Sunn M'cheaux Teaches the Gullah Language

[@DZImedia]

I’m Gullah fum Fladda by wey Jaxyville n dem, my own mudda wak fo da bukra system abs she tell me say I clat too Geechee like my fadda peppo I’m now 32 and can speak three languages and I now understand they can’t stop us from being who webe

[@Nisa1971]

I'm from south Louisiana. Is it strange that i understand him completely without explanation/definitions? What a wonderful dialogue! My sincerest thanks to you both!

[@the7thdean1]

I'm from North Louisiana, I'll have to go back and watch. Had to jump off.

[@rashnl7]

Not at all. Same people, placed in different places.

[@Nisa1971]

@@the7thdean1 hey sis we might be cousins!🥰 It's amazing to have this channel, knarrative and black star network. The discussions give me life!

[@Thelifeofaubreii]

I’m from Louisiana too. & sometimes my native language wanna come out & i don’t be understanding ; then i start over and speak English. However i wanna know know.

[@mcolemanusc]

Nah it's not strange at all. We the same folks bro. When I go to Louisiana they always love to hear me talk bc they immediately say we cousins

[@micheleholley1070]

Professor Karen, thank you so very much. Based on the way this gentleman speaks I believe my mother was Gullah Geechie . My mother would always say she and her people where from Jamaica. Jamaican people never embraced my mother, so it confused me. I was young and did not understand how the slave trade traveled and all the while until my mamma made transition she was so sure she and her people where from Jamaica. No one has ever taught the Gullah Geechie history. I have heard Black people use the word "Geechie" as a derogatory word. I will look up the Gullah Geechie people and perhaps I will see my mamma's face. Thank you Professor Karen for this segment.

[@rudiannwildgoose-laing4629]

I am from Grand Bahama, Bahamas🇧🇸 and was told that slaves from South Carolina or the Carolinas were brought to some of the our islands. Professor your guest Sunn M'cheaux does sound like us.🤭

[@sage-in742]

My mom beamed with a knowing smile as she listen to this conversation. She was born and raised in Harlem but her father was from Charleston, South Carolina.. .what a wonderful discussion!

[@technowey]

Sunn m'Cheaux - Thank you for being who you are.

[@ljett1849]

I was an adult before I realized that my South Carolinian grandmother and her sisters spoke Gullah. In the family we called it that "mash up talk" As a child growing up in the northeast I learned to code switch after being sent to speech therapy for two years. As my older relatives passed, that way of speaking has diminshed in the family. Now, Its hard to remember much of it as I no longer use it. Sometimes If I concentrate without thinking too much I can recall it.

[@jamaicanprincess87630]

I am from Jamaica and it was amazing hearing this conversation. When I came to the US for university, I was required to take College Writing 101 because I was from a foreign nation and had to learn how to “speak” and “write” properly. I am so glad to see that my native dialect is featured here. I hate having to switch my natural way of speaking off in order for people to understand me. But this segment has made me change my outlook. Just like they have to understand others, they will have to understand me.

[@the7thdean1]

Yes, SC was the entry point. My grandmother on my father's side people came in through South Carolina.

[@aquarianink5385]

My family roots are based in another state. My Grandmother said her grand-parents were from SC.

[@MichiDavis09]

Thank you for sharing our language and culture! 🥰 ~ Gullah/Geechee Descendant

[@Islandside63]

💯

[@aprilallen2601]

My son currently attends SC State University. His dialect has changed, especially when he is at home with us. Listening to this, he's speaking a derivative of Gullah Geechee. My God, what a strong people we are. His roommates and best friends are from the low country. Further, I hear my grandmother when he speaks. I'm going to value his language and not correct him. He's majoring in English. Thank you!!!! Learning to love every piece of ourselves is such a beautiful thing.

[@ellenadams3371]

SC State is my Alma mater

[@faithmason9562]

Loving this conversation all the way from the SC lowcountry. Boonkey is a whole word!

[@paulinebryant6480]

I am from Savannah Ga, and I miss my language from childhood at the age of 11 years old I went to Atlanta for two years. I hate that I lost so much of my comfort language.

