Datapoint Gullah/Domains of use: literature

Use of renditions of Gullah speech in literature by white non-native speakers was wide-spread from the later 1800s up until about the 1940s, most famously in the brand of Gullah folktales presented by Joel Chandler Harris in his Uncle Remus tales. Black authors have used Gullah in works set in the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands such as Julie Dash’s ‘Daughters of the Dust’ and Gloria Naylor’s ‘Mama Day.’ Gullah is used only to represent Gullah characters in these works. The only book published in Gullah for native speakers with the crucial involvement of native speakers is the 2005 translation of the New Testament as 'De Nyew Testament'. This ‘Gullah Bible’ is bilingual in the King James version and Gullah.

Values

Limited

Confidence:
Certain