He who adventures into Gullah and would “make head or tail” of its queer phonetics, must keep in mind the sounds “uh,” “e,” “ran,” and “a.” In no other tongue, perhaps, can so much be expressed with so little strain upon brain or lips or glottis as by the Gullah’s laconic use of these grunting jungle-sounds.
To the Gullah, the naked “a” at the top of the first column of the dictionary is “uh,” the dominant note upon which his speech is pitched. With “uh” he boastfully proclaims the personal pronoun “I.” As “bubbuh,” or “budduh,” or “buh,” he greets his brethren; as “sistuh,” or “tittuh,” his sisters. Sweet potatoes he roasts and eats as “tettuh.” His father, mother, daughter, are “farruh, murruh, daa’tuh;” his ever is “ebbuh,” his never is “nebbuh;” forever, “fuhrebbuh.” His answer is “ansuh,” his master is “mastuh,” his pastor is “pastuh” (and so is his pasture); his either is “eeduh,” his neither is “needuh,” his fever is “febuh,” his river is “ribbuh,” his cooter is “cootuh,” his silver is “silbuh.” If in daylight he falls asleep in an open place, the vulture’s wing that hovers over him will cast a “shadduh.” His neighbor is “navuh,” his favor is “fabuh,” his labor is “lavuh,” his Savior is “Sabeyuh.” His bother is “bodduh,” his other is “odduh,” his t’other is “todduh;” another, “anodduh.” Otter is “ottuh,” and ’gator is “’gatuh;” better, “mo’bettuh,” and alligator, “alligettuh.” Barrow is “barruh,” burrow is “burruh,” furrow is “furruh,” harrow is “harruh,” borrow is “borruh;” tomorrow, “tomorruh.” His mourner is “mo’nuh,” and so is his more than (more nor) and corner is “cawnuh,” “mauma” is “maumuh,” “maussa” is “maussuh,” cover is “kibbuh;” uncover, “onkibbuh,” the white man is “buckruh,” the Negro is “Nigguh.” And finger is “finguh,” as ginger is “ginjuh.” Pshaw is “shuh,” and sir is “suh.” His feather is “fedduh,” his weather is “wedduh,” his measure is “medjuh,” his pleasure is “pledjuh.” And if, in pleasantry or wrath, he cries out upon a compatriot, he scornfully apostrophizes him as “uh Gulluh nigguh!”
Following “uh” in frequency of occurrence comes “’e,” a contraction of he, she (but used also for it)—usually pronounced as “ee” in see, but sometimes approaching “e” in set and “i” in sit; but, without the use of diacritical marks, the exact shading cannot be expressed. This “’e” is ever in the Gullah mouth. If a man has shuffled off this mortal coil, “’e dead;” if a fruitful woman has blessed the earth, “’e hab chile;” if the dusky infant cries out upon the world, “’e cry;” if a mule be too free with her hindlegs, “’e kick.” If winter comes, “’e freeze,” and in summer weather “’e hot.” If a storm approaches, “’e gwine to wedduh;” when it breaks, “’e t’unduh, ’e lightnin’, ’e blow win’, ’e rain.”
In “Myths of the Georgia Coast,” Colonel Jones’s Gullahs pronounce this contraction “eh,” but with this a clearer phonetic apprehension of the Gullah does not permit agreement. “Eh” is a good English word which the Gullah pronounces correctly and frequently utters in the ejaculation “eh, eh!” to express surprise or bewilderment.
Almost the twin of “’e” is “um,” expressing him, her, it and them. Did that man steal your pig? “’E t’ief’um.” Did the woman whip the boy? “’E lick’um.” Did the fire burn your house? “’E bu’n’um.” Have you finished your task? “Uh done’um.” Did you shoot those crows? “Uh shoot’um.” And “um” added to see or saw becomes “shum.” See that woman? “Uh shum.” Did you see her yesterday? “Uh shum.” Will you see her tomorrow? “Uh gwine shum.” “Shum” expresses see, seeing, or saw him, her, it, or them.
If the Gullah Negro, in “fuh him” and “fuh she,” changes the pronoun to “um,” he adds an “r” for euphony and utters a rolling “fuhr’um;” and, similarly, “tuh him,” “tuh she” are changed to “tuhr’um.”
The Gullah’s favorite pronunciation of our first vowel is that of “a” in at, hat, bat—words that, like all others having the same “a” sound, he invariably pronounces correctly. Drawled to the double “a” as in “baa,” it does yeoman service in “paat’,” path; “paa’t,” part; “smaa’t,” smart; “cyaa’t,” cart; “h’aa’t,” heart; “shaa’p,” sharp; “baa’n,” barn; “yaa’d,” yard; “maamy,” mother; “maa’k,” mark; “staa’t,” start; and so in many other words.
In the Gullah there are many contradictions, the Negro sometimes taking surprisingly short-cuts, expressing himself succinctly and saying a great deal with but a mouthful of words; while at others he rambles interminably and wanders so far afield in his verbal intoxication that he can hardly come soberly again to his starting point.
In this tongue one word or combination of words frequently does duty for singular and plural numbers, past and present tenses, and for masculine, feminine, and neuter genders. Thus “Uh shum” may mean I saw him, I see him, I saw her, I see her, I saw it, I see it, I saw them, I see them. So “Uh tell’um” means I told or I tell him, her, or them. Oxen and bulls, as well as cows, are generally classified and denominated as “cow,” oxen as “ox,” “two ox,” “ten ox,” etc., while a single ox, if not called a “cow,” is invariably “one oxin.” “’Ooman” is both woman and women; “man” stands also for men, although “mens” is sometimes used for the plural, as “t’ree man,” or “fo’ mens.”
Many words the Gullahs pronounce correctly. These are here spelled in the normal way, as to respell them would result only in a useless mutilation of the text.