Cherokee syllabary in the context of "Cherokee language"

Play Trivia Questions online!

 or

Skip to study material about Cherokee syllabary in the context of "Cherokee language"

⭐ Core Definition: Cherokee syllabary

The Cherokee syllabary (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩ ᏗᎪᏪᎶᏙᏗ, romanized: Tsalagi Digohwelodohdi) 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. He first experimented with logograms, 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) characters provide a suitable method for writing Cherokee. The letters resemble characters from other scripts, such as Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, and Glagolitic, but are not used to represent the same sounds.

↓ Menu

In this Dossier

Cherokee syllabary in the context of List of writing systems by adoption

Writing systems are used to record human language, and may be classified according to certain common features.

↑ Return to Menu

Cherokee syllabary in the context of Sequoyah

Sequoyah (/səˈkwɔɪə/ sə-QUOY-yə; Cherokee: ᏍᏏᏉᏯ, Ssiquoya, or ᏎᏉᏯ, Sequoya, pronounced [seɡʷoja]; c. 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native American polymath and neographer of the Cherokee Nation.

In 1821, Sequoyah completed his Cherokee syllabary, enabling reading and writing in the Cherokee language. One of the first North American Indigenous groups to gain a written language, the Cherokee Nation officially adopted the syllabary in 1825, helping to unify a forcibly divided nation with new ways of communication and a sense of independence. Within a quarter-century, the Cherokee Nation had reached a literacy rate of almost 100%, surpassing that of surrounding European-American settlers.

↑ Return to Menu
LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← List of writing systems by adoption ← Sequoyah ← List of writing systems
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Syllabary → Sequoyah → Cherokee language → Illiterate → Logogram → Syllable → Phoneme → Latin script → Greek alphabet → Cyrillic script → Glagolitic script →