View source for Cherokee language

{{short description|Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people}}
{{use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Cherokee
| altname          = Southern Iroquoian
| image            = Cherokee sample.svg
| imagecaption     = {{lang|chr-Latn|Tsa-la-gi}} written in the [[Cherokee syllabary]]
| nativename       = {{lang|chr|ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ|italic=no}} <br/>{{lang|chr-Latn|Tsalagi Gawonihisdi}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|chr|dʒɑlɑɡĩ ɡɑwòːni̋ːhisdĩ|Oklahoma dialect}}
| states           = North America
| region           = [[Eastern Oklahoma]]; [[Great Smoky Mountains]]<ref name="Snowbird">{{cite book |last=Neely |first=Sharlotte |author-link=Sharlotte Neely|date=March 15, 2011 |title=Snowbird Cherokees: People of Persistence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rpbSb5Psi_sC&q=cherokee+language+speakers |publisher=University of Georgia Press |pages=147–148 |access-date=May 22, 2014 |isbn=978-0-8203-4074-6 }}</ref> and [[Qualla Boundary]] in North Carolina.<ref name="Museum">{{cite web |first=Ben |last=Frey |title=A Look at the Cherokee Language |work=Tar Heel Junior Historian |publisher=North Carolina Museum of History |date=2005 |access-date=May 22, 2014 |url=http://www.ncdcr.gov/Portals/7/Collateral/Database/F05.Cherokee.language.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20130607161025/http://www.ncdcr.gov/Portals/7/Collateral/Database/F05.Cherokee.language.pdf |archive-date=2013-06-07 }}</ref> Also in [[Arkansas]],<ref name="endangered">{{cite web |title=Cherokee |work=Endangered Languages Project |access-date=April 9, 2014 |url=http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/chr |archive-date=October 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003000557/http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/chr |url-status=live }}</ref> and Cherokee community in California.
| ethnicity        = [[Cherokee]]
| speakers         = 1,520 to ~2,100
| date             = 2018–2019
| ref              = <ref name="Ethnologue18" /><ref name="emergency" />
| familycolor      = American
| fam1             = [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]]
| script           = [[Cherokee syllabary]], [[Latin script]]
| nation           = [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]] in North Carolina,<br/>[[Cherokee Nation]]<ref name="CARLA" /><ref name="official" /><ref name="Keetoowah" /><ref name="constitution">{{cite web |url=http://www.keetoowahcherokee.org/documents/dikahnawadvsdi_ditsaleg.pdf |title=UKB Constitution and By-Laws in the Keetoowah Cherokee Language |publisher=United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians |access-date=June 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201132858/http://www.keetoowahcherokee.org/documents/dikahnawadvsdi_ditsaleg.pdf |archive-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref> of Oklahoma
| agency           = [http://www.keetoowahcherokee.org/about-ukb/languagel United Keetoowah Band Department of Language, History, & Culture]<ref name="official" /><ref name="Keetoowah" /> <br/>[https://cherokee.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=266941&GUID=C8EC5F0A-E523-49A0-92BD-42041FCE32EAl Council of the Cherokee Nation]
| map              = Cherokee lang.png
| mapcaption       = Pre-contact distribution of the Cherokee language
| map2             = Cherokee Speaking Areas Within The USA.png
| mapcaption2      = Current geographic distribution of the Cherokee language
| iso2             = chr
| iso3             = chr
| glotto           = cher1273
| glottorefname    = Cherokee
| lingua           = 63-AB
| notice           = IPA
}}
{{Contains special characters|Cherokee}}
{{Cherokee language|state=expanded}}
[[file:Cherokee Speakers by County, 2000.png|right|350px|thumb|Number of speakers]]
[[file:Lang Status 20-CR.svg|right|thumb|Cherokee is classified as Critically Endangered by [[UNESCO]]'s ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]'']]

