View source for Cherokee syllabary

{{short description|Writing system invented by Sequoyah to write the Cherokee language}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox writing system
| name        = Cherokee
| type        = [[Syllabary]]
| sample      = Cherokee sample.svg
| caption     = {{transl|chr|Tsalagi}} ("Cherokee") written in the Cherokee syllabary
| time        = 1820s{{sfn|Sturtevant|Fogelson|2004|p=337}} – present<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/109503/Cherokee-language |title=Cherokee language |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref>
| languages   = [[Cherokee language]]
| unicode     = {{ublist|class=nowrap
  | [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U13A0.pdf U+13A0–U+13FF] {{smaller|Cherokee}}
  | [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UAB70.pdf U+AB70–U+ABBF] {{smaller|Cherokee Supplement}}}}
| iso15924    = Cher
}}
{{Contains special characters|Cherokee|compact=yes}}
{{Cherokee language|state=expanded}}

The '''Cherokee syllabary''' is a [[syllabary]] invented by [[Sequoyah]] in the late 1810s and early 1820s to write the [[Cherokee language]]. His creation of the syllabary is particularly noteworthy as he was [[illiterate]] until its creation.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Diamond |first1=Jared |title=Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies |url=https://archive.org/details/gunsgermssteelfa00diam|url-access=registration |date=1999 |publisher=Norton |location=New York |isbn=0393317552 |page=228}}</ref> He first experimented with [[logogram]]s, but his system later developed into the syllabary. In his system, each symbol represents a [[syllable]] rather than a single [[phoneme]]; the 85 (originally 86){{sfn|Sturtevant|Fogelson|2004|p=337}} characters provide a suitable method for writing Cherokee. The letters resemble characters from other scripts, such as [[Latin alphabet|Latin]], [[Greek alphabet|Greek]], [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]], and [[Glagolitic script|Glagolitic]], however, these are not used to represent the same sounds.

==History==

===Early history===
[[File:Sequoyah.jpg|200px|thumb|left|upright|[[Sequoyah]], inventor of the Cherokee syllabary]]
[[File:Original Cherokee Syllabary.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Sequoyah's original syllabary characters, showing both the script forms and the print forms]]

Around 1809, impressed by the "talking leaves" of European written languages, [[Sequoyah]] began work to create a writing system for the Cherokee language. After attempting to create a [[logograph|character for each word]], Sequoyah realized this would be too difficult and eventually created characters to represent syllables. He worked on the syllabary for twelve years before completion and dropped or modified most of the characters he originally created.

After the syllabary was completed in the early 1820s, it achieved almost instantaneous popularity and spread rapidly throughout Cherokee society.{{sfn|Walker|Sarbaugh|1993|p=70–72}} By 1825, the majority of Cherokees could read and write in their newly developed orthography.{{Sfn|McLoughlin|1986|p=353}}

Some of Sequoyah's most learned contemporaries immediately understood that the syllabary was a great invention. For example, when [[Albert Gallatin]], a politician and trained linguist, saw a copy of Sequoyah's syllabary, he believed it was superior to the English alphabet in that literacy could be easily achieved for Cherokee at a time when only one-third of English-speaking people achieved the same goal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.teachushistory.org/indian-removal/resources/success-civilizing-project-among-cherokee|title=Success of the "civilizing" project among the Cherokee &#124; Teach US History}}</ref> He recognized that even though the Cherokee student must learn 85 characters instead of 26 for English, the Cherokee could read immediately after learning all the symbols. The Cherokee student could accomplish in a few weeks what students of English writing might require two years to achieve.<ref>Langguth, A. J. (2010). ''Driven West: Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears to the Civil War''. New York, Simon & Schuster. p. 71. {{ISBN|978-1-4165-4859-1}}.</ref>

