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CultureQuiet 10d · day 14

Cambridge researcher uncovers lost 1935 recordings of Louisiana Creole

Linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner's field recordings reveal the earliest known spoken audio of an endangered American language.

newest coverage 9d agosummary written 12d ago7 pieces20 likes & upvotes1 comments NewswiresRedditHacker NewsGoogle News

What to know

  • Linguist Dr. Oliver Mayeux has discovered and analyzed field recordings made by Lorenzo Dow Turner in 1935, the earliest known extended audio of Louisiana Creole as a living language.
  • Louisiana Creole emerged in the 18th century as a lingua franca among French colonists, enslaved West Africans, and free people of color; it largely disappeared from New Orleans by the 1950s.
  • Only a few thousand elderly native speakers remain today in rural Louisiana, though a young revival movement called Kouri-Vini is underway through social media and self-teaching efforts.

Lorenzo Dow Turner Pioneering Black linguist and academicDr. Oliver Mayeux University of Cambridge linguist

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

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  1. background

    Young Louisianans launch revival movement for Louisiana Creole — Despite only a few thousand elderly native speakers remaining in rural areas, some young Louisianans have begun teaching themselves the language, which they call Kouri-Vini, and producing social media material to help others learn it.

  2. 1

    Rediscovered recordings reveal how Louisiana Creole emerged and evolved

    Analysis shows Louisiana Creole emerged in the 18th century as a lingua franca among French slavers, colonists, enslaved West Africans, and free people of color, with vocabulary from French but distinctive grammar and structure shaped by multilingual forced contact.

    “Everybody is learning approximations of French and then approximations of approximations. Quite quickly, a new language is born.”
    — Dr. Oliver Mayeux

    1. 1 outlet first by Phys.org, 13d ago · read ↗

  3. background

    Dr. Oliver Mayeux uncovers Turner's lost recordings — Linguist Dr. Oliver Mayeux from the University of Cambridge discovers and analyzes Turner's 1935 field recordings, the only extended audio of Louisiana Creole from when it was widely spoken and the only recordings of the New Orleans variety.

  4. background

    Louisiana Creole dies out in New Orleans — By the mid-20th century, Louisiana Creole has largely disappeared from New Orleans, though it persists in rural areas among elderly speakers.

  5. background

    Lorenzo Dow Turner makes field recordings of Louisiana Creole — Black academic and linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner, a North Carolinian who studied Gullah speakers in Georgia and South Carolina, records extended audio of Louisiana Creole speakers in New Orleans, likely as part of a research project that was rejected for funding.