Cherokee is a Southern Iroquoian language spoken mainly in North Carolina (Tetsas / ᏖᏣᏍ) and Oklahoma (Asgaya gigageyi / ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᎩᎦᎨᏱ) and Arkansas (Geiyi / ᎨᎢᏱ) in the USA. Between 1,500 and 2,100 people speak Cherokee, and the majority are over 40 years old. Few children are growing up with the language.
According to the 2018 Cherokee Nation Tribal Survey there are 1,200 speakers of Cherokee in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, 217 speakers in the Eastern Band of Cherokees in North Carolina, and 101 speakers in the United Keetoowah Band of Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The Cherokee call their language Tsalagi (ᏣᎳᎩ) or Tslagi, and themselves Aniyunwiya (ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ) ("Principal People"). Speakers of the Eastern of Lower dialect of Cherokee called the language jaragi, which might be the origin of the name Cherokee.
Alternatively, the name Cherokee may come from the Choctaw word Cha-la-kee ("those who live in the mountains") or Chi-luk-ik-bi ("those who live in the cave country"), or from Cvlakke, which means “someone who speaks another language” in a Lower Creek. It first appeared as Chalaque in Portuguese in 1557, then Cheraqui in French in 1699, and Cherokee in English from about 1708.
There are two main dialects of Cherokee. The Eastern dialect is spoken in the Qualla Boundary or The Qualla, an area of western North Carolina purchashed by the Cherokee tribe in the 1870s. It is also known Middle or Kituwa (ᎩᏚᏩ) dialect. The Western dialect is spoken in eastern Oklahoma and North Carolina. It is also known as the Overhill or Otali dialect. Until about 1900, the Southern or Lower dialect of Cherokee was also spoken in South Carolina and Georgia.
Cherokee is well documented, with more literature than any other Native American language. There are Cherokee dictionaries and grammars, translations of parts of the Bible, and a Cherokee newspaper.
The Cherokee Nation has a plan, instigated in 2008, to increase the number of fluent speakers through immersion programs in schools, and encouraging people to speak Cherokee at home. In 50 years their goal is for 80% or more of the Cherokee people to speak their language fluently. Parents are taught the language along with their children, and it is possible to study Cherokee at a number of universities in Oklahoma and North Carolina.
The Cherokee syllabary was invented by George Guess (Chief Sequoyah / ᏍᏏᏉᏯ / ᏎᏉᏯ) and was developed between 1809 and 1824 [More details]. Cherokee is also written with the Latin alphabet.
Download a Cherokee script chart (Excel)
You can hear the sounds of Cherokee at:
http://www.cherokee.org/Extras/Downloads/syllabary.html
Nigada aniyvwi nigegudalvna ale unitloyi unadehna duyugadv gesvi. Getsinela unadanvtedi ale unotlisdi ale saquu gesv tsunilvwisdanedi anatlinvtlv adanvdo gvdi.
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)
Information about the Cherokee language | Cherokee Syllabary | Phrases | Numbers | Cherokee courses on: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]
Information about Cherokee
https://language.cherokee.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Cherokee_language
http://www.native-languages.org/cherokee.htm
Information about Sequoyah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoyah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoyah
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/sequoyah-and-creation-cherokee-syllabary/
cher
https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/sequoyah-inventor-of-cherokee-syllabary/article_a83c9cc8-1f25-11ed-9329-d3f5b1d9924b.html
http://www.sequoyahmuseum.org
Online Cherokee lessons
https://learn.cherokee.org/
http://www.culturev.com/cherokee/cherokee.html
http://tsasuyed.blogspot.com
https://cherokeespeaks.com/
https://www.yourgrandmotherscherokee.com/online-language-classes
Online Cherokee dictionaries
http://www.cherokeedictionary.net
https://www.lexilogos.com/english/cherokee_dictionary.htm
Phrases in Cherokee
https://www.scribd.com/document/65682165/Basic-Cherokee
Numbers in Cherokee
https://thetalklist.com/numbers-in-the-cherokee-language/
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Cherokee_numerals
http://www.native-languages.org/numbers/cherokee_numbers.htm
https://shiyo.org/numbers
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/sequoyah-and-the-almost-forgotten-history-of-cherokee-numerals/
Cherokee fonts
https://language.cherokee.org/fonts-and-keyboards/cherokee-fonts/
http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Cherokee.html
https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+Cherokee
https://www.languagegeek.com/font/fontdownload.html#Cherokee
Cherokee Observer - online Cherokee newspaper
https://anadisgoi.com/
https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/tribal_news/
Place names of Cherokee origin
http://chenocetah.wordpress.com
Cayuga, Cherokee, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Tuscarora, Wendat
Page last modified: 28.07.26
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