[@Ava-wc7mf]

Man... i am from St Lucia my friend is from St Vincent and the first time we went to south carolina I asked the server in the restaurant where he was from.. We both thought he was from Antigua. Then he telling me he from SC.. boi.. my mind blow deh same time..

[@bishopjd2]

My former pastor's father was from Wadmala Island, SC and he sounded Caribbean

[@BaadleaBeedleBop]

White lady from the North here. I’m visiting Charleston for the first time and purchased a woven basket from an artisan at the Market. This led me to learn more about this beautiful culture and the hard work that is going on to preserve it. I understand and accept that I benefit from the crimes in which my ancestors were complicit. And I am committed to respecting ALL peoples and cultures for who they are and the rich heritage they bring. FWIW, knowthere is one white lady out here whose hand is extended in friendship and peace.

[@jasoncallahan7817]

I don't know what I watched on youtube that caused Sunn M'cheaux to pop up in my recommendations, but I am so glad it happened. I love his videos and I love this interview.

[@ViccyVale]

I figured it out very fast as well being raised by my great grand parents who were Gullah Geechie. ❤This warms my heart so much.

[@urbanradionation]

Great interview. The Gullah Geechee culture is a culture that is very distinct from other African American cultures within the United States. It's more like Bahamian and Jamaican culture. The African influence is so apparent in the language along with the quilt and basket making. For generations the Black community up North looked down on Geechies who spoke too fast and used so-called broken English. Way too African for sure for some... So glad Gullah Geechee is finally being recognized for the rich culture it is. Also don't forget the influence of the dark skinned Guale and Yamessee (Yemassee) indigenous people from the SC and Georgia area that intermingled centuries ago. It's a shame to think of how many children were put into speech therapy or special education for expressing their culture. There is so much to learn...in all of our cultures. With that being said never had black eyed peas among my South Carolina folks. Red beans but not black eyed peas.

[@gailbailey6945]

Black eyed peas and cornbread🙂👍🏽

[@whoahna8438]

The major difference is the accent and the baskets but everything else almost identical to any other Black American rural culture

[@jermen5137]

@@whoahna8438 not technically. In America all things get blended over time but that wasn’t how it used to be. It’s not just “an accent” but a full blown Language. Most foodways were specifically Gullah but over time they spread and just became “southern.” There is Gullah art, architecture, rituals and specific spiritualities birth in the Gullah nation. Which is hoodoo. Similarities but not that closely the same

[@whoahna8438]

@@jermen5137 Wait, are you suggesting that rural Black Americans outside The Low Country didn't have food ways until Gullah food got exported to them? Are you aware that from 1808 to 1865 most DEEP Southerners came from VA and MD not S.C or GA? Most were shipped through N.O but also Mobile, AL and other Gulf ports and that was well over 100k people so most Southerners would have more influences from VA and MD. Gullah's major migration is in the Northeast and FL. Have you not seen the amount of videos of Gullah speaking where people from all over comment about how their grandparents spoke in a similar fashion only with a different accent? Sure some different words choices but also some same word choices and of course different regions won't speak EXACTLY the same. Hoodoo is all over the South, there's no pin pointing it's origin in the South because we all came from the same places in Africa

[@jermen5137]

@@whoahna8438 no I’m saying specific things. Of course everyone has their things. Soul food leans more towards most all other black rural communities. Gullah food is different from soul food. But overall the major isolation from Europeans is what made Gullah so strong. Of course we say similar things and have some similar foods but it’s still a difference. Of course back then we were more similar than different but over time the Lowcountry was the largest import in the continent for the slaved, with little integration. There are even statists that show people of Gullah descent have the highest percentage of Black ancestry in America. Probably in the entire continent.

[@riri-rose]

Come on Dr M'cheaux!!!! WeOutchea

[@heathertea2704]

💯

[@nannettewhite1653]

Yes, I love this interview. We need more like this!!!!

[@NIJEECAPRICORN23]

Coastal islands of Georgia and South Carolinas are the home of the gullah geechee people 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾. I've been in love with the art of gullah and geechee people.