'''Cherokee''' or '''Tsalagi'''<!--example of named as used in...
the Cherokee Phoenix: https://www.wcu.edu/library/DigitalCollections/CherokeePhoenix/Vol1/no23/communications-page-2-column-1a.html
the University of Southern Mississippi: https://specialcollections.usm.edu/subjects/514
Auburn University in Alabama: https://www.auburn.edu/outreach/dl/echota/free_resources.html
in Texas: https://texascherokees.net/tsalagi-language/
--> ({{langx|chr|ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ|Tsalagi Gawonihisdi|links=no}}, {{IPA|chr|dʒalaˈɡî ɡawónihisˈdî|IPA}}) is an endangered-to-[[Moribund language|moribund]]{{efn|[[Ethnologue]] classifies Cherokee as moribund (8a), which means that "The only remaining active users of the language are members of the grandparent generation and older".<ref>{{cite web |title=Language Status |work=Ethnologue |publisher=SIL International |date=2019 |access-date=May 30, 2019 |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/about/language-status |archive-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227120737/https://www.ethnologue.com/about/language-status |url-status=live }}</ref>}} [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian language]]<ref name="Ethnologue18">{{cite web |title=Cherokee: A Language of the United States |work=Ethnologue |publisher=SIL International |date=2018 |access-date=May 16, 2019 |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/chr |archive-date=September 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925071809/http://www.ethnologue.com/language/chr |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[native language]] of the [[Cherokee]] people.<ref name="CARLA">{{cite web |title=The Cherokee Nation & its Language |work=University of Minnesota: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition |date=2008 |access-date=Feb 20, 2020 |url=https://carla.umn.edu/conferences/past/immersion2008/documents/Peter_L_CherokeeNation.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiuspfs4eDnAhVLlKwKHaD9C1sQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw0RXKbAsSg0cAZN2RJwxMzs }}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="official">{{cite web |url=http://keetoowahcherokee.org/documents/GaduwaCherokeeNews/2009-04%20April.pdf |title=Keetoowah Cherokee is the Official Language of the UKB |date=April 2009 |publisher=Keetoowah Cherokee News: Official Publication of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma |access-date=June 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715002414/http://keetoowahcherokee.org/documents/GaduwaCherokeeNews/2009-04%20April.pdf |archive-date=July 15, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Keetoowah">{{cite web |url=http://www.keetoowahcherokee.org/about-ukb/language |title=Language & Culture |publisher=United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians |access-date=June 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425060256/http://www.keetoowahcherokee.org/about-ukb/language |archive-date=April 25, 2014 }}</ref> ''[[Ethnologue]]'' states that there were 1,520 Cherokee speakers out of 376,000 Cherokees in 2018,<ref name="Ethnologue18" /> while a tally by the three Cherokee tribes in 2019 recorded about 2,100 speakers.<ref name="emergency">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theonefeather.com/2019/06/tri-council-declares-state-of-emergency-for-cherokee-language/|title=Tri-Council declares State of Emergency for Cherokee language|last=McKie|first=Scott|date=June 27, 2019|work=Cherokee One Feather|access-date=July 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629081731/https://www.theonefeather.com/2019/06/tri-council-declares-state-of-emergency-for-cherokee-language/|archive-date=June 29, 2019}}</ref> The number of speakers is in decline. The ''[[Tahlequah Daily Press]]'' reported in 2019 that most speakers are elderly, about eight fluent speakers die each month, and that only five people under the age of 50 are fluent.<ref name="Strive">{{Cite news|url=https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/tribal_news/cherokees-strive-to-save-a-dying-language/article_c944efa0-2847-5688-a113-969768259f1b.html|title=Cherokees strive to save a dying language|last=Ridge|first=Betty|date=Apr 11, 2019|work=Tahlequah Daily Press|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412170056/https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/tribal_news/cherokees-strive-to-save-a-dying-language/article_c944efa0-2847-5688-a113-969768259f1b.html|url-status=live|archive-date=April 12, 2019}}</ref> The dialect of Cherokee in Oklahoma is "definitely endangered", and the one in North Carolina is "severely endangered" according to [[UNESCO]].<ref name="UNESCO" /> The Lower dialect, formerly spoken on the South Carolina–Georgia border, has been extinct since about 1900.{{sfn|Scancarelli|2005}} The dire situation regarding the future of the two remaining dialects prompted the Tri-Council of Cherokee tribes to declare a state of emergency in June 2019, with a call to enhance revitalization efforts.<ref name="emergency" />

