De Good Nyews Bout Translayshun...

From an AP story in Friday's Napa Valley Register newspaper:

• After 26 years of work, Gullah Bible is finally finished
  
  More than a quarter century after the laborious work began, the New Testament has finally been translated into Gullah, the creole language spoken by slaves and their descendants for generations along the sea islands of the Southeast coast.
  
  [...]
  
  The culture -- called Gullah in the Carolinas and Geechee in Florida and Georgia -- remained intact with descendants of slaves because of the isolation of the region's sea islands. Now, about 250,000 Gullahs live in the four-state coastal area and about 10,000 of them speak Gullah as their main language.
  
  "De Nyew Testament," published by the American Bible Society, went on sale this month.
  
  [...]
  
  The Bible is written with the English translation in the margins.
  
  "That's the beauty of the way it's written," said Emory Campbell, who retired three years ago after 22 years as executive director at the Penn Center. "The non-Gullah speakers can easily translate what the written Gullah is about. In a way, we are going to be training other people how to speak Gullah."
  
  Click here to read the entire article.

The first gospel to be published was Luke, in 1995. When it was distributed at that time, it was called: "De Good Nyews Bout Jedus Christ Wa Luke Write." Here are a few snippets from it:

• Luke 22:19, 20
  
  First, the KJV: And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
  
  Now, De Good Nyews: Jedus take some bread an tank God. Den e broke de bread op, gem ta e postle dem. E say, "Dis bread me body wa A gibe ta God fa oona sake. Oona mus eat um fa memba me." Same way, atta de Passoba suppa, Jedus take de cup ob wine and gem ta e postle dem. E say, "De wine een dis cup is de nyew greement tween God an e people. A da make dat greement come true wid me blood, wen A gree fa leh people kill me fa oona sake.
  
  
• Luke 2:7
  
  KJV: And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
  
  De Good Nyews: She habe boy chile, e fusbon. E wrop um op een clothe wa been teah eenta leetle strip an lay um een a trough, de box weh feed de cow and oda animal. Cause Mary an Joseph beena stay weh de animal sleep. Dey ain't been no room fa dem eenside de bodin house.
  
  
• Luke 22:1, 2
  
  KJV: Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him, for they feared the people.
  
  De Good Nyews: De time mos come fa de Feas ob Unleavened Bread, de Jew holiday wen dey eat bread wa ain't habe no yeast een um. Dey call dat de Passoba holiday. De leada dem ob de Jew priest and de Law teacha dem been study dey hed fa figga how fa kill Jedus widout nobody findin out bout um. Cause dey been scaid ob de people.

I feared that, by posting this, some might think I was making a critical -- or, worse, a racist -- commentary. On the contrary, the notion of making the bible accessible to everyone by bringing it to them, and on their terms, instead of the other way around, has always appealed to me... and, clearly, was Martin Luther's motivation when he made his translation into the common language of the German people in the 16th century. I think, therefore, that the work of, for example Wycliffe Bible Translators, a nonprofit, nondenominational bible translation mission (which worked on the Gullah project) is a good thing... with the more than 500 other-than-English translations under its belt to date.

During the twentieth century Gullah was stigmatized for being "broken" or bad English and as a result was spoken only within the family, not in public. Now the coastal communities are in danger of losing Gullah as older generations die. Some in the community only speak Gullah or prefer Gullah to English. For these individuals, studying scripture has been difficult. The Gullah translation, therefore, is important because it not only makes accessible an important text for many Gullah Christians, but also because it contributes to the preservation of the language and its culture.

This translation means that those who speak either primarily Gullah, or only Gullah, may now worship in their native tongue. Or does it? Because Gullah is a spoken language; and because it is common for speakers of a spoken-only language to be unable (or at least barely able) to read or write it, I worry that the translation will be of more value as a historical language preservation document than as a means of getting the Word to those who, 'til now, could not easily read it.

What are anyone's thoughts, just generally? Interesting? Think it's great? Boring? Don't care? Worry that it's just another kind of Ebonics... or at least Ebonics-like? Comments... anyone?

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE: The thread's title is lifted from a 1997 article in the Adoremus Bulletin Online.

 

Good Job

I think it's very interesting. I have done extensive traveling in the south, diving and just learning a little history. Languages are like trades, they are dying with the old and ignored by the young.

I spent a couple years studying the religions the slaves originated so their masters, at first blush, would believe they had instilled Christianity in the poor folks. They use Christian Saints to represent their gods. These religions are still practiced, but as the lucky young move, and attend school, they tend to give-up the old superstitions, somewhat.

Some beliefs are very benign, for healing the sick of body and heart. Others are considered less gracious and a way of attaining revenge or personal gain by forcing the Orishas or Loa (gods) to do their bidding.

