Cherokee (language)
| Cherokee | |
|---|---|
|
ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ Tsalagi Gawonihisdi |
|
Tsa-la-gi written in the Cherokee syllabary
|
|
| Pronunciation |
[dʒalaˈɡî ɡawónihisˈdî] (Oklahoma dialect) |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | east Oklahoma; Great Smoky Mountains and Qualla Boundary in North Carolina Also in Arkansas. |
| Ethnicity | Cherokee |
|
Native speakers
|
11,000–13,501 (2006–2008) |
|
Iroquoian
|
|
| Cherokee syllabary, Latin script | |
| Official status | |
|
Official language in
|
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma |
| Regulated by |
United Keetoowah Band Department of Language, History, & Culture Council of the Cherokee Nation |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | chr |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | cher1273 |
| Linguasphere | 63-AB |
Pre-contact Distribution of the Cherokee Language
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Current geographic distribution of the Cherokee language
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Cherokee (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, translit. Tsalagi Gawonihisdi) is an Iroquoian language and the native language of the Cherokee people. There are approximately 12,000 Cherokee speakers out of more than 300,000 tribal members. It is the only Southern Iroquoian language and differs significantly from the other Iroquoian languages. Cherokee is a polysynthetic language and uses a unique syllabary writing system.
The dialect of Cherokee in Oklahoma is "definitely endangered", and the one in North Carolina is "severely endangered" according to UNESCO. The Lower dialect, formerly spoken on the South Carolina–Georgia border, has been extinct since about 1900. Less than 5% of Cherokee children are raised to be bilingual in both Cherokee and English. Extensive documentation of the language exists, as it is the Native American language in which the most literature has been published. Such publications include a Cherokee dictionary and grammar as well as translated portions of the New Testament of the Bible from 1850–1951, and the Cherokee Phoenix (ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ, Tsalagi Tsulehisanvhi), the first newspaper published by Native Americans in the United States and the first published in a Native American language. Significant numbers of Cherokee speakers of all ages still populate the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina and several counties within the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, significantly Cherokee, Sequoyah, Mayes, Adair, and Delaware. Increasing numbers of Cherokee youth are renewing interest in the traditions, history, and language of their ancestors.
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Wikipedia