Cherokee

Welcome to the Cherokee Wikibook! This is a work in progress.

Are you a Cherokee person endeavoring to learn your ancestral language?

Are you a non-Cherokee person interested in the Cherokee language?

If so, we hope this book may be of great use to you! The introduction provides a contextualization of the Cherokee language, its status, and its standout features. The lessons are designed to explain concepts in thorough, accurate, and unpretentious language that the common reader will understand.

Learning Cherokee, or any language, is a long process requiring great emotional investment, time commitment, and a dedication to using practical strategies to overcome inevitable challenges, anxiety, and frustration. You must be patient. We graciously invite you to proceed if you believe this undertaking to be worth it.

If you have any general questions about content in this book, feel free to leave a comment on the Discussion tab of the corresponding page.

Note: You must be using Cherokee Unicode Supported Fonts to view this book correctly. Information on obtaining and installing Cherokee Unicode Fonts for Windows 2000 and Windows XP is available on the Cherokee Unicode page. Mac OS X from version 10.3 (Panther), Windows Vista and some Linux Operating Systems include default support for displaying the Cherokee Language in syllabary.

Mission and Philosophy

Our mission is not necessarily that you become fluent in Cherokee. Rather, with language being a vehicle for human connection, our goal is that you are able to use the Cherokee language to the extent that you wish in order to form and maintain meaningful connections with Cherokee speakers and learners.

As such, this course's layout and pedagogical content are (currently being) designed to facilitate your ability to smoothly climb up the ladder of functional proficiency in the language. Practical, everyday terms are the first focus in the course. From there, you will be guided to learn and internalize the structures within the language instead of being inundated with vocabulary that you have not been given the framework to handle.

Regardless of your experience with linguistics, if you are interested in learning about Cherokee rather than learning to speak it, you will find that this site also has many useful pages for you outside the Course section.

Current Activities

Here are some activities currently happening. The results of these activities will be published in this book in the near future.

pronominal prefixes chart
new charts listing as close to all as possible of individual lexical categories
summary of clitic grammar
summary of adverbial grammar
better writing on the Cherokee syllabary
explanation of all lexical features of verbs (and then other lexical categories)
guide on tapping into the "social progression" of vocabulary

The below link has existed for awhile and will be kept in this section at least for now.

Notes for the Book Writers

Introduction

For Everyone

Reading these short articles is highly recommended to everyone! You will understand how the Cherokee language fits into the larger North American linguistic situation, get an overview of the history of the language, and become aware of the revitalization projects and how you can help out! The accessibility statement pertains to the current and upcoming features of this site designed to foster a smooth learning experience for all.

For the New Learner

The new learner of Cherokee may easily feel discouraged by the reputation of the language as tonally complex and polysynthetic. The articles below will help demystify these phenomena and show you the true nature of the structure of Cherokee. Also check out the article on learning tips.

For the Linguist and Dedicated Student

Survey of Resources (Research History)

Lexicon & Vocabulary

This section contains the dictionary and vocabulary lists you may find useful for studying. Eventually we envision Anki decks (digital flashcards) for the vocabulary list to help you memorize the lexicon via spaced repetition.

Grammar

Below is a list of articles about specific areas of Cherokee grammar. Linguists will find this a good place to start research. The general learner is also highly encouraged to refer these articles as they are recommended throughout the course.

General Topics

Phonology

Tone in Cherokee

Orthography

On the Syllabary

Verbs

Verb Template
Five Stems
Modal Suffixes
Conjugation Classes
Verb Root
Inflection Tree
Lexical Features of the Verb
Prepronominal Prefixes
Derivational Suffixes

Pronouns

Pronominal Prefixes
Reflexive and Middle Voice

Other Affixes

Clitics

Nouns and Adjectives

Nouns
Adjectives
Derivational Morphology

Adverbs

Connectors

Adpositions
Conjunctions

Quantity

Expressing Quantity
Numerals

Niche Studies

Ambiguity in the Syllabary and Possible Solutions

Explore the Language (Hyperfixation Stations)

Note: combine with Lexicon section

Niche Vocabulary Lists of Nouns with Pronunciation Tips

Good-to-Know Lil' Connecting Elements

(Not So?) Secret Uses of Individual Verbs and Inflections

Literally All the Adjectives We Were Able to Document

Course

General (i.e. non-linguist) learners should feel free to start from these lessons! Some important grammar points are contained in their own lesson pages for neater reference.

Cherokee Lessons
Lesson Number	Topic	Associated Grammar Points
Preparation and Drills edit
i	Syllabary: Reading and Writing
ii	Listening for Vowel Length
iii	Listening for Tones
Module 1: Fundamentals edit
1	Greetings and Introductions
2	Basic Vocabulary
3	Simple Sentences	Word Order, Parts of Speech
4	Important Verbs	Features of Verbs, Conjugation Overview
5	More Sentence Structures
Module 2: Core Content edit
6	Numbers and Quantity	Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers, Counters
7	Time and Date
8	Stuff
9	Feelings and Emotions
10	Communication	Using Tone
11	Sensory Perception
12	Cognition
13	Describing Life
14	Describing People
15	Interpersonal Relationships
16	Physics and Structure
17	Life Activities
18	Describing Stuff
19	Earth
Module 3: Culture edit
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