I studied Santeria, Palo Mayombe, Abaqua, Voodoo (Vodun), and Hoodoo. The last two are of direct African decent, and the others are a syncrotization of Catholicism and various pagan religions like Yoruba etc... and became trusted by the priests, about as much as possible.

I'm no where close to having your knowledge of religion, but find your studies thorough and enlightening.

The languages spoken were just as you mentioned and took quite awhile to speak. Although, the Bible has been translated, the old ways are alive and mojo bags can be found in most church attendees' clothing.

I grew up with nannies and housekeepers who practiced these religions. They cared for me as if I were their family. So I felt an obligation to learn their creed. I don't believe in Ebonics, but think one should speak, or attempt to learn, the indigenous language.

 

Same

Gregg,
If you're racist, I'm liberal. And we know that ain't happenin' while I'm still suckin' air. Being conservative doesn't mean closed-minded, it just means I'm right. And I've paid my debts to society several times over, so I don't feel an affinity to care for illegals. If something is mine no scumbag murderer, like Kennedy, is touchin' it. And he has the audacity to question someones integrity?Gimmie a break.

I think all politicians are bottom-feeders, but we're stuck with them till we find somethin' that will consume them and not be poisoned in the process. They tend to eat their own and survive. Maybe we can produce an hallucinogen that makes them look like vittles (to each other) and speed-up the procedure?

And my computer is haulin'-ass, so thanks again.

 

Clay:

You left out --..-- and .-.-.-

 

-.-- . .--.

Got me! You are the only one to check. Now you have created interest, I'll wait before making corrections and additions.

 

One of the interesting aspects of this rendering is that the American Bible Society had originally intended to represent the Gullah sound system with the International Phonetic Alphabet, but after conferring with Gullah speakers, they decided to use a variant of English orthography (down to the unnecessary apostrophe in "ain't").

When I was a linguistics student, my teachers spoke of the American Bible Society and its Summer Institute of Linguistics with greatest respect, and of its first director, Kenneth Pike, with awe.

Whatever the contemporary view, future linguistics students are going to bless the translators for their work.

 

Same

Steve,
I figured no one would respond, given the statement, but you guys are too sharp. I'll come up with something, I wouldn't touch.



3$bill,
Did you or are you teaching at the DLI? I realize it's a shortcut, but do linguists frown upon it?

 

International Morse Code

I actually sailed (briefly) as a commercial marine radiotelegraph operator during Gulf War I.

Heck! I even know ---..., -....-, -..-., -.--.-, -.--.-., .-..-., -..-. and ..--..!

I had to know, and be able to USE, all the weird punctuation.

There were a few more, like the dollar sign, that I don't remember off hand. Just recently, the ITU adopted something for the "@" sign but I doubt I'll ever use it.

I never learned the true Morse Code. By the time I got interested, the last landline manual telegraph circuits were long gone, so there was no point. It is SUPPOSED to be 10 per cent faster or so than International Morse.

Now, of course, manual telegraphy has all be completely disappeared from the airwaves; the last users are amateur radio operators but country after country is eliminating the code test from their licensing requirements so it's only a matter of time.

Sigh.

 

I'm inclined to think that it's a stunt.

Is Gullah a written language? (Or creole dialect or whatever it is.) Is there anyone on earth who is literate in Gullah but not in conventional English? Is there any Gullah literature at all, of any kind?

I gather that there's a certain kind of scholarly evangelical who have taken upon themselves the mission of translating the Bible (or some of the new testament at least) into every language on earth.

But if there's nobody literate in the obscure languages they are translating the Bible into, nobody there who would be able to read the product of their labors, it seems to me that this grand translation mission is more for the benefit of the people doing translating than for their (probably nonexistent) readers.

Add to that the fact that it's all part of a greater worldwide missionary effort to destroy traditional cultures and traditional beliefs, and I have to say that I don't like it at all.

 

Did Justin Wilson translate this?

 

Most of me started this thread 'cause I think the whole thing's kinda' cool and fascinating. It's fun to read Gullah, and both compare it to the King James version; and to try to hear the Gullah in my head as I'm reading. It's culturally enlightening; and it's kinda' reminiscent of reading certain dialog passages from the book The Color Purple... which I really like. It's all just terribly interesting, for reasons I can't articulate very well.

But there's another part of me -- a much more cynical part, I'm sorry to say -- some of whose thoughts are summarized, with uncanny precision, by what you wrote, Bill.

I'm just glad it was you who wrote it, and not me.

 

New Mexico State University actually offers a course in"Spanglish", the sort-of Creole product of the Mexican-U.S. Border.

