VOA常速英语2008年-Gullah-Geechee Community Embraces African Roots

By Roger Hsu
Washington, DC
06 February 2008
 

On a number of islands off the coasts of the southern states of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, live the Gullahs, a group many believe is the most authentic¹ African-American community in the U.S.

The Gullahs, also referred to as the Geechee in some parts of the south, are descendants of African slaves and speak a unique language that is a mix of English and African languages. To this day many of them still practice their centuries-old way of living. But their way of life is endangered. For producer Roger Hsu, Elaine Lu has the story.

Georgia's Sapelo Island is home to a small Gullah community. Each year that heritage is celebrated², drawing thousands to the island.

Charles Hall is an advocate for the island's Gullah community. He explains, "This festival got started about 13 years ago in order to establish some kind of independence for the residents of Sapelo. As you know, Sapelo is one of the last intact Gullah-Geechee communities in America."

A fisherman, Robert, points to his net. He says, "This art of net making came from Africa with the slaves."

Mary, a basket weaver³, says basket weaving is a tradition that is passed down. "It's been passed on from generation to generation for a long time."

Net making and sweet grass basket weaving are African traditions brought to the coastal⁴ islands by the Gullah's enslaved ancestors who were brought to the area by early European settlers. Their language and culture have been passed down for generations.

Cornelia Bailey recalls a sport that she played as a child. She told us, "Let's play ball... There is a pitcher⁵ there, you got your thing here and you play ball with this here. This is your ball... Charles! Remember these? Ha ha ha... When we were little we don't have balls on campus so we selected pinecones very carefully and play ball with it."

The Gullah's speak an English-based Creole language with grammar and sentence structure from African languages. Cornelia Bailey and others are quick to defend their unusual dialect. Bailey says, "It's a combination of English and Africans and over here is French... It's not broken English, it's ours."

Just off the coast of South Carolina, St. Helena Island is another Gullah community. Marquetta Goodwine, also known as Queen Quet, is the founder⁶ of the Gullah-Geechee Sea Island Coalition⁷. She says, "This is one of our last islands of the Sea Island that has a contiguous Gullah - Geechee community on it, which is about 10,000 people strong."

But tourism and resort developments threaten the very land they live on. Goodwine says her people are fighting to keep their culture alive. Their efforts paid off. The U.S. Congress passed the "Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Act" in 2006 to fund the preservation⁸ of the rich Sea Island culture and history.

"If you don't know where you are from, you won't know where you are going. So the land for us is our family, because our blood, sweat and tears are in this soil, and the waterways around us for us are our bloodline, so we don't want to be removed from any of that," Goodwine said.

1 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。