5
A small percentage of the community speaks the language, and speaker numbers are decreasing very rapidly.
5
Domains of Use
Domain Of Use 4
Used mainly only in the home and/or with family, and may not be the primary language even in these domains for many community members.
4
Transmission
Transmission 1
Most adults in the community, and some children, are speakers.
1
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
No results found.
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
No results found.
Location and Context
Countries
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.
Government Support
No results found.
Institutional Support
Harvard University
Speakers' 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.
Other Languages Used By The Community
None
Number of Other Language Speakers:
None
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
No results found.
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
No results found.
Recent Resources
Published by the American Bible Society (New York, 2005)