In 1828, the order of the characters in a chart and the shapes of the characters were modified by Cherokee author and editor [[Elias Boudinot (Cherokee)|Elias Boudinot]] to adapt the syllabary to printing presses.<ref name="Indian Country Today-2010">{{cite news |title=Cherokee Nation creates syllabary |access-date=5 November 2019 |work=Indian Country Today |date=March 16, 2010  |url=https://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2010/03/16/cherokee-nation-creates-syllabary-keypad-81743 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001234723/https://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2010/03/16/cherokee-nation-creates-syllabary-keypad-81743 |archive-date=October 1, 2016}}</ref> The 86th character was dropped entirely.{{Sfn|Kilpatrick|Kilpatrick|1968|p=23}} Following these changes, the syllabary was adopted by the ''[[Cherokee Phoenix]]'' newspaper, later ''[[Cherokee Advocate]]'', followed by the ''Cherokee Messenger'', a bilingual paper printed in [[Indian Territory]] in the mid-19th century.{{Sfn|Sturtevant|Fogelson|2004|p=362}}

In 1834, Worcester made changes to several characters in order to improve the readability of Cherokee text. Most notably, he inverted the ''do'' character (Ꮩ) so that it could not be confused with the ''go'' character (Ꭺ).{{Sfn|Giasson|2004|p=29–33}} Otherwise, the characters remained remarkably invariant until the advent of new typesetting technologies in the 20th century.{{Sfn|Giasson|2004|p=35}}

===Later developments===
[[File:Cherokee-02346.jpg|thumb|Bear statue by Charles Saunooke displaying the Sequoyah Syllabary, outside the [[Museum of the Cherokee People]] in [[Cherokee]], [[North Carolina]], 2017]]
[[File:Cherokee Central Schools.jpg|thumb|Sign in [[Cherokee, North Carolina]]]]


[[File:Cherokee stop sign.png|thumb|upright|175px|Bilingual stop signs with Cherokee syllabary in use today in [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma]]]]

In the 1960s, the Cherokee Phoenix Press began publishing literature in the Cherokee syllabary, including the ''Cherokee Singing Book''.{{Sfn|Sturtevant|Fogelson|2004|p=750}} A Cherokee syllabary typewriter ball was developed for the [[IBM Selectric]] in the late 1970s. Computer fonts greatly expanded Cherokee writers' ability to publish in Cherokee. In 2010, a Cherokee keyboard cover was developed by [[Roy Boney, Jr.]] and [[Joseph Erb]], facilitating more rapid typing in Cherokee. The keyboard cover is now used by students in the [[Cherokee Nation]] Immersion School, where all coursework is written in syllabary.<ref name="Indian Country Today-2010"/>

In August 2010, the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts in [[Cherokee, North Carolina]], acquired a letterpress and had the Cherokee syllabary recast to begin printing one-of-a-kind fine art books and prints in syllabary.<ref name="SCC">[http://www.southwesterncc.edu/news/10-jul-sept/letterpress.htm "Letterpress arrives at OICA"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130021125/http://www.southwesterncc.edu/news/10-jul-sept/letterpress.htm |date=November 30, 2010 }} ''Southwestern Community College'' (retrieved 21 Nov 2010)</ref> Artists Jeff Marley and [[Frank Brannon]] completed a collaborative project on October 19, 2013, in which they printed using Cherokee syllabary type from [[Southwestern Community College (North Carolina)|Southwestern Community College]] in the print shop at [[New Echota]]. This was the first time syllabary type has been used at New Echota since 1835.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/calhoun_times/news/local/new-echota-days-begin-this-saturday/article_5da73114-37fd-11e3-91e7-0019bb30f31a.html|title=New Echota days begin this Saturday|publisher=Calhoun Times|date=Oct 18, 2013|access-date=21 July 2017|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The syllabary is finding increasingly diverse usage today, from books, newspapers, and websites to the street signs of [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma]], and [[Cherokee, North Carolina]]. An increasing corpus of children's literature is printed in Cherokee to meet the needs of students in Cherokee language immersion schools in Oklahoma and North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Neal |first1=Dale |title=Beloved children's book translated into Cherokee |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2016/05/26/beloved-childrens-book-translated-into-cherokee/84588624/ |publisher=Asheville Citizen Times |access-date=28 February 2019 |date=2016-05-26}}</ref>