[@aquarianink5385]

I must take his class. Wow, so many seeds were dropped in this segment.

[@josedavid6203]

I have memories of this process .I was forced to take a speech class. A lot of similarities. This is amazing. Thanks to you both for this discussion.

[@edwinbrown4804]

I'm from Creole and Cajun country in South Louisiana as well. Every word he speaks is clear to me. Bring him back again.😎

[@yvonnemurphy7506]

I love it!!!! I just ran across his segment recently - suddenly outta nowhere - and was like "where has this man beeeeen"??! Now I kno I LOVE ❤️ LOVE LOVE YOUR SHOW 🙏🏽

[@the7thdean1]

We have so much Black Excellence we can't keep up with it all

[@darmadusa]

The first time I heard hints of this beautifully whimsical language was when I attended my son's father's family reunion in (I forget the city) South Carolina. There was a great aunt and younger cousin of theirs who were both just popping off this dialect that I never heard before, and I was intrigued enough to ask the aunt the origin of her dialect. Sadly, she was a bit annoyed by my question and stated that she was born and raised in South Carolina, and that was the way all of her family spoke. It was a later time that I took it upon myself to research some of the history of South Carolina's Gullah culture, and I was blown away at how little history is taught about the people of the Gullah Islands. I also went on to having a (past) friend who's family was from (I forget what part), Africa and the Gullah Islands, and this dude knew how to make BEAUTIFUL straw baskets and cornrowed the hell out of some hair! 🙂 Great show!👍🏾

[@jonathanAdebowale4357]

I am from Grenada 🇬🇩 .....I can relate

[@jermainegoss705]

Where did he get those mask?! My goodness. I love African people

[@thelaw6153]

Maaannnn I tellin ya I ain’t even kno my real name till elementary school when they put me in speech class #alabamagullah

[@jamedraa8472]

This my people. Listening to him makes me a little homesick. It will soon be a year since my Gramma passed.

[@tameikdubar]

Thank you both for this interview 😍

[@thedaokona5924]

T'engkful fuh dis! Keep shining, Karen and Sunn M'Cheaux!

[@KarenHunterShow]

Yes...love it, Theda!

[@karenm1965]

Beautiful conversation. 💕

[@scroogemcduckrich9705]

I love Sunn. Very intelligent man

[@amber.cartomancer]

PBS baby!!! I realized years later PBS in the 70s taught me how to speak and not just Seasme Street. Masterpiece Theatre was a jewel.

[@karenl.forest7083]

Facts. PBS was an entire education in my youth. And as an adult I actually binge on PBS content

[@kayannagibson5397]

I buss out laughing when he say Boungie 😂 cause man they try to make us feel like it’s not polite to say!

[@ce_lice_li2474]

This was awesome . Thank you

[@insaneoptimist5152]

Excellent broadcast. I am from N.C. and have spent much time in Charleston on the West Side.

[@TyCorner24]

Wow... just wow. Being from Charleston I agree with him 100 percent.

[@bigdre7120]

Yes, we developed a whole language in the face of brutality, genocide, cultural destruction and now appropriation. We were not valued and the treasure of The Gullah and Geechee straight from Mother Alkebulan. Long live the spirit of the ancestors and the culture.....

[@sportminds1094]

I'm from west Columbia, SC and we use some of those words up here but we don't have the accent

[@slimtrain]

I so love this gentleman and how he tells the history of Gullah Geechee heritage. He reminds me of my Charleston SC relatives, my link to Charleston and it’s roots.

[@lifestylewithamire]

Thank you for this. Learning about my self and culture is always refreshing.

[@amajors08]

This is LIFE. Feeling so affirmed

[@tamarapickens1988]

Yayayay!!! #GullahProud

[@rbeeydwan4479]

Plzzzz!!! Plzzzz!!! Could U have Brother Man on again!! We need this True education 💯💥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[@rbeeydwan4479]

This is my Peeples!!! I love my folk..🥲🖤🖤🖤💕💥💫

[@famugrad98]

Hi Karen! I wish I had not missed this live. I just love him and of course I love you, neighbor-Beverly T

[@Choklit_latte]

That was dope as hell ♥️

[@adwoamedusausi2233]

In my Grandfather's lineage, South Carolina was indeed the entry point. I needed this interview 💞

[@joycebrown1413]

I love Sunn 's show I had lived on St Helena lsland, my boys( grown) born and raised there..

