Gullah

American  

[guhl-uh] / ˈgʌl ə /

noun

1. a member of a population of Black Americans inhabiting the Sea Islands and the coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida.

2. a creolized form of English spoken by the Gullahs, containing many words and grammatical features derived from African languages.

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Gullah British  

/ ˈɡʌlə /

noun

1. a member of a Negroid people living on the Sea Islands or in the coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia, and NE Florida

2. the creolized English spoken by these people

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Etymology

Origin of Gullah

1730–40; of uncertain origin; variously identified with Angola or the Gola, a Liberian ethnic group

Example Sentences

Buford Highway, Virgil’s Gullah Kitchen and UMI will have to wait for next time.

From Salon • May 28, 2025

Small communities descended from enslaved island populations in the South, known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia, are scattered along the coast from North Carolina to Florida.

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2024

Now, she and several cousins are the only ones of Gullah descent who remain.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 19, 2023

The writer traveled to seven praise houses in South Carolina and Georgia, along the Gullah Geechee Corridor.

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2023

I could hear their voices in English and in Gullah.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce