Afro-Seminole Creole
Encyclopedia
Afro-Seminole Creole is an English
-based creole
spoken by Black Seminoles
in scattered communities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Northern Mexico.
It was first identified as a language by Ian Hancock
, a linguist at the University of Texas.
He found that speakers of Afro-Seminole Creole live in Seminole County, Oklahoma
and Brackettville, Texas
in the United States
and in Nacimiento de los Negros, Coahuila
, in Mexico
. There are about 200 speakers of the language. Hancock theorizes that Afro-Seminole Creole is related to the Gullah language
, a creole spoken in the coastal region and Sea Islands
of the U.S. state
s of South Carolina
and Georgia
, and that both are part of English-based creoles.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-based creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
spoken by Black Seminoles
Black Seminoles
The Black Seminoles is a term used by modern historians for the descendants of free blacks and some runaway slaves , mostly Gullahs who escaped from coastal South Carolina and Georgia rice plantations into the Spanish Florida wilderness beginning as early as the late 17th century...
in scattered communities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Northern Mexico.
It was first identified as a language by Ian Hancock
Ian Hancock
Ian Hancock is a linguist, Romani scholar, and political advocate. He was born and raised in England, and is one of the main contributors in the field of Romani studies....
, a linguist at the University of Texas.
He found that speakers of Afro-Seminole Creole live in Seminole County, Oklahoma
Seminole County, Oklahoma
Seminole County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 24,894 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Wewoka. Before Oklahoma's admission as a state, the county was the entire small portion of Indian Territory allocated to the Seminoles. Seminole County has been an...
and Brackettville, Texas
Brackettville, Texas
Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in Nacimiento de los Negros, Coahuila
Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
, in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. There are about 200 speakers of the language. Hancock theorizes that Afro-Seminole Creole is related to the Gullah language
Gullah language
Gullah is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people , an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S...
, a creole spoken in the coastal region and Sea Islands
Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and that both are part of English-based creoles.
External links
- Afro-Seminole Creole at EthnologueEthnologueEthnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
- http://www.linguasphere.org/anglo_creole.pdf