Humpday Afternoon Diversion: Indigenous American Language

By Kevin Robinson in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 18, 2012 8:00PM

Because the United States is such a polyglot of people and cultures, histories and languages, it shouldn't come as much of surprise that America has a few of its own indigenous languages.

One group, in particular, that developed languages of their own here are African Americans.

In the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia are a people known as the Gullah. The history of these people are as complex as the transatlantic slave trade and the history of enslaved agriculture in 17th and 18th Century America, but the presence of West African slaves, as well as white slave holders largely removed from the labor on those plantations, led to culture that survived the practice of chattel slavery in America.

In this region of the Southeastern United States the Gullah's culture and language are still alive, particularly in the Sea Islands area near Hilton Head. The Gullah's language is also in urban areas like Charleston and Savannah, and even New York City, following some of the migration patterns of industrialization and the movement of labor in America. Today we take a look at a video of a Gullah story teller in Hilton Head. Louise Miller Cohen, founder and director of the Gullah museum, works to keep her language and cultural history and legacy alive by telling stories, singing songs and sharing her knowledge of Gullah cuisine and medicine, in the Gullah language. Here we get to hear her telling a group of eco-tourists a children's story.