I must tell you, though I speak, read, write and understand Mexican Spanish fairly well (read a newspaper, report an accident, curse at a politician, protest my innocence, that sort of thing ), I cannot understand more than 20% of the average Spanglish conversation. Even our certified Court interpreters complain if the dialect gets too thick.

It's a worthy study in linguistics, I think.

 

Re: Same

No, Clay, my concentration was in TESOL. I can get by in Japanese and French but not well enough to teach them at any place like DLI. I teach stats where I'm a graduate student and I teach writing on line at Axia College.

The Defense Language Institute had a tremendous impact on foreign language teaching after WWII, with a method grounded in structural linguistics, employing lots of pattern practice, mimicry and memorization.

I have no idea if they still use that method, which fell precipitously out of fashion, along with structural linguistics.

I'd guess most theoretical linguists would say it's none of their business how DLI teaches, and applied linguists (language teachers) would judge it according to its relation to the methods they were taught to teach by.

(Three most difficult words to pronounce--or write, evidently--in English, "I don't know.")

 

Personally, I think the translation of the Bible into even an unwritten language like Gullah is brilliant. Such an effort may very well contribute to the preservation of the language, and often increase the likelihood of people reading the Bible with understanding and actually being affected by its message. This kind of cultural preservation has been facilitated multiple times over in numerous tribal groups especially.

As for Bill D's comment about the destruction of cultures, an informed response can be had here and here.


Peace,

Matt

 

Without gainsaying these points, I can see some secular value in the overall project.

These languages are obscure to us, but not, of course to their speakers. Pace Plato, I think literacy benefits a culture, not least in preserving languages that would otherwise perish and providing opportunities for the traditional cultures at risk to defend themselves: e.g. indigenous literature, schoolbooks, reference works, and written records of traditions, laws, and political institutions.

Literacy in a community often begins through the efforts by outsiders to disseminate a culturally disruptive text, e.g. the New Testament, the Koran, the Little Red Book. The form of its development, however, is beyond the control of those who got it started.

Saul Bellow notoriously asked of non-literate cultures, "Where is their Iliad? Where is their War and Peace?" It's not inconceivable that through the efforts of the ABS we may eventually find out.

The case of Gullah is a little different, given the close relationship of the lect to English and the role of Christianity in the culture already. I'd speculate that the publication of the NT in Gullah might provide a powerful warrant for writers in the community who want to write in their mother tongue, and perhaps even the development of a Gullahn (sp?) literature in the face of opposition from those who consider it "broken" English.

My sister lives in Beaufort, SC, where Gullah lore is marketed as a tourist commodity, and she sends me books of tales, folk magic, and so forth from time to time. At worst, these can now be written in the actual tongue, by its speakers, rather than in a necessarily condescending quaintification of English by outsiders, however respectful.

 

But the problem is, it's a spoken (only) language. Who, besides the respectfully condescending (as you refer to them in the next of your words that I've quoted, below) is writing in it?

So... wait a sec... are we saying that this NT translation will herald the re-writing of former works about Gullah in Gullah itself, by Gullah speakers... as if the NT translation were a Rosetta Stone of sorts?

 

I meant to contrast the condescension inherent in rendering another's tongue as a version of one's own to the conscious attitudes of the writers.

What the folklorists are writing is quite different from the excerpts you posted. It's an ad hoc attempt to write a Gullah-sounding English that is not based on an analysis of Gullah at all. I would certainly rather read the real thing if it becomes available.

Well, first of all, like everyone else writing on this topic here, I have no idea of the actual current state of the written lect. (I use the jargony "lect" or "tongue" to sidestep the issue of whether Gullah is a variety of English; it is what it is, whatever we call it.)

But a spoken-only language is just a language that does not (yet) have a (standard) writing system. Swahili was a spoken-only language once, as was English, as were Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Gullah now has such a system, if its speakers care to use it.

I suspect, as in Jamaica, there is a continuum between standard English and standard Gullah, and where a particular instance of language falls on that continuum depends on who is communicating to whom, what the topic is, the register, the setting, and the medium, as well.

If the same person, writing to a fellow Gullah reader, leaves a note for the UPS driver, or writes an excuse for their child at school, or takes minutes at a PTA meeting, I'd guess that they might use different linguistic forms in each case.

Just as they might use different varieties in addressing the PTA or speaking to the same people at a party--the same as we all do, but with a potentially wider available spectrum--the widest being available to the off-island educated who grew up in Gullah households.

Again, I have no idea what published writing on the Sea Islands looks like--articles in the community weekly newspaper, letters to its editor, signs in store windows, etc. I'd be very surprised if Gullah had no effect on the English used.

I don't think the Rosetta Stone is analagous, because its value was in enabling translation, which is not an issue for Gullah speakers writing Gullah. It might be a Rosetta Stone for those of us who would like to learn it.