===Possible influence on Liberian Vai syllabary===
In the 1960s, evidence emerged suggesting that the Cherokee syllabary of North America provided a model for the design of the [[Vai syllabary]] in Liberia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Summitt |first1=April R. |title=Sequoyah and the Invention of the Cherokee Alphabet |date=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-39177-4 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-8tJXrLCQoC&dq=Vai+syllabary+cherokee&pg=PA143 |access-date=25 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The Vai syllabary emerged about 1832/33. This was at a time when American missionaries were working to use the Cherokee syllabary as a model for writing Liberian languages.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Appiah |first1=Anthony |last2=Gates (Jr.) |first2=Henry Louis |editor1-last=Appiah |editor1-first=Anthony |editor2-last=Gates Jr. |editor2-first=Henry Louis= |editor1-link=Henry Louis Gates Jr. |title=Encyclopedia of Africa |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-533770-9 |page=552 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0XNvklcqbwC&dq=Vai+syllabary+cherokee&pg=RA1-PA552 |access-date=25 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Another link appears to have been Cherokee who emigrated to Liberia after the invention of the Cherokee syllabary (which in its early years spread rapidly among the Cherokee) but before the inventions of the Vai syllabary. One such man, Austin Curtis, married into a prominent [[Vai people|Vai]] family and became an important Vai chief himself. It is perhaps not coincidence that the "inscription on a house" that drew the world's attention to the existence of the Vai script was in fact on the home of Curtis, a Cherokee.{{Sfn | Tuchscherer |Hair| 2002}}  There also appears to be a connection between an early form of [[Bassa Vah alphabet|written Bassa]] and the earlier Cherokee syllabary.

==Description==
The modern writing system consists of 85 characters, each representing a distinct [[syllable]]. The first six characters represent isolated vowel syllables. Characters for combined consonant and vowel syllables then follow.

The charts below show the syllabary in recitation order, left to right, top to bottom as arranged by [[Samuel Worcester]], along with his commonly used transliterations.{{Sfn|Walker|Sarbaugh|1993|pp=72,76}}{{Sfn|Giasson|2004|p=42}} He played a key role in the development of Cherokee printing from 1828 until his death in 1859.  The Latin letter 'v' in the transcriptions, seen in the last column, represents the nasal [[mid-central vowel]], {{IPA|/ə̃/}}.

{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="21" style="font-size: smaller" | ''The chart below uses [[Unicode]] characters from the [[Cherokee (Unicode block)|Cherokee]] block.'' For an image alternative, see [[:File:Cherokee Syllabary.svg]].
|-
! Consonant
! colspan="6" | a 
! colspan="4" | e
! colspan="4" | i
! colspan="2" | o
! colspan="2" | u
! colspan="2" | v [ə̃]
|-
! Ø
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭰ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| a
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭱ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| e
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭲ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| i
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭳ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| o
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭴ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| u
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭵ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| v
|-
! g / k
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭶ 
| style="border-left:hidden"| ga
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭷ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ka
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭸ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ge
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭹ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| gi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭺ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| go
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭻ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| gu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭼ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| gv
|-
! h
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭽ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ha
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭾ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| he
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭿ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| hi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮀ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| ho
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮁ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| hu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮂ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| hv
|-
! l
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮃ || style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| la
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮄ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| le
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮅ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| li
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮆ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| lo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮇ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| lu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮈ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| lv
|-
! m
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮉ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ma
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮊ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| me
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮋ 
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| mi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮌ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| mo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮍ 
| style="border-left:hidden;"| mu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏽ{{efn-lr|The character Ᏽ was previously used to represent the syllable {{transl|chr|mv}}, but is no longer used.{{efn|name=mv|Most sources, including materials produced by the Cherokee Nation, state that this character represented the {{transl|chr|mv}} syllable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cherokee.org/Portals/0/Documents/Language/syllabary%20chart.pdf?ver=2017-08-04-145035-983 |title=Syllabary Chart |publisher=Cherokee Nation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184717/https://cherokee.org/Portals/0/Documents/Language/syllabary%20chart.pdf?ver=2017-08-04-145035-983 |archive-date=15 January 2018 |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref><ref>Cushman 2013, p. 93.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cherokee: Range: 13A0–13FF|url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U13A0.pdf|website=The Unicode Standard, Version 9.0|access-date=10 June 2017}}</ref> However, Worcester wrote that it represented a syllable similar to {{transl|chr|hv}}, but with {{transl|chr|hv}} more open.{{sfn|Walker| Sarbaugh|1993|pp=77, 89–90}}}}}}
| style="border-left:hidden;" | mv
|-
! n / hn
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮎ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| na
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮏ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| hna
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮐ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| nah
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮑ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ne
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮒ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ni
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮓ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| no
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮔ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| nu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮕ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| nv
|-
! qu<br>[kʷ]
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮖ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| qua
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮗ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| que
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮘ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| qui
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮙ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| quo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮚ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| quu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮛ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| quv
|-
! s
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮝ
| style="border-left:hidden"| s
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮜ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| sa
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮞ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| se
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮟ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| si
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮠ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| so
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮡ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| su
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮢ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| sv
|-
! d / t
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮣ
| style="border-left:hidden"| da
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮤ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ta
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮥ
| style="border-left:hidden"| de
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮦ || style="border-left:hidden;"| te
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮧ
| style="border-left:hidden"| di
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮨ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| ti
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮩ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| do
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮪ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| du
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮫ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| dv
|-
! dl / tl<br>[d͡ɮ] / [t͡ɬ]
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮬ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| dla
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮭ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| tla
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮮ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| tle
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮯ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| tli
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮰ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| tlo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮱ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| tlu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮲ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| tlv
|-
! ts<br>[t͡s]
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮳ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| tsa
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮴ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| tse
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮵ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| tsi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮶ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| tso
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮷ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| tsu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮸ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| tsv
|-
! w<br>[ɰ]
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮹ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| wa
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮺ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| we
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮻ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| wi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮼ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| wo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮽ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| wu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮾ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| wv
|-
! y<br>[j]
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮿ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ya
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏸ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| ye
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏹ
| style="border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden;"| yi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏺ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| yo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏻ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| yu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏼ
| style="border-left:hidden;"| yv
|}

