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November 24, 2011
Charleston: The dance, the accent.
The dance was popularized by a song and its accompanying footwork, "The Charleston," by James P. Johnson in the Broadway musical "Runnin' Wild" in 1923. Just like the unique Charleston dialect that linguists love and you still hear in the streets--especially in the district "South of Broad"--the dance has been traced back to descendants of slaves who lived on islands off the coast of Charleston and in the city itself. The Charleston had been performed in their communities since 1903. That gorgeous, royal-sounding accent? It's a rich, exotic and partially unknowable blend. It comes from Gullah spoken by African Americans--a mix of older Caribbean and West African tongues--and of English spoken by Europeans. There is nothing quite like it.
Posted by JD Hull at November 24, 2011 11:44 PM