[lg policy] US: Gullah, other non-English indigenous languages struggle to survive

[Gareth Price]

Frankie Quimby of the Georgia Sea Island Singers remembers when the
Geechee language, formally known as Gullah, was unpopular and known as
the language of the uneducated.

"It was a time when black history was not taught in schools," Quimby
said. "The teachers said (students) have lost their heritage."

Indigenous and non-English languages such as Gullah - which originated
with slaves from West Africa and includes some English - face a host
of obstacles to survival in today's United States, including a lack of
resources, the fact that most of the speakers are dying off and a
stigma that the languages are for uneducated people. But some schools
and programs are fighting that stigma and trying to preserve these
languages for a new generation.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/07/31/3047943/indigenous-non-english-languages.html#ixzz1TvQW6nwK


-- 
Dr. Gareth Price
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies
316 Languages Building, Box 90259
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708-0259
USA
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