'''Notes:'''
{{notelist-lr}}

The Cherokee character {{lang|chr|Ꮩ}} ({{transl|chr|do}}) has a different orientation in old documents, an upside-down letter V, flipped as compared to modern documents.{{efn|name=old-do| There is a difference between the old form of {{transl|chr|do}} (Λ-like) and the modern form of {{transl|chr|do}} (V-like). The standard Digohweli font displays the modern form. Old Do Digohweli and Code2000 fonts both display the old form.}}

There is also a handwritten cursive form of the syllabary;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/cherokee.htm|title=Cherokee language, writing system and pronunciation|at=sec. "Hand-written Cherokee syllabary"|website=[[Omniglot]]}}</ref> notably, the handwritten glyphs bear little resemblance to the printed forms.

=== Detailed considerations ===
The phonetic values of these characters do not equate directly to those represented by the letters of the Latin script. Some characters represent two distinct phonetic values (actually heard as different syllables), while others may represent multiple variations of the same syllable.{{Sfn|Walker|Sarbaugh|1993|pp=72–75}} Not all [[phoneme|phonemic]] distinctions of the spoken language are represented:

* Voiced consonants are generally not distinguished from their non-voiced counterpart. For example, while {{IPA|/d/}} + vowel syllables are mostly differentiated from {{IPA|/t/}} + vowel by use of different [[glyph]]s, syllables beginning with {{IPA|/ɡw/}} are all conflated with those beginning with {{IPA|/kw/}}. 
* Long vowels are not distinguished from short vowels. However, in more recent technical literature, length of vowels can actually be indicated using a colon, and other disambiguation methods for consonants have been suggested.
* Syllables ending in vowels, ''h'', or a glottal stop are not differentiated. For example, the single symbol {{lang|chr|Ꮡ}} is used to represent both {{transl|chr|suú}} as in {{transl|chr|suúdáli}}, meaning "six" ({{lang|chr|ᏑᏓᎵ}}), and {{transl|chr|súh}} as in {{transl|chr|súhdi}}, meaning "fishhook" ({{lang|chr|ᏑᏗ}}).
* There is no regular rule for representing [[consonant clusters]]. When consonants other than ''s, h,'' or glottal stop arise in clusters with other consonants, a vowel must be inserted, chosen either arbitrarily or for etymological reasons (reflecting an underlying etymological vowel, see [[Cherokee language#Vowel deletion|vowel deletion]] for instance). For example, {{lang|chr|ᏧᎾᏍᏗ}} ({{transl|chr|tsu-na-s-di}}) represents the word {{lang|chr-Latn|juunsdi̋}}, meaning "small (pl.), babies". The consonant cluster ''ns'' is broken down by insertion of the vowel ''a'', and is spelled as {{lang|chr|ᎾᏍ}} {{IPA|/nas/}}. The vowel is etymological as {{lang|chr-Latn|juunsdi̋}} is composed of the morphemes {{lang|chr-Latn|di-uunii-'''a'''sdii̋ʔi}}, where ''a'' is part of the root. The vowel is included in the transliteration, but is not pronounced.
* Tones are not marked in the script.

