Lorenzo Dow Turner Appointment Book, 1932

How did Lorenzo Dow Turner (1890-1972), the first professionally trained African American linguist, discover the speaking pattern of the Gullah people was actually a Creole language, heavily influenced by the languages of West Africa? Well, he had to conduct interviews with members of the Gullah community. Transcribe Dr. Turner's 1932 appointment notebook to assist scholars with identifying Turner's Gullah informants. In 1932 Dr. Turner was awarded his first grant by the American Council of Learned Societies to begin his Gullah research. Tuner elicited the trust of his interviewees first because he was an African American as they were and second because of his courteous and engaging manner which included the gifting of tobacco, groceries, and sometimes small amounts of money. His subjects were so delighted to hear themselves once the discs were recorded and played back that Turner had no trouble at all in gathering the information he wanted.