“Stillyet, de Net Ain Teah”: Gullah Geechee Language Expression in the Digital Age

Abstract The discourses surrounding Gullah Geechee language designation and vitality have copious representation in the literature in the context of historic origin and linguistic conservation; however, less research explores how the contemporary community has taken up representation efforts, specifically in description, documentation and revitalization of the language in the digital space. This study focuses mainly on two sites of Gullah Geechee language located online: the online version the Gullah Geechee New Testament, De Nyew Testament (DNT) and the website of the Gullah Geechee Nation (GGN). The study shows that Gullah Geechee maintains a limited online presence in this particular modality of traditional websites; although community members express their membership through explicit epistemic and authenticating claims, there is a wide variety in the frequency and use of iconic language representation in these spaces. As a more static site, DNT exhibits more basilectal features with little intercommunity engagement, whereas the GGN site is characterized by intercommunity intertextuality, style-shifting, and more acrolectal language expression overall. However, the embodiment of online Gullah Geechee personhood is still enacted through complex and multifaceted processes of mediation that reflect the heterogenous nature of the community, especially as new modalities utilized by younger heritage speakers continue to emerge.