Buh Lion bin a hunt, an eh spy Buh Goat duh leddown topper er big rock duh wuk eh mout an der chaw. Eh creep up fuh ketch um. Wen eh git close ter um eh notus um good. Buh Goat keep on chaw. Buh Lion try fuh fine out wuh Buh Goat duh eat. Eh yent see nuttne nigh um ceptin de nekked rock wuh eh duh leddown on. Buh Lion stonish. Eh wait topper Buh Goat. Buh Goat keep on chaw, an chaw, an chaw. Buh Lion cant mek de ting out, an eh come close, an eh say: "Hay! Buh Goat, wuh you duh eat?" Buh Goat skade wen Buh Lion rise up befo um, but eh keep er bole harte, an eh mek ansur: "Me duh chaw dis rock, an ef you dont leff, wen me done long um me guine eat you." Dis big wud sabe Buh Goat. Bole man git outer diffikelty way coward man lose eh life.
Translation: Buh Lion was hunting, and he spied Buh Goat lying down on top of a big rock working his mouth and chewing. He crept up to catch him. When he got close to him, he watched him good. Buh Goat kept on chewing. Buh Lion tried to find out what Buh Goat was eating. He didn't see anything near him except the naked rock which he was lying down on. Buh Lion was astonished. He waited for Buh Goat. Buh Goat kept on chewing, and chewing, and chewing. Buh Lion couldn't make the thing out, and he came close, and he said: "Hey! Buh Goat, what are you eating?" Buh Goat was scared when Buh Lion rose up before him, but he kept a bold heart, and he made (his) answer: "I am chewing this rock, and if you don't leave me (alone), when I am done with it I will eat you." This big word saved Buh Goat. A bold man gets out of difficulty where a cowardly man loses his life.
Gullah language todayThe Gullah language is spoken today by about 250,000 people in coastal South Carolina and Georgia. Although some scholars argue that Gullah has changed little since the 19th century, it is clear that at least some decreolization has taken place. In other words, some African-influenced grammatical structures that were present a century ago are no longer found in the language today. Nonetheless, Gullah is still decidedly a creole language and still quite distinct from English.
For generations, outsiders stigmatized Gullah speakers, regarding their language as a mark of ignorance and low social status. As a result, Gullah people developed the habit of speaking their language only within the confines of their own homes and local communities, and avoided the possibility of being seen speaking it in public situations outside the safety of their home areas. Ironically, the prejudice of outsiders was probably a factor in helping preserve the language.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was raised a Gullah speaker in coastal Georgia. When asked why he has little to say during hearings of the court, he told a reporter that the ridicule he received for his Gullah speech as a young man caused him to develop the habit of listening rather than speaking in public.
But in recent years educated Gullah people have begun promoting use of Gullah as a symbol of cultural pride. In 2005, Gullah community leaders announced the completion of a translation of the New Testament into modern Gullah, a project that took more than 20 years to complete.
Gullah New TestamentThis passage is from the New Testament in modern Gullah:
Now Jedus been bon een Betlem town, een Judea, jurin de same time wen Herod been king. Atta Jedus been bon, some wise man dem dat study bout de staa dem come ta Jerusalem fom weh dey been een de east. And dey aks say, "Weh de chile da, wa bon fa be de Jew people king? We beena see de staa wa tell bout um een de east, an we come fa woshup um op. Wen King Herod yeh dat, e been opsot fa true. And ebrybody een Jerusalem been opsot too. E call togeda all de leada dem ob de Jew priest dem and de Jew Law teacha dem. E aks um say, "Weh de Messiah gwine be bon at?" Dey tell King Herod say, "E gwine be bon een Betlem town een Judea."
Translation: Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem town, in Judea, during the same time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some wise men that studied about the stars came to Jerusalem from where they were in the east. And they asked, "Where is the child, who was born to be the Jewish king? We saw the star which told about him in the east, and we came to worship him." When King Herod heard that, he was truly upset. And everybody in Jerusalem was upset too. He called together all the leaders of the Jewish priests and the Jewish Law teachers. He asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?" They told King Herod that, "He will be born in Bethlehem town in Judea."
Notes^ a b Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (2005). Sea Island Creole English. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Ethnologue. Retrieved on 2007-03-01.
^ Mill and Montgomery "Introduction to Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect by Lorenzo Turner" xix–xxiv, Gonzales "The Black Border: Gullah Stories of the Carolina Coast