Again, again, I don't know the status of Christianity on the Sea Islands, although I suspect it's quite important. If it is, then the prestige of a canonical text in a standard written version of the language can play an important part in the development of the literature in that language.

I certainly don't know and didn't say that it will. For all I know, the Gullah people have been laughing up their sleeves at the American Bible Society scholars for 26 years. I don't know Gullah attitudes towards outsiders' reading, or speaking, or trying to write in their lect.

I do believe that there are native speakers of Gullah who want to write about their culture, their history, their families, to write imaginative fiction, or eloquent sermons. And I imagine some of them feel the same kind of ambivalence that Burns felt about whether to write in Scots or in English, or that John Clare felt about writing in his dialect or in standard English.

The critical verdict on these writers is pretty much on the side of the vernacular, although both could write skillfully in both. And I think that if they had had Bibles written in their native lects, their poetry and our culture would have benefited.

So I think it is possible, yes, that a New Testament in Gullah might have a beneficial effect on Gullah culture, might presage a literary outpouring that could include writing of traditional Gullah lore, in Gullah, eventually for a general readership. I certainly hope so.

 

And, just to be clear, I didn't mean for the way I worded my question -- especially the "as you refer to them" phrase -- as in any way critical of said reference.

Wait a sec... I'm just trying to understand... you're saying that the folklorists stuff, and not the NT translation, is the ad hoc attempt? 'Cause I got the impression that the NT translation was based on an analysis of Gullah. Or are you saying that because it was approached from a "let's get this thing translated; and to do so we've got to figure out how to make Gullah sounds on paper using English phonetic rules" rather than a "let's do a linguistic analysis of Gullah; and let's translate the New Testament as an exercize in support thereof" angle, it is, therefore, ad hoc?

I think there's no question that it's a variety of English, is there? I mean, it seems to me that Gullah is not really a mixture of two languages in the same sense that, for example, what Filipinos call "Taglish" is a mixture of Tagalog and occasional, tossed-in English words/phrases; but is clearly a variety of Tagalog, and not English. Gullah, it seems to me, is the result of decades-old (centuries-old, actually) attempts at speaking English, but influenced (or, perhaps more accurately, impeded) by long-ago-blended and no-longer-individually-identifiable languages and dialects... such that the result is English spoken badly or even recklessly.

Right there... what you just wrote... that notion of there now being a system (I presume you mean as a result of the NT translation) is where I got the Rosetta Stone idea. Are you suggesting that this NT translation can now be a roadmap for Gullah speakers to finally put what they've been saying down on paper? Now that they can see how the sounds they've been making look on paper, they can use it to add a writing/reading system?

No argument here.

I'm betting you're right. But I'll bet whenever it's written, it's far, far closer to written English than to spoken Gullah. But now you make me want to go there and see for myself! Is anyone here a travel agent? (kidding)

Or write or read it. The Rosetta Stone isn't about translating spoken word; it's about translating written word... and to that end, it provided a simple roadmap. I would argue that when a spoken language has no written system; and when there's a language into which its words can be translated which does, then it's as much in need of a Rosetta Stone-like roadmap as any two languages which both have spoken and written forms. That's all I meant.

It would play an even more important part to modern English speakers who wish to learn to speake/write Gullah if it had been translated from a more modern version than the King James. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) would have been nice. But now I digress... wildly.

Since one of those involved with the project was one of the English speakers who grew-up on the islands hearing and knowing Gullah, I strongly suspect the project was taken seriously; but that doesn't mean that Gullah speakers necessarily want their culture to leave the islands. Who knows, eh.

If I really wanted people to hail it as a cultural/linguistic masterpiece long after I'm dead, I think I'd write in one language on the left-facing page, and that same material in the other language on the right-facing one. But that's just me.

James Joyce certainly didn't seem conflicted about it, did he?

Again, no argument... and well said, I might add.

So then you mean... sorta' like a Rosetta Stone? (Just messin' widtcha')

Thanks, Bill. When I started this thread, you were right at the top of my list of DI members whom I was hoping would chime-in here. Your vast knowledge of, and considered opinions regarding, such matters is both appreciated and respected... at least by me.

 

Geechee has been in vogue for years in Charleston and low country South Carolina. To be a respected member of Charleston's upper crust, Geechee often times intermingles with english and rolls off the tounge like water off a duck's back...anything else a person would be easily labeled an imposter, worthy to be ostrasized from all important social gatherings! :0)

Geechee is taken with great pride, and many endeavor to "pour it on" it is a signal that says: "I'm an indigenous species not some recently transplanted roust-about who is trying to assimilate!"

They enjoy a free agent status that would make any language Cinderella jealous, and South Carolina enjoys their company!

Gavin