Assignment Summary For this assignment, you will conduct a source analysis of an excerpt from Africa and Africans in the
Making of the Atlantic World, 1400–1800. Your source analysis will involve completing a graphic
organizer by identifying the author’s main thesis about language, finding three specific claims that support
the thesis, and recording the evidence provided for the claims.
Background Information
As Europeans explored the eastern coast of Africa and interacted with indigenous Africans, they shared
elements of their culture, especially their language. In response, Africans developed ways of
communicating with Europeans by adopting and adapting elements of these European languages. This
adaptation created syncretic languages, such as pidgin and creole, which blend elements of two or more
languages.