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Afro-Seminole Creole (ASC) is a dialect of
Gullah
The Gullah () are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and cultu ...
spoken by
Black Seminoles
The Black Seminoles, or Afro-Seminoles are Native American-Africans associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are mostly blood descendants of the Seminole people, free Africans, and escaped slaves, who allied with Seminole ...
in scattered communities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Northern Mexico.
["Creoles in Texas – 'The Afro-Seminoles'.” ''Kreol Magazine''. March 28, 2014.](_blank)
Accessed April 11, 2018.
Afro-Seminole Creole was first identified in 1978 by
Ian Hancock
Ian Francis Hancock ( Romani: Yanko le Redžosko; born 29 August 1942) 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.
He is director ...
, a
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
at the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. Before that, no one in the academic world was aware of its existence. ASC arose when enslaved Gullah speakers from the South Carolina and Georgia coastal region, later called "Black Seminoles," escaped from slavery on rice plantations and fled into the Florida wilderness. This process began in the late 1600s, and continued into the 1830s. In Florida, the Black Seminoles built their own independent communities, but established a close partnership with the
Seminole Indians
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
. That alliance helped protect both groups during the
First and Second Seminole Wars.
The present-day speakers of Afro-Seminole Creole live in
Seminole County, Oklahoma
Seminole County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,482. Its county seat is Wewoka. Most of the county was a reservation for the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma which still retains jurisd ...
and
Brackettville, Texas
Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,688 at the 2010 census, down from 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County.
History
Founded in 1852 as "Las Moras" (the name of a nearb ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, and in
Nacimiento de los Negros,
Coahuila,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. ASC is threatened with extinction as there are only about 200 native speakers today.
The speakers of ASC are all descendants of the Black Seminoles who settled in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and then, through a series of wars and other threats, were driven first to what is now Oklahoma and Northern Mexico, and later into Texas after the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. The speakers of ASC are all 65 years of age or older, so unless actions are soon taken, ASC will likely be extinct in one or two decades.
See also
*
Black Seminoles
The Black Seminoles, or Afro-Seminoles are Native American-Africans associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are mostly blood descendants of the Seminole people, free Africans, and escaped slaves, who allied with Seminole ...
*
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...
*
Gullah language
Gullah (also called Gullah-English, Sea Island Creole English, and Geechee) is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people (also called "Geechees" within the community), an African-American population living in coastal regions of South Car ...
*
Krio language
Sierra Leonean Creole or Krio is an English-based creole language that is lingua franca and de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Krio is spoken by 96 percent of the country's population, and it uni ...
*
Mascogos
The Mascogos (also known as ''negros mascagos'') are an Afro-descendant group in Coahuila, Mexico. Centered on the town of El Nacimiento in Múzquiz Municipality, the group are descendants of Black Seminoles escaping the threat of slavery in t ...
*
Muskogean languages
Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...
*
Ian Hancock
Ian Francis Hancock ( Romani: Yanko le Redžosko; born 29 August 1942) 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.
He is director ...
Notes
References
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20050511220455/http://www.linguasphere.org/anglo_creole.pdf
American Creole
English-based pidgins and creoles
Languages of Mexico
Languages of the United States
Multiracial affairs in the United States
Black Seminoles
Languages of the African diaspora
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