This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

Black Atlantic Identity Research Project

Important Terminology

Terminology:

The Black Atlantic:
The Black Atlantic is famously defined by Paul Gilroy as a particular culture that developed from African, North American, British, and Caribbean cultures, including Indigenous cultures. The Black Atlantic is also relevant to "The Long 18th Century," a term used to describe a period between what is commonly considered the late 17th century to the early 19th century which covered many interlocking events and developments.

Black Atlantic Linguistic Identity:
A Black Atlantic Linguistic Identity is a term that I am using to argue that there is a time capsule which represents a Black Atlantic born culture, that was centered in the United States, which can be indexed through language. The phonology, syntax, terminology and so on can be traced to multiple language families and traditions, but it is foregrounded in The Long 18th Century and represents a specific kind of cultural development, resistance and assimilation which took place during that time period in the Southern United States. The richly studied Gullah Geechee language is a salient example of this.

The Great Migration
The Great Migration refers to two large population shifts of primarily Black Americans throughout the 20th century of the United States.

Heritage Language
Carmen Fought defines Heritage Language "a language [that makes] makes [the speaker] members of a particular ethnic group" (21). The term Heritage Language is particular important and relevant to my overall project because it puts a focus on the way language is a particular tenant of being a part of certain identities. Some languages are culturally considered Heritage Langauges within in-groups and some are not. However, I posit it is useful to consider certain forms of AAVE a Heritage Language as they relate to a Black Atlantic Linguistic Identity.

This page has paths:

Contents of this path:

This page is referenced by:

Black Atlantic Linguistic Identity Research Project Proposal Since the late 20^th century, there has been a growing interest in the Gullah Geechee culture of Lowland Georgia and the South Carolina Coast. This particular area is remarkable because multiple historical factors as well as the semi-isolated status of the coastal region and islands has provided the Black ethnic groups in the region the opportunity to preserve certain African retentions not as observable in other parts of the United States. This is especially true in regards to language – the Gullah Geechee people speak a language variety that is similar to 18^th century Igbo language and dialect. The Gullah Geechee region is unique, but the concept of African retentions is not unheard of across the diaspora in the U.S.

I believe that the scholarship around African linguistic retention in the Gullah Geechee area serves as a useful foundation of grounding to further study linguistic retention through the U.S., especially as it concerns the transfer of language across the Great Migration of the early 20^th century.

My Primary Claim

My primary claim is that there are identifiable Black Atlantic identities that can be indexed through language. The reach of The Black Atlantic is long and can be traced through language. I place The Great Migration as an important period where the reach of the Black Atlantic can be observed through retentions and loss.

I am focusing on The Great Migration because I believe it serves as a significant epoch in which Black people affected – either retained or lost - what I am generally calling a Black Atlantic Linguistic Identity. To explore this idea, I creating a project with two parts. The first part is a tradition overview or lit review of Black Atlantic Linguistics. The second part is survey done through multiple forms of participation: surveys, interviews or video submissions. The results of these observations and anecdotes will then be mapped onto storymaps. The general questions to prime the interview will ask the participant to give a rough timeline of their family’s movement out of the Southern United States as well as their familiarity with certain phonology, nomenclature and words. The survey would give precise questions and be used for more precise data collection and the interviews and video submissions would give a storytelling aspect to the project. The ultimate purpose of this would be an interactive way to find vestiges of Black Atlantic identities as they moved through the 20^th century geographically. How much of this identity was retained as it moved northwards compared to groups with stronger connections to or still residing in the American South?

This is a primarily qualitative project that employs story telling as well as visual data collection

Sample/Mockup/DoNotTake: Black Atlantic Linguistic Identity Survey
(This is a mock up of what the survey could take the form of)
Black Linguistic Identity Map
(For now I am using story maps, but I plan to create a more sophisticated map that allows for a timeline, plotting and better pop ups)

This page references:

AAVE Chart