Around 200 speakers of the Eastern (also referred to as the Middle or [[Kituwah]]) dialect remain in North Carolina, and [[language preservation]] efforts include the [[New Kituwah Academy]], a bilingual immersion school.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wunc.org/post/north-carolina-cherokee-say-race-save-their-language-marathon|title=North Carolina Cherokee Say The Race To Save Their Language Is A Marathon|last=Schlemmer|first=Liz|date=October 28, 2018|work=North Carolina Public Radio|access-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514152003/https://www.wunc.org/post/north-carolina-cherokee-say-race-save-their-language-marathon|archive-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref> The largest remaining group of Cherokee speakers is centered around [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma]], where the Western (Overhill or Otali) dialect predominates. The [[Cherokee Immersion School]] ({{lang|chr-Latn|Tsalagi Tsunadeloquasdi}}) in Tahlequah serves children in federally recognized tribes from pre-school up to grade 6.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/as-first-students-graduate-cherokee-immersion-program-faces-critical-test/article_bcdc2a5f-43fd-547f-bb1a-278ec24aa0c1.html|title=As first students graduate, Cherokee immersion program faces critical test: Will the language survive?|last=Overall|first=Michael|date=Feb 7, 2018|work=Tulsa World|access-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514155749/https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/as-first-students-graduate-cherokee-immersion-program-faces-critical-test/article_bcdc2a5f-43fd-547f-bb1a-278ec24aa0c1.html|url-status=live|archive-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref>

Cherokee, a [[polysynthetic language|polysynthetic]] language,<ref name="polysynthetic">{{cite journal |last=Montgomery-Anderson |first=Brad |date=June 2008b |title=Citing Verbs in Polysynthetic Languages: The Case of the Cherokee-English Dictionary |url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-200778805/citing-verbs-in-polysynthetic-languages-the-case |journal=Southwest Journal of Linguistics |volume=27 |access-date=May 22, 2014 |archive-date=September 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925025931/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-200778805/citing-verbs-in-polysynthetic-languages-the-case }}</ref> is also the only member of the Southern Iroquoian family,{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=viii}} and it uses a [[Cherokee syllabary|unique syllabary]] writing system.<ref name="Omniglot">{{cite web |url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/cherokee.htm |title=Cherokee Syllabary |website=Omniglot |access-date=May 22, 2014 |archive-date=October 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002104016/http://omniglot.com/writing/cherokee.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> As a polysynthetic language, Cherokee differs dramatically from [[Indo-European languages]] such as English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese.<ref name="CARLA" /> A single Cherokee word can convey ideas that would require multiple English words to express, from the context of the assertion and connotations about the speaker to the idea's action and its object. The [[morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] complexity of the Cherokee language is best exhibited in verbs, which comprise approximately 75% of the language, as opposed to only 25% of the English language.<ref name="CARLA" /> Verbs must contain at minimum a [[pronoun|pronominal]] prefix, a verb root, an [[grammatical aspect|aspect]] suffix, and a modal suffix.{{sfn|Feeling|Kopris|Lachler|Van_Tuyl|2003|p=16}}

