Cherokee Language

DeAnna, and Tom. "Book of Knowledge." Moondove's Spiral. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct.      2011. <http://home.earthlink.net/~deanna1jc/moondoves_spiral_8.htm>.

Fradkin, Arlene. Cherokee folk zoology : the animal world of a native American      people, 1700-1838. New York: Garland Publications, 1990. Print.

Standley, Loretta. "The Cherokee Language." drstandley.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 9      Oct. 2011. <http://www.drstandley.com/      nativeamerican_syllabary.shtml>.

As stated before most characters in the Cherokee syllabary consist of a consonant-vowel combination, but some consonants that exist in the Cherokee language do not exist in the English language and some consonant in the English language do not exist in Cherokee making it difficult to understand. The Cherokee language uses the English consonants d, g, h, k, l ,m ,n, q, s, t, w. The Cherokee language does not use the English consonants b, f, p, r, v, x, z.

The rules regarding Cherokee consonants are as follows:

The consonant "g" is pronounced almost as in English but approaching a sound closer to that of a "k".

The consonant "d" is pronounced as it is in English except for in some words where it is pronounced similar to a "t".

The consonant "t" is pronounced as in English except on some occasions when it is pronounced like a "d".

Syllables that start with "qu" are pronounced as though a "kw" precedes the vowel.

In syllables that begin with the consonant combinations of "dl" or "tl" both the consonants are pronounced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth and bringing it down as the syllables are spoken.

Adjectives play a large role in the Cherokee language. Not only do adjectives modify the noun, they may also change the entire meaning of a word.

For example the word kamama means butterfly, and the word utana is and adjective to mean big. When these two words are brought together (note that the adjective follows the noun), you would assume kamama utana to mean "big butterfly", but this is not the case. Rather than mean "big butterfly" the phrase kamama utana  means elephant. This happens with many phrases in the Cherokee language, especially in reference to animals.

dosa utana- mosquito. Literally means- "big gnat"

dagvna utana- oyster. Literally means- "big mussel"

jisdeji daloni- weasel. Literally means- "yellow mouse".

Nouns, verbs, and clauses are also used as adjectives in the Cherokee language.

When nouns are used to modify another noun, they precede the noun unlike adjectives. Clauses and verbs rather follow the example of adjectives and follow the noun.

giga- blood

giga-danegisgi- scorpion lizard. Literally means- "blood taker".

sgolvge- fading

inada sgolvge- bullsnake. Literally means- "fading snake".

unodena- woolly

ahwi-unodena- sheep. Literally means- "woolly deer".

uyasgvhdi- with shell.

In the English language our vowels have multiple different pronunciations such as the long "a" as in "ate" or the short "a" as in "apple". In the Cherokee language the vowels are pronounced one way in all words unless they are not pronounced at all in the word.

The vowels are pronounced as follows:

A- The vowel "a" is pronouced as the "a" in the word father.

E- The vowel "e" is pronounced like a long "a" such as in the word fate.

I- The vowel "i" is pronounced like a long "e" such as in the word meet.

O-The vowel "o" is pronounced as the "o" in the word note.

U- The vowel "u" is pronounced like a double "o" such as in the word boot.

V- The vowel "v" is pronounced like a nasalized "u" so that it sounds like "unh"

Theses vowels are sometimes modified in writing, some modifiers that are used are ', and : .

If " : " follows a vowel that means that the vowel is long and should be held out for twice the length of when normally saying the vowel.

The Cherokee language is only spoken by approximately 10,000 people in the Cherokee Nation, most of which are located in Oklahoma. There are some (but only a few) people who are located in the Cherokee Homeland, North Carolina, which they call Jalaguwetii.  The western speakers and the eastern speakers have different accents but they are comprehensible, one to the other. The Cherokee language today has some curse words and slang, which have come as a result of exposure to other languages.

The use of the Cherokee syllabary is a skill that not many Cherokee possess today. Most people write out Cherokee words using the English alphabet.

The Cherokee language has arisen as a more commonly used language within recent years. It has become a popularly used language on the internet and the Cherokee language syllabary is even downloadable as a font for Macintosh brand computers.

Because of the poly-synthetic nature of the Cherokee language, meaning that it is made up of many smaller parts that make up words, new words are constantly being added to the Cherokee language.

A few such words are:

didaniyisgi- policeman. Literally means- "he argues repeatedly and on purpose with a purpose"

ditiyohihi- attorney. Literally means- "the final catcher"

There is no exact history of when the Cherokee language was developed or how it came about, because the Cherokee language was being spoken long before European explorers arrived in the land of the Cherokee. As much as the history of the spoken Cherokee language is uncertain so is the history of the Cherokee syllabary.

In most history books and records of European explorers it is said that a man named Sequoyah, the son of a Cherokee woman and a European man, developed the Cherokee syllabary in around 1821. He is the only individual in thousands of years of recorded history to have developed a complex writing system without being literate in another language. The writing system that Sequoyah is believe to have developed consists of 85 characters, which represent the combinations of vowel and consonant sounds of the Cherokee language.

Recently, this history of the Cherokee syllabary has come to be challenged. It has been said that Sequoyah was not the developer of the Cherokee syllabary nor was Sequoyah his real name.  In actuality Sequoyah was Sogwili a Cherokee warrior scribe. He did not develop the Cherokee syllabary, but he was on of few skilled in it's use. He did in fact expose the European settlers to the Cherokee syllabary. His exposure to the Europeans led to him being on trial for treason and witch craft for encouraging his people to move west.  He was found guilty and as punishment both he and his wife were branded on the back and forehead. His fingers were chopped off and his ear were cropped, which was the mark of a traitor.