[@DaronPeterJones]

This is so crazy! I speak English well but when I write, I’m constantly having to proofread because I “think” similarly to what’s being discussed. But of course, when around the “Fam” we speak how we think or what comes naturally.

[@ellenmorris3243]

I have pleasant memories of spending summers with my paternal granmother who was Gullah Geechee from the sea island of Wadmalaw Island. All of our neighbors were cousins, aunts, uncles. My father could never get rid of his accent.

[@ce_lice_li2474]

This was awesome

[@evelynbourne2500]

OMG! Worlds colliding! I’m a Knubian, and Professor Hunter fan, and I follow brother M’cheaux on tik tok. I’m LOVING this conversation.🙌🏽❤️

[@daryljarvis6080]

The history has been previously from us. I learned so much on a recent visit.

[@Everything_Ju]

I love this conversation

[@cyrus22999]

Bahamians especially from the untouched southern islands of The Bahamas 🇧🇸 are aware of their “Geeche “ heritage. The Professor sounds like how a Bahamian would sound speaking comfortably to another Bahamian.

[@tamaracharese]

Yay!!! You connected!!!

[@angielu3273]

Thank you prof. for having this remarkable person on. Has sparked my interest .

[@daphnecollier9264]

As a Trinidadian in the 70’s in the USA ARMY. Everyone said I spoke Geechee from the Carolina the people that ate a lot of rice

[@sadiewilliams]

Thank you Karen!

[@victoryakubu5395]

Time Gullah language should be adopted for all Africans in the world. Prof he has to make his own Gullah intro on the institute web

[@lovesyah4618]

Hilton Head Island S.C, Charleston,.St Helena Island, Beaufort and surroundings areas. Born and raised Gullah Geechie gal here😁❤ Weoutchea ✌🏾💯

[@MrSolonolo]

Brilliant !!! Extremely useful and edifying information. As always. Much gratitude Prof. Hunter and Dr, Micheaux .

[@quentellawilliams544]

Love this. I’m from close to that area!! Greeleyville in the house!!!!

[@brianthomas8254]

Governance structure and social structure names. Thanks for the lesson.

[@user-dm6jy5jr9o]

I love language so much. Language is the undeniable biography of a people. Those who try to suppress language are trying to suppress a truth they experience as a threat. We are all enriched by learning the story of the languages that surround us.

[@meganw6007]

Damn, this part at ~9:20 about the MORAL component makes it just so much more powerful, that one could even lie, but be lying speaking the white man's English and yet be trusted as the truth-teller. Dang. That anecdote contains so much importance

[@kosajenkins7963]

He sounds like all of my Aunties, Uncles and cousins from St. Helena Islans, SC! It is such a wonderful culture and heritage!

[@heathertea2704]

With my Father & both sets of my Grandparents from the South, I Hated hearing how they were Belittled & Demoralised because of their Speech. By many.😒

[@tamwash]

This is bringing up some many memories. SC always!!!

[@n.anderson5938]

Thank you for sharing. 🙏 This was amazing. Sunn is a fantastic teacher. 💐

[@Gullahgriot]

great great show...georgetown sc checking in

[@Nghilifa]

25:00 Haha, that is so funny. Here in Namibia, there are family members of mine who I only know by their "traditional " names (ie, names derived from the language of our ethnic group). Often times, they have foreign given names that they're baptized with, but they never go by those names within the family at all. Some things never change I guess! 😂 Thanks for bringing Dr. M'Cheaux on Ms. Hunter!

[@shawnuchenna3503]

Karen! Thank you for this rare segment!!

[@mikec5641]

I SAW THAT TIKTOK!!!!

[@chantillylace1369]

So dope! Amazing guest!

[@niashell8378]

Speaking of connecting...Dr Hunter Dr M'cheaux...my family is from SC and 'scaped to NYC. Working on bring those melanin dots together. Hearing divine frequency calling us together. Nubian spaces.