Extensive documentation of the language exists, as it is the [[indigenous languages of North America|indigenous language of North America]] in which the most literature has been published.<ref name="languages">{{cite web |title=Native Languages of the Americas: Cherokee (Tsalagi) |work=Native Languages of the Americas |access-date=May 22, 2014 |url=http://www.native-languages.org/cherokee.htm |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003164025/http://www.native-languages.org/cherokee.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Such publications include a Cherokee dictionary and grammar, as well as several editions of the [[New Testament]] and [[Psalms]] of the Bible<ref name="Ethnologue17">{{cite web |title=Cherokee: A Language of the United States |work=Ethnologue |publisher=SIL International |date=2013 |access-date=May 22, 2014 |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/chr |archive-date=September 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925071809/http://www.ethnologue.com/language/chr |url-status=live }}</ref> and the ''[[Cherokee Phoenix]]'' ({{lang|chr|ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|Tsalagi Tsulehisanvhi}}), the first newspaper published by [[Native Americans in the United States]] and the first published in a Native American language.<ref>LeBeau, Patrick. ''Term Paper Resource Guide to American Indian History.'' Greenwoord. Westport, CT: 2009. p. 132.</ref><ref>Woods, Thomas E. ''Exploring American History: Penn, William – Serra, Junípero'' Cavendish. Tarrytown, NY: 2008. p. 829.</ref>

== Classification ==
Cherokee is an [[Iroquoian language]], and the only Southern Iroquoian language spoken today. Linguists believe that the Cherokee people migrated to the southeast from the [[Great Lakes region]]{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2015|p=3}} about three thousand years ago, bringing with them their language. Despite the three-thousand-year geographic separation, the Cherokee language today still shows some similarities to the languages spoken around the Great Lakes, such as [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]], [[Onondaga language|Onondaga]], [[Seneca language|Seneca]], and [[Tuscarora language|Tuscarora]].

Some researchers (such as Thomas Whyte) have suggested the homeland of the proto-Iroquoian language resides in Appalachia. Whyte contends, based on linguistic and molecular studies, that proto-Iroquoian speakers participated in cultural and economic exchanges along the north–south axis of the Appalachian Mountains.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}} The divergence of Southern Iroquoian (which Cherokee is the only known branch of) from the Northern Iroquoian languages occurred approximately 4,000–3,000 years ago as [[Late Archaic (North America)|Late Archaic]] proto-Iroquoian speaking peoples became more sedentary with the advent of horticulture, advancement of lithic technologies and the emergence of social complexity in the Eastern Woodlands. In the subsequent millennia, the Northern Iroquoian and Southern Iroquoian would be separated by various Algonquin and Siouan speaking peoples as linguistic, religious, social and technological practices from the Algonquin to the north and east and the Siouans to the west from the [[Ohio Valley]] would come to be practiced by peoples in the Chesapeake region, as well as parts of the Carolinas.

== History ==
[[File:Cherokee Heritage Center - New Hope Church - Bible cover in Cherokee script (2015-05-27 14.09.44 by Wesley Fryer).jpg|thumb|Bible cover in Cherokee script]]
{{main|History of the Cherokee language}}
{{see also|Cherokee history}}

===Literacy===
{{see also|Cherokee syllabary|Sequoyah}}
[[File:Adams Corner - Kirche 7.jpg|thumb|left|Translation of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] into the Cherokee language, 1856]]

Before the development of the [[Cherokee syllabary]] in the 1820s, Cherokee was an oral language only. The Cherokee syllabary is a set of written symbols invented by [[Sequoyah]] in the late 1810s and early 1820s to write the Cherokee language. His creation of the syllabary is particularly noteworthy in that he could not previously read any script. Sequoyah had some contact with English literacy and the Roman alphabet through his proximity to [[Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)|Fort Loudoun]], where he engaged in trade with Europeans. He was exposed to English literacy through his white father. His limited understanding of the [[Latin alphabet]], including the ability to recognize the letters of his name, may have aided him in the creation of the Cherokee syllabary.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cushman|first=Ellen|year=2011|title="We're Taking the Genius of Sequoyah into This Century": The Cherokee Syllabary, Peoplehood, and Perseverance|jstor=10.5749/wicazosareview.26.1.0067|journal=Wíčazo Ša Review|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|volume=26|issue=1|pages=72–75|doi=10.5749/wicazosareview.26.1.0067}}</ref> When developing the written language, Sequoyah first experimented with [[logogram]]s, but his system later developed into a 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 in the Cherokee syllabary provide a suitable method to write Cherokee. Some typeface syllables do resemble the Latin, [[Greek alphabet|Greek]], and even the [[Cyrillic script]]s' letters, but the sounds are completely different (for example, the sound {{IPA|/a/}} is written with a letter that resembles Latin D).