As with some other writing systems, proficient speakers can distinguish words by context.

If a [[labial plosive]] appears in a borrowed word or name, it is written using the ''qu'' row. This {{IPA|/kw/}} ~ {{IPA|/p/}} correspondence is a known linguistic phenomenon that exists elsewhere (cf. [[P-Celtic]], [[Osco-Umbrian]]). The ''l'' and ''tl'' rows are similarly used for borrowings containing ''r'' or ''tr/dr'', respectively, and ''s'' (including within ''ts'') can represent /s/, /ʃ/, /z/, or /ʒ/, as indicated in the above word ''juunsdi̋''.

=== Transliteration issues ===
Some Cherokee words pose a problem for transliteration software because they contain adjacent pairs of single letter symbols that (without special provisions) would be combined when doing the back-conversion from Latin script to Cherokee. Here are a few examples:

{{fs interlinear|lang=chr|indent=2
|Ꭲ Ꮳ Ꮅ Ꮝ Ꭰ Ꮑ Ꮧ
|i tsa li s a ne di
|{{transl|chr|itsalisanedi}}
}}

{{fs interlinear|lang=chr|indent=2
|Ꭴ Ꮅ Ꭹ Ᏻ Ꮝ Ꭰ Ꮕ Ꮑ
|u li gi yu s a nv ne
|{{transl|chr|uligiyusanvne}}
}}

{{fs interlinear|lang=chr|indent=2
|Ꭴ Ꮒ Ᏸ Ꮝ Ꭲ Ᏹ
|u ni ye s i yi
|{{transl|chr|uniyesiyi}}
}}

{{fs interlinear|lang=chr|indent=2
|Ꮎ Ꮝ Ꭲ Ꮿ
|na s i ya
|{{transl|chr|nasiya}}
}}

For these examples, the back conversion is likely to join ''s-a'' as ''sa'' or ''s-i'' as ''si'', as the consonant ''s'' can be written either with its own isolated glyph, or combined with a following vowel -- but the vowel itself doesn't require being attached to a consonant. One solution is to use a [[Interpunct|middle dot]] to separate the two,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012 |title=Cherokee / ᏣᎳᎩ / Tsalagi |url=https://www.eki.ee/knab/lat/kblchr2.pdf |access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref> While some use an apostrophe instead, apostrophes are also used to represent a [[glottal stop]] in Cherokee.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cherokee Nation Education Services |url=https://language.cherokee.org/learning-materials/teaching-materials/?term=&page=2&pageSize=7 |title=We Are Learning Cherokee: Level 1 |date=2018 |publisher=Cherokee Nation |edition=1 |publication-date=2018 |pages=11 |language=en, chr}}</ref>

Other Cherokee words contain character pairs that entail overlapping transliteration sequences. For example:

* {{lang|chr|ᏀᎾ}} transliterates as {{transl|chr|nahna}}, yet so does {{lang|chr|ᎾᎿ}}. The former is {{transl|chr|nah-na}}, the latter is {{transl|chr|na-hna}}.
* {{lang|chr|ᎤᏡᏀᎠ}} transliterates as {{transl|chr|utlunaha}}, yet so does {{lang|chr|ᎤᏡᎾᎭ}}. The former is {{transl|chr|u-tlu-nah-a}}, the latter is {{transl|chr|u-tlu-na-ha}}.

