Cherokee

Cherokee syllabary   ᏣᎳᎩ (Tsalagi)

The Cherokee syllabary, which was reputedly invented by George Guess,
a.k.a. Chief Sequoyah, of the Cherokee, was introduced in 1819. Sequoyah’s
descendants claim that he was the last surviving member of his tribe’s
scribe clan and the Cherokee syllabary was invented by persons unknown
at a much earlier date.

By 1820 thousands of Cherokees had learnt the syllabary, and by 1830,
90% were literate in their own language. Books, religious texts, almanacs
and newspapers were all published using the syllabary, which was widely
used for over 100 years.

Today the syllabary is still used, efforts are being made to revive
both the Cherokee language and the Cherokee syllabary, and Cherokee courses
are offered at a number of schools, colleges and universities.

Notable features

  • Type of writing system: syllabary
  • Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines
  • Used to write: Cherokee (Tsalagi Gawonihisdi), a Southern Iroquoian language
    spoken by around 22,500 people in North Carolina and Oklahoma.

Cherokee syllabary

Cherokee syllabary

Cherokee pronunciation

Cherokee pronunciation

Notes

  • The consonants g and d are voiceless
    in certain positions and in some dialects.
  • In the Otali (Oklahoma) dialect, a is often realised as /ɒ/;
    ts can be pronounced /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /sʰ/, /ʤ/ or /ʧ/;
    and w is pronounced /ɰ/.
  • The Otali dialect has six tones, while the Quallah (Eastern) dialect usually (at
    most) only bears a pitch accent.

Notes provided by Eric “ᏗᎦᏘᏍᏗ” Englert

You can hear the sounds of Cherokee at:
http://www.cherokee.org/Extras/Downloads/syllabary.html

Sample text in Cherokee

Sample text in Cherokee

Transliteration

Nigada aniyvwi nigeguda’lvna ale unihloyi unadehna duyukdv gesv’i.
Gejinela unadanvtehdi ale unohlisdi ale sagwu gesv junilvwisdanedi
anahldinvdlv adanvdo gvhdi.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Tower of Babel in Cherokee |
Useful phrases in Cherokee

books  
Cherokee language learning materials

Links

Information about the Cherokee language
http://www.native-languages.org/cherokee.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_language

Online Cherokee lessons
http://www.youtube.com/user/tsasuyeda
http://www.cherokee.org/home.aspx?section=culture&culture=language
http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/language
http://tsasuyed.blogspot.com
http://www.angelfire.com/nj/nativecrafts/language.html
http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/Cherokee/CherokeeRecordings/language/Taylor-CherokeeLanguage.html
http://www.nativenashville.com/language/tutor_tsalagi.htm

Online Cherokee dictionaries
http://www.wehali.com/tsalagi/
http://www.manataka.org/page122.html
http://www.csusm.edu/public/guests/raven/cherokee.dir/cherlexi.html
http://cherokee.org/AboutTheNation/Wordlist.aspx

Phrases in Cherokee
http://public.csusm.edu/public/raven/cherokee.dir/cherlexi.html
http://mypeoplepc.com/members/cherlyn/onefeather/id7.html
http://www.ctc.volant.org/cherokee/Mirror/cherokeewords.html
http://www.manataka.org/page122.html

Free Cherokee fonts
http://www.cherokee.org/Culture/CherokeeFont/Downloads.aspx
http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Cherokee.html

Cherokee transliteration system
http://www.translitteration.com/transliteration/en/cherokee/sequoyah/

Information about Chief Sequoyah and the Cherokee Syllabary, written by his descendants:
http://www.enformy.com/dma-ls05.htm

Sequoyah Birthplace Museum
http://www.sequoyahmuseum.org

Echota Tsalagi Language Revitalization Project
http://www.auburn.edu/outreach/dl/echota/

Cherokee Observer – online Cherokee newspaper
http://www.cherokeeobserver.org

Cherokee Publications – Native American books, tapes, etc.
http://www.nativecollections.com/LanguageCourses.html

Place names of Cherokee origin
http://chenocetah.wordpress.com

  • Categoria dell'articolo:Lingue
  • Tempo di lettura:6 minuti di lettura