Around 1809, Sequoyah began work to create a system of writing for the Cherokee language.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/science/23cherokee.html?ref=science |title=Carvings From Cherokee Script's Dawn |work=The New York Times |date=June 22, 2009 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |author=Wilford, John Noble |archive-date=May 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530004325/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/science/23cherokee.html?ref=science |url-status=live }}</ref> At first he sought to create a character for each word in the language. He spent a year on this effort, leaving his fields unplanted, so that his friends and neighbors thought he had lost his mind.<ref name="gc">{{cite news|author=G. C.|date=August 13, 1820|title=Invention of the Cherokee Alphabet|work=Cherokee Phoenix|volume=1|number=24}}</ref><ref name="boudinot">{{cite journal|first=Elias|last=Boudinot|title=Invention of a New Alphabet|date=April 1, 1832|journal=American Annals of Education}}</ref> His wife is said to have burned his initial work, believing it to be [[witchcraft]].<ref name="nyt" /> He finally realized that this approach was impractical because it would require too many pictures to be remembered. He then tried making a symbol for every idea, but this also caused too many problems to be practical.<ref name="Davis">{{cite journal |last=Davis |first=John B. |journal=Chronicles of Oklahoma |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v008/v008p149.html |title=The Life and Work of Sequoyah |volume=8 |number=2 |date=June 1930 |access-date=April 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028175529/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v008/v008p149.html |archive-date=2017-10-28 }}</ref>

Sequoyah did not succeed until he gave up trying to represent entire words and developed a written symbol for each syllable in the language. After approximately a month, he had a system of 86 [[Grapheme|characters]].<ref name="gc" /> "In their present form [of typeface syllabary, not the original handwritten syllabary], many of the syllabary characters resemble Roman, Cyrillic, or Greek letters, or [[Arabic numerals]]," says Janine Scancarelli, a scholar of Cherokee writing, "but there is no apparent relationship between their sounds in other languages and in Cherokee."<ref name="nyt" />

Unable to find adults willing to learn the syllabary, he taught it to his daughter, Ayokeh (also spelled Ayoka).<ref name="nyt" /> Langguth says she was only six years old at the time.<ref name="Langguth">Langguth, p. 71</ref> He traveled to the Indian Reserves in the [[Arkansas Territory]] where some Cherokees had settled. When he tried to convince the local leaders of the syllabary's usefulness, they doubted him, believing that the symbols were merely ''ad hoc'' reminders. Sequoyah asked each to say a word, which he wrote down, and then called his daughter in to read the words back. This demonstration convinced the leaders to let him teach the syllabary to a few more people. This took several months, during which it was rumored that he might be using the students for sorcery. After completing the lessons, Sequoyah wrote a dictated letter to each student, and read a dictated response. This test convinced the western Cherokees that he had created a practical writing system.<ref name="boudinot" />

