Linguistic Features of the Gullah Creole in the Movie "Daughters of the Dust"

master's thesis

• Author: Ana Maria Pepelko
• Mentor: Višnja Josipović-Smojver (mentor)
• Committee member: Marina Grubišić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2023-02-09, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

The Gullah language, linguistically known as an English-based creole language, is a variety spoken by the Gullah people in coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia and Northeast Florida. Until nowadays, this rich mixture of African words and the English language spoken hundreds of years ago remains one of the most preserved creole languages spoken by approximately 250,000 people of African descent. The aim of this thesis is to examine the most prominent features of Gullah on the data analysis of the movie entitled Daughters of the Dust from 1991, the first movie directed and produced by Julie Dash, an African-American woman. The movie gained a general theatrical release due to its cultural and historical significance. The first part of the thesis will consist of a necessary theoretical survey of the history, origins, social and historical background of Gullah, as well as its linguistic features, all of which influenced Gullah and its development and usage throughout the years. The second part of the thesis will present an empirical qualitative research of its features based on the dialogues featured in the movie under consideration. These features will be compared to the ones described in the existing literature.

• Keywords: Gullah; Creole; Geechee; Daughters of the Dust; linguistic features; phonology; grammar
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:831517
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation; Course: Linguistics; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Access restricted to students and staff of home institution
• Created on: 2023-02-16 22:38:47