Transcript Gullah - Hellesdon

Gullah
Lo: Know the differences between
Gullah and current Standard
English.
The history of the Caribbean
• The slave trade brought Europeans and
Africans together in the Caribbean, resulting
in the birth of Creole languages.
• The relative status of different languages in
the Caribbean has reflected the unequal
amounts of power possessed by the people
who use them.
• Read: ‘An outline history of the Caribbean.’
Pp202-207 Language & Power
Answer the following questions:
1. Why do Europeans claim to have ‘discovered’ the
Caribbean?
2. In what other ways beside open rebellion could
slaves show their resistance to slavery?
3. In what ways were the Caribbean islands exploited
under colonial rule?
4. Do you know of any other parts of the world that were
treated in a similar way?
5. In what ways do you think being a poor labourer in
the Caribbean ways any different from being a poor
labourer in England?
6. How might ‘a new pride’ in Creole languages show
itself in the Caribbean? Is this movement reflected in
any other countries that you know of?
What’s in a name?
Write a lists of terms used to describe languages spoken by people in the
Caribbean
Patwa/patois/patwah
Broken English
Negative attitudes pp213-4
• Why do you think so many
British people in history
have spent time opposing
and attacking Creole
languages and saying that
they are no good?
• Why do you think so many
people from the Caribbean
are ashamed of their Creole
languages and describe
them as being ‘not proper
languages’?
• ‘baby-talk’, ‘broken English’,
‘broken French’.
• C1850 schooling in English
became widespread in the
Caribbean (Jamaica,
Barbados, Trinidad,
Guyana, Granada, St Lucia
etc) and Creole was
banned. People were told
that speaking Creole was a
sign of being badly
educated. A consequence
was that no standard writing
and spelling systems were
developed from Creoles.
Here are some of the things people
say about Caribbean Creole
languages. Discuss.
argument
• They are not real
languages because they
have no grammar
• They are corrupted
versions of European
languages such as
English & French
• They cannot be written
down.
• They cannot be used for
serious purpose
Counter-argument
• They do but their systems are
different from European
langauges
• Linguists do not accept that
language can be ‘corrupt’. All
languages develop & change.
Creoles grammar &
pronunciation follow West
African patterns.
• Any language can be written
down.
• They are used for serious
purpose but history and politics
have prevented them being
used for power.
What difference does writing
make?
•
•
•
•
Cockney
Caribbean Creole
Cypriot Greek
Sylheti
• Cypriot Greek is a dialect
which is stigmatised.
Students are required to
speak standard Greek in
classrooms but can use
the dialect in the
playground.
• There is debate as to
whether Sylheti is a dialect
of Bengali or a separate
language. Sylheti is spoken
in Tower Hamlets where it
was taught briefly in the
1980s.
No dialects please
Why do we call Caribbean
languages Creole?
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• French
• Negro
• Negro born in
America
• A white person born
in the West Indies
The creation of Caribbean
Creole
• Africans were taken to the
Caribbean
• The languages of the Africans
• Pidgin language in the
Caribbean
• From areas now known as:
Senegal, Guinea, Sierra
Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin,
Congo and Angola.
• African languages from the
Niger-Congo family mixed with
English, French Spanish,
Dutch & Portuguese.
• Used between Europeans and
slaves waiting for shipment, on
slave ships and in sugar
plantations. Typically for giving
orders or instructions. Also as
a lingua franca between
Africans who spoke different
languages.
Other African influences in the
Caribbean
• West African stories,
proverbs (p262-8),
songs & religious
ceremonies.
• E.g Anansi came from
Ghana
• Ijapa from Yoruba
survives in Southern
states as Brer
Terrapin.
Discussion points
1. English has sometimes been called a Creole
language. Why do you think this is?
• What are the similarities between the history
of Standard English and the history of
Caribbean Creoles and what are the
differences?
2. Have you ever been forced by other people
to change the language you used?
• Do you know of any other instances in your
own lifetime, or back in history, when people
have been forced to change their language
use? What was the effect on those people?
Colonial changes
Africa in the Caribbean: Jamaican
Creole
• Most slaves imported to Jamaica came
from Ghana & Nigeria, speaking Fante &
Twi from the Akan group which is spoken
in Ghana today. Many other Africans of
Nigerian origin in Jamaica spoke Igbo or
Yoruba. These languages contributed to
the structure, vocabulary, tone &
pronunciation of Jamaican Creole. The
exception was the Maroons who resisted
slavery, escaped and settled in remote
parts of Jamaica.
Followers of Kumina: an African
religion in Jamaica.
Are known to sing burial
songs in Kikongo (an
African language)
African Words in Jamaican Creole
pp254/55
• activity
What is Gullah?
• A Creole drawing
mainly on English
vocabulary, used along
the USA South-Eastern
coast/ Many features in
common with WestAfrican Creoles. 150300,000 speakers.
• Cf. Belize Creole.
Mainly English
vocabulary. Used as a
first language in the
towns.
• Cf. Tok Pisin.
West African Influences on Creole
Grammar p.257, 258, 259, 260 &
261
• Plurals, pronouns, ‘Is’ and ‘was’, past
tense,
• Grouping activity. Compare with Gullah
text.