When Sequoyah returned east, he brought a sealed envelope containing a written speech from one of the Arkansas Cherokee leaders. By reading this speech, he convinced the eastern Cherokees also to learn the system, after which it spread rapidly.<ref name="gc" /><ref name="boudinot" /> In 1825 the [[Cherokee Nation]] officially adopted the writing system. From 1828 to 1834, American missionaries assisted the Cherokees in using Sequoyah's original syllabary to develop [[typeface]] syllabary characters and print the ''[[Cherokee Phoenix]]'', the first newspaper of the Cherokee Nation, with text in both Cherokee and English.<ref name="Sequoyah">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-618&sug=y |entry=Sequoyah |encyclopedia=New Georgia Encyclopedia |access-date=January 3, 2009 |archive-date=November 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116005904/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-618&sug=y |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1826, the Cherokee National Council commissioned George Lowrey and David Brown to translate and print eight copies of the laws of the Cherokee Nation in the new Cherokee language typeface using Sequoyah's system, but not his original self-created handwritten syllable glyphs.<ref name="Davis" />

Once [[Albert Gallatin]] saw a copy of Sequoyah's syllabary, he found the syllabary superior to the English alphabet. Even though a Cherokee student must learn 86 syllables instead of 26 letters, they can read immediately. Students could accomplish in a few weeks what students of English writing could learn in two years.<ref name="Langguth" />

In 1824, the General Council of the Eastern Cherokees awarded Sequoyah a large silver medal in honor of the syllabary. According to Davis, one side of the medal bore his image surrounded by the inscription in English, "Presented to George Gist by the General Council of the Cherokee for his ingenuity in the invention of the Cherokee Alphabet." The reverse side showed two long-stemmed pipes and the same inscription written in Cherokee. Supposedly, Sequoyah wore the medal throughout the rest of his life, and it was buried with him.<ref name="Davis" />

By 1825, the Bible and numerous religious hymns and pamphlets, educational materials, legal documents, and books were translated into the Cherokee language. Thousands of Cherokees became literate and the literacy rate for Cherokees in the original syllabary, as well as the typefaced syllabary, was higher in the Cherokee Nation than that of literacy of whites in the [[English alphabet]] in the United States.

Though use of the Cherokee syllabary declined after many of the Cherokees were forcibly removed to [[Indian Territory]], present-day Oklahoma, it has survived in private correspondence, renderings of the Bible, and descriptions of Indian medicine<ref name="britannica">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/109503/Cherokee-language|title=Cherokee language|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=May 22, 2014|archive-date=May 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502190615/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/109503/Cherokee-language|url-status=live}}</ref> and now can be found in books and on the internet among other places.

In February 2022, [[Motorola Mobility]] introduced a Cherokee language interface for its latest [[smartphone]]. Eastern Band Principal Chief [[Richard Sneed]], who along with other Cherokee leaders worked with Motorola on the development, considered this an effort to preserve the language. Features included not only symbols but also the culture.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Matt |date=February 28, 2022 |title=Cherokee on a smartphone: Part of a drive to save a language |work=[[Hickory Daily Record]] |url=https://hickoryrecord.com/lifestyles/technology/how-tech-could-help-out-endangered-languages-like-cherokee/article_fe58a5b5-9222-5558-a204-af4a7c4eae0f.html |access-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309235720/https://hickoryrecord.com/lifestyles/technology/how-tech-could-help-out-endangered-languages-like-cherokee/article_fe58a5b5-9222-5558-a204-af4a7c4eae0f.html |archive-date=2022-03-09 |via=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>

== Geographic distribution ==
The language remains concentrated in some Oklahoma communities<ref name="Ethnologue16">{{cite web
 |title=Cherokee: A Language of the United States
 |work=[[Ethnologue]]: Languages of the World
 |publisher=[[SIL International]]
 |date=2009
 |access-date=May 22, 2014
 |url=http://archive.ethnologue.com/16/show_language.asp?code=chr
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714194741/http://archive.ethnologue.com/16/show_language.asp?code=chr
 |archive-date=2014-07-14
 }}</ref> and communities like Big Cove and Snowbird in North Carolina.<ref name="pbs2">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/challenges/cherokee.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018084946/http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/challenges/cherokee.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 18, 2007|title=Cherokee Language & Culture|work=Indian Country Diaries|publisher=pbs|access-date=June 1, 2014}}</ref>