[@dbmnfinity1]

you made a very good point; never thought of it in that way.

[@NkemOnyeka12]

It’s the same here in Nigeria where most have never left the Country! Being born in America, my family is from St. Thomas VI, now married to a Nigerian, they sound like island folk, to me.

[@donesecarr3570]

This is good word!

[@crystalcoleman4706]

Love this interview!! Thank you!!

[@daryljarvis6080]

Love this. One of my besties is a Gullah/ Geechee girl! Love the history!

[@noirmative9293]

I was today years old when I learned what 4day in da mornin' meant...heard my grandma say it and be perplexed eva since...lol

[@rbeeydwan4479]

I'm still thoroughly enjoying this 😌 😎 🥳🎉🎈🎁🌹🌹🌹🖤🖤🖤🖤🎊❤️‍🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Hiltonliveparanormalnews79]

As s kid i was in speech class, but in todays time people say to me i speak so well . But i learn to code switch. He telling the truth gow we wait to slip into the language. But in my mind im still thinking geechee

[@daphnecollier9264]

Their is still in the South of Trinidad a sign that showed the exchange of what was called Company from Carolina to Trinidad in our History

[@reneebunn9279]

Born in New York grew up around the country. My family hails from Selma AL. Butt was a bad word so we used boo-nanny

[@karenl7786]

Two things: 1.stop calling them Karens, Bonnie! and don't forget Connie! and 2. If this is some of what's on TikTok, I'm going to have to reverse my absolute refusal to engage with it at all because this brother here is righteous!

[@shantelafia4462]

Love Karen Hunter

[@KarenHunterShow]

thank you.

[@josedavid6203]

WOW!!! Aha!!! My father, grandpa immigrated from Philippines to San Francisco, CA. I was born 1st generation.

[@timlewis232]

Somebody please get this King on The Breakfast Club with Charlemagne!!! I would love to hear them interact with each other.

[@KarenHunterShow]

really?

[@timlewis232]

Yes. It would be interesting to see what Charlemagne's take would be on code switching, because he's also Geechie Gullah.

[@ianbutler1077]

My stepfather's name is Carl...but many of his friends from Barbados call him charlie.

[@frankiecrocker]

My mother and father were from the lowlands of South Carolina. I guess you can say they were "the greatest" generation, me, I'm a late boomer and born northerner. Anyway, I was the youngest of my siblings so I stayed at home with my mom the most while everyone was at school. By the time I started school I had to take speech one on one because I was speaking with a heavy gullah influence. If it weren't for the tv and radio, lord only knows how much harder it would have been for me. As I got older and better with the Queen's English, my mother would take me places with her where she had biznis (having to deal with white people) for me to translate for her. I haven't been to South Carolina in a long while, but it's been my experience with Caribbean people up north here that the similarities hit me and they're striking and undeniable. It's not just the language, it's the food and the culture. I speak exceptionally well, with a natural baritone voice, but people from every which where have always wondered where I'm from: the American South?, Barbados?, Jamaica?, the Bahamas?

[@2headeddoctuh]

It is so close to how we speak here in deep east tx. We callednit country talk. And my granny and em man. Uh stil talk like that

[@shaypink40]

Hi, may I add something, Gullah & Geechee is 2 different peoples. Gullah is from African Sierra Leone 🇸🇱were majority of the African slave was bought to South & Central America. Geechee is North American 🇺🇸, my grandfather is Geechee NC.

[@PurplePixi1]

I was always taught Gullah is the language and Geechee is the people.

[@shaypink40]

@@PurplePixi1 not true love, you can’t find anything online about the real Geechee people. They keep mixing us with the Gullah people.

[@meganw6007]

Great point about the names (~22:00-27:00) My grandpa -- legally born Bobby, but changed it to simply Bob after catching grief in the military -- always knew when it was marketers or bill collectors when they'd try to ask for "Robert" (not a legal name he had ever had or used)

[@Islandside63]

Charleston born and raised Gullah/Geechie native 💯🇧🇧 with code switching sometimes you can still hear the accent 😂