If the Latin script is parsed from left to right, longest match first, then without special provisions, the back conversion would be wrong for the latter. There are several similar examples involving these character combinations: {{transl|chr|nahe nahi naho nahu nahv}}.

A further problem encountered in transliterating Cherokee is that there are some pairs of different Cherokee words that transliterate to the same word in the Latin script. For example:

* {{lang|chr|ᎠᏍᎡᏃ}} and {{lang|chr|ᎠᏎᏃ}} both transliterate to {{transl|chr|aseno}}
* {{lang|chr|ᎨᏍᎥᎢ}} and {{lang|chr|ᎨᏒᎢ}} both transliterate to {{transl|chr|gesvi}}

Without special provision, a round trip conversion may change {{lang|chr|ᎠᏍᎡᏃ}} to {{lang|chr|ᎠᏎᏃ}} and change {{lang|chr|ᎨᏍᎥᎢ}} to {{lang|chr|ᎨᏒᎢ}}.

==Character orders==
[[File:Cherokee syllabary original order.png|thumb|Historic Cherokee syllabary order used by Sequoyah, with the now-obsolete letter {{lang|chr|Ᏽ}} in red]]

There are two main [[character order]]s for the Cherokee script. The usual order for Cherokee runs across the rows of the syllabary chart from left to right, top to bottom—this is the one used in the Unicode block. It has also been alphabetized based on the six columns of the syllabary chart from top to bottom, left to right.

==Numerals==
[[File:Cherokee Numbers – restored.png|thumb|Cherokee numerals developed by Sequoyah. Line 1: 1–20; Line 2: "tens" for 30–100; Line 3: 250, 360, 470, and 590; Line 4: 1,200, 2,500, 10,000; Line 5: 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000; Line 6: 500,000 and 1,000,000]]

Modern Cherokee generally uses [[Arabic numerals]]. In the late 1820s, several years after the introduction and adoption of his syllabary, Sequoyah proposed a set of number signs for Cherokee; however, these were never adopted and never typeset.{{Sfn | Giasson | 2004 | p = 7}} In 2012, the Cherokee Language Consortium agreed to begin using Sequoyah's numerals in some instances.<ref name="Chavez-2012">{{cite news|title=Sequoyah's numeric system makes comeback|last=Chavez|first=Will|date=November 9, 2012|work=Cherokee Phoenix|location=Tahlequah, Oklahoma|url=https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/sequoyahs-numeric-system-makes-comeback/article_54b77e7b-79f1-5a44-b72f-f76e030a99f3.html|access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref>

Sequoyah developed unique characters for 1 through 19, and then characters for the "tens" of 20 through 100. Additional symbols were used to note thousands and millions, and Sequoyah also used a final symbol to mark the end of a number.{{Sfn | Giasson | 2004 | p = 7}}<ref name="Chrisomalis-2021" /> The glyphs for 1 through 20 can be grouped into groups of five that have a visual similarity to each other (1–5, 6–10, 11–15, and 16–20).<ref>{{cite book|last=Chrisomalis|first=Stephen|title=Reckonings: Numerals, Cognition, and History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j14JEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA128|accessdate=April 13, 2021|date=2020|publisher=MIT Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-262-04463-9|pages=128–129}}</ref> The Cherokee Language Consortium has created an additional symbol for zero along with symbols for billions and trillions.<ref name="Chavez-2012" /> As of Unicode 13.0, Cherokee numerals are not encoded within Unicode.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Unicode Standard Version 13.0 – Core Specification |chapter=Americas: 20.1 Cherokee |page=789 |isbn=978-1-936213-26-9 |location=Mountain View, CA |publisher=Unicode Consortium |date=March 2020 |chapter-url=http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode13.0.0/ch20.pdf |access-date=March 22, 2021}}</ref>

