| Like other languages, the Cherokee language is | | | | to the English ear; i.e., the word attorney is branded |
| named after its people, the Cherokee. It is part of | | | | as "one who argues repeatedly on purpose for a |
| the Iroquoian language family, and it is the only | | | | purpose" in Cherokee. |
| Southern Native American language from the group | | | | The Cherokee are not exempt form adopting a few |
| that is still used. | | | | English terms of their own, however, similarly to how |
| The Cherokee language is associated with the South | | | | the English language has taken foreign lingo like |
| because its speakers reside in the Carolinas, Georgia, | | | | R.S.V.P. (r?ndez s'il vous pla? under its wing. They also |
| Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. | | | | have slang. |
| Most people know of the Cherokee by way of the | | | | Cherokee in today's world is comprised of two major |
| Trail of Tears. Basically, it was the American | | | | dialects: the Giduwa and the Otali. The main |
| enforcement of relocation for all Native American | | | | difference is that the Northwestern Cherokee use tl |
| tribes in the 1800s. Countless Cherokees died during | | | | sound while the Southeastern employ ts. Whichever |
| this tragic process. | | | | the dialect, the tongue is spoken by up to 20,000 |
| As for the language, Cherokee is a speech rich in | | | | individuals throughout the Cherokee Nation. |
| syllabary, but you may be surprised to learn that it | | | | The term "Cherokee" itself has been spelled at least |
| does not have values for the English letters "p" and | | | | fifty different ways in the past (the current spelling |
| "b". | | | | dates back to about the eighteenth century). |
| The consonant "m" is also a recent. Some symbols of | | | | Its literal meaning is "people with another language". |
| the language look like Latin letters (but don't sound | | | | Aniyunwiya, or "the principal people", is what the |
| anything like them), and whereas the English alphabet | | | | Cherokees called themselves in the beginning. Most |
| only has six vowels, the Cherokee language boasts | | | | Cherokees are not raised bilingually today, but as |
| twelve, both short and long. The Cherokee alphabet | | | | they get older, most opt to learn English. |
| or syllabary has a total of eighty-five character | | | | There are many self study courses online if you are |
| strings. | | | | interested in learning Cherokee yourself. It won't be |
| Tsa-la-gi ("Cherokee" to natives) is a complicated | | | | the easiest process, however, as Cherokee is quite |
| dialect in that each verb can take on thousands of | | | | different from English. |
| inferred forms. Many words are translated as phrases | | | | |