Sequoyah's proposed [[numeral system]] has been described as having a "ciphered-additive structure,"<ref name="Chrisomalis-2021">{{cite web|title=Sequoyah and the Almost-Forgotten History of Cherokee Numerals|last=Chrisomalis|first=Stephen|date=March 18, 2021|website=The MIT Press Reader|url=https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/sequoyah-and-the-almost-forgotten-history-of-cherokee-numerals/|access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref> using combinations of the characters for 1 through 9 with the characters for 20 through 100 to create larger numbers. For example, instead of writing 64, the Cherokee numerals for 60 and 4 ([[File:Cherokee 64.svg|30px|class=skin-invert]]) would be written together. To write 10 through 19, unique characters for each number are employed. For numbers larger than 100, the system takes on features of a multiplicative-additive system, with the digits for 1 through being placed before the hundred, thousand, or million sign to indicate large numbers;<ref name="Chrisomalis-2021" /> for example, for 504, the Cherokee numerals for 5, 100, and 4 ([[File:Cherokee 504.svg|40px|class=skin-invert]]) would be written together.

==Classes==
[[File:Cherokeeclass.png|250px|thumb|Student writing in the Cherokee syllabary in an Oklahoma Cherokee-language immersion school.]]

Cherokee language classes typically begin with a transliteration of Cherokee into Roman letters, only later incorporating the syllabary. The Cherokee language classes offered through [[Haskell Indian Nations University]], [[Northeastern State University]],<ref name="Indian Country Today-2010"/> the [[University of Oklahoma]], the [[University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma]], [[Western Carolina University]], the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], and the immersion elementary schools offered by the Cherokee Nation and the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]],<ref>[http://www.wcu.edu/6314.asp "Cherokee Language Revitalization Project."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528015751/http://www.wcu.edu/6314.asp |date=2010-05-28 }} ''Western Carolina University.'' (retrieved 23 Aug 2010)</ref> such as [[New Kituwah Academy]], all teach the syllabary. The fine arts degree program at [[Southwestern Community College (North Carolina)|Southwestern Community College]] incorporates the syllabary in its printmaking classes.<ref name="SCC" />

==Unicode==
Cherokee was added to the [[Unicode]] standard in September 1999, with the release of version 3.0. The character repertoire was extended to include a complete set of lowercase Cherokee letters as well as the archaic character ({{lang|chr|Ᏽ}}).

On June 17, 2015, with the release of version 8.0, the Unicode Consortium encoded a lowercase version of the script and redefined Cherokee as a [[bicameral script]]. Typists would often set Cherokee with two different point sizes so as to mark beginnings of sentences and given names (as in the Latin alphabet). Handwritten Cherokee also shows a difference in lower- and uppercase letters, such as descenders and ascenders.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2014/14064-n4537-cherokee.pdf |title=Working group Document : Revised proposal for the addition of Cherokee characters to the UCS |publisher=Unicode.org |access-date=2015-06-21}}</ref> Lowercase Cherokee has already been encoded in the font [[Everson Mono]].

===Blocks===
{{Main|Cherokee (Unicode block)|Cherokee Supplement|l2=Cherokee Supplement (Unicode block)}}

The first Unicode block for Cherokee is U+13A0–U+13FF. It contains all 86 uppercase letters, together with six lowercase letters:

{{Unicode chart Cherokee}}

The Cherokee Supplement block is U+AB70–U+ABBF. It contains the remaining 80 lowercase letters.

{{Unicode chart Cherokee Supplement}}

===Fonts===
A single Cherokee Unicode font, Plantagenet Cherokee, is supplied with [[macOS]], version 10.3 (Panther) and later. [[Windows Vista]] also includes a Cherokee font.  Windows 10 replaced Plantagenet Cherokee with <span class="anchor" id="Gadugi">Gadugi</span> after the Cherokee language term for [[Gadugi|"working together"]].<ref>[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/gadugi Gadugi font family]. Microsoft Typography</ref>

Several free Cherokee fonts are available including Digohweli, Donisiladv, and [[Noto Sans Cherokee]]. Some pan-Unicode fonts, such as [[Code2000]], [[Everson Mono]], and [[GNU FreeFont]], include Cherokee characters. A commercial font, Phoreus Cherokee, published by TypeCulture, includes multiple weights and styles.<ref>{{cite web|title=Phoreus Cherokee|url=http://typeculture.com/foundry/font-collection/phoreus-cherokee/|website=TypeCulture|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Canadian Aboriginal syllabics]]
* [[Cree syllabics]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Bender, Margaret. 2002. ''Signs of Cherokee Culture: Sequoyah's Syllabary in Eastern Cherokee Life''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
* Bender, Margaret. 2008. Indexicality, voice, and context in the distribution of Cherokee scripts. ''International Journal of the Sociology of Language'' 192:91–104.
* {{cite journal |last=Cushman |first=Ellen |title=The Cherokee Syllabary from Script to Print |journal=Ethnohistory |volume=57 |issue=4 |date=2010 |pages=625–49 |url=http://www.ellencushman.com/uploads/2/1/4/9/21492356/cushman_ethnohistory.pdf |doi=10.1215/00141801-2010-039 |access-date=2015-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222154120/http://www.ellencushman.com/uploads/2/1/4/9/21492356/cushman_ethnohistory.pdf |archive-date=2015-12-22 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last=Cushman |first=Ellen |title=Cherokee Syllabary: Writing the People's Perseverance |date=2013 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0806143736 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Daniels |first1=Peter T |year=1996 |title=The World's Writing Systems |place=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=587–92}}
* {{cite book |last=Foley |first=Lawrence |title=Phonological Variation in Western Cherokee |place=New York |publisher=Garland Publishing |year=1980}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Giasson |first=Patrick |date=2004 |title=The Typographic Inception of the Cherokee Syllabary |publisher=The University of Reading |url=http://www.tiro.com/syllabics/Cherokee/Giasson_ChrkSyll.pdf |access-date=October 1, 2016}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kilpatrick |first1=Jack F |first2=Anna Gritts |last2=Kilpatrick |title=New Echota Letters |place=Dallas |publisher=Southern Methodist University Press |year=1968 }}
* {{cite book |last=McLoughlin |first=William G. |year=1986 |title=Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic |place=Princeton, NJ |publisher=Princeton University Press }}
* {{cite book |last=Scancarelli |first=Janine |year=2005 |contribution=Cherokee |editor1-first=Heather K |editor1-last=Hardy |editor2-first=Janine |editor2-last=Scancarelli |title=Native Languages of the Southeastern United States |pages=351–84 |place=Bloomington |publisher=Nebraska Press}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Tuchscherer |first1=Konrad |author1-link=Konrad Tuchscherer |first2=PEH |last2=Hair |year=2002 |title=Cherokee and West Africa: Examining the Origins of the Vai Script |journal=History in Africa |volume=29 |pages=427–86 |doi=10.2307/3172173 |jstor=3172173 |s2cid=162073602 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Sturtevant |editor1-first=William C. |editor2-first=Raymond D. |editor2-last=Fogelson |year=2004 |title=Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast |volume=14 |place=Washington, DC |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |isbn=0160723000 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Walker |first1=Willard |first2=James |last2=Sarbaugh |year=1993 |title=The Early History of the Cherokee Syllabary |journal=Ethnohistory |volume=40 |number=1 |pages=70–94 |doi=10.2307/482159 |s2cid=156008097 |jstor=482159 }}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation |last=Cowen |first=Agnes |year=1981 |title=Cherokee Syllabary Primer |place=Park Hill, OK |publisher=Cross-Cultural Education Center |asin=B00341DPR2}}

==External links==
{{Commons cat}}
* {{Citation | url = http://www.translitteration.com/transliteration/en/cherokee/sequoyah/ | title = Cherokee | contribution = Sequoyah | publisher = Transliteration | type = online conversion tool}}.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efo0wx4SMK0 Learning to Design a Cherokee Syllabary with Mark Jamra] – [[Cooper Union]] lecture on sociohistorical background behind Sequoyah's invention, and attempts in designing modern Cherokee typefaces

{{Cherokee}}
{{Native American topics}}
{{Writings systems of the Americas}}
{{list of writing systems}}
{{Language orthographies}}

[[Category:Syllabary writing systems]]
[[Category:Cherokee language|Syllabary]]
[[Category:Writing systems of the Americas]]
[[Category:1809 introductions]]
[[Category:Writing systems introduced in the 19th century]]