=== Dialects ===
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Jerry speaking English and Cherokee.webm|thumb|Video of [[Jeremiah Wolfe|Jerry Wolfe]] (1924–2018), speaking in English and the Kituwah dialect of Cherokee in 2013]]
At the time of European contact, there were three major dialects of Cherokee: Lower, Middle, and Overhill. The Lower dialect, formerly spoken on the South Carolina-Georgia border, has been extinct since about 1900.{{sfn|Scancarelli|2005}} Of the remaining two dialects, the Middle dialect (Kituwah) is spoken by the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians|Eastern Band]] on the [[Qualla Boundary]], and retains ~200 speakers.<ref name="Ethnologue18" /> The Overhill, or Western, dialect is spoken in eastern Oklahoma and by the Snowbird Community in North Carolina by ~1,300 people.<ref name="Ethnologue18" />{{sfn|Scancarelli|2005|p=351}} The Western dialect is most widely used and is considered the main dialect of the language.<ref name="CARLA" /><ref name="about">{{cite web |url=http://aboutworldlanguages.com/cherokee |title=Cherokee |last=Thompson |first=Irene |date=August 6, 2013 |website=aboutworldlanguages.com |access-date=May 22, 2014 |archive-date=May 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521085122/http://aboutworldlanguages.com/cherokee |url-status=live }}</ref> Both dialects have had English influence, with the Overhill, or Western dialect showing some Spanish influence as well.<ref name="about" />

The now extinct Lower dialect spoken by the inhabitants of the Lower Towns in the vicinity of the South Carolina–Georgia border had ''r'' as the liquid consonant in its inventory, while both the contemporary Kituhwa dialect spoken in North Carolina and the Overhill dialect contain ''l''.

=== Language drift ===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width: 22em; clear: right; float: right; margin-right: 0; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"
|-
! colspan="4" | Drifted Otali Sequoyah<br />syllabary mapping
|-
| Otali syllable || Sequoyah syllabary index || Sequoyah syllabary chart || Sequoyah syllable
|-
| a || 00 || Ꭰ || a
|-
| e || 01 || Ꭱ || e
|-
| i || 02 || Ꭲ || i
|-
| o || 03 || Ꭳ || o
|-
| u || 04 || Ꭴ || u
|-
| v || 05 || Ꭵ || v
|-
| qwa || 06 || Ꭶ || ga
|-
| ka || 07 || Ꭷ || ka
|-
| ge || 08 || Ꭸ || ge
|-
| gi || 09 || Ꭹ || gi
|-
| go || 10 || Ꭺ || go
|-
| gu || 11 || Ꭻ || gu
|-
| gv || 12 || Ꭼ || gv
|-
| ha || 13 || Ꭽ || ha
|-
| he || 14 || Ꭾ || he
|-
| hi || 15 || Ꭿ || hi
|-
| ho || 16 || Ꮀ || ho
|-
| hu || 17 || Ꮁ || hu
|-
| hv || 18 || Ꮂ || hv
|-
| la || 19 || Ꮃ || la
|-
| le || 20 || Ꮄ || le
|-
| li || 21 || Ꮅ || li
|-
| lo || 22 || Ꮆ || lo
|-
| lu || 23 || Ꮇ || lu
|-
| lv || 24 || Ꮈ || lv
|-
| ma || 25 || Ꮉ || ma
|-
| me || 26 || Ꮊ || me
|-
| mi || 27 || Ꮋ || mi
|-
| mo || 28 || Ꮌ || mo
|-
| mu || 29 || Ꮍ || mu
|-
| na || 30 || Ꮎ || na
|-
| hna || 31 || Ꮏ || hna
|-
| nah || 32 || Ꮐ || nah
|-
| ne || 33 || Ꮑ || ne
|-
| ni || 34 || Ꮒ || ni
|-
| no || 35 || Ꮓ || no
|-
| nu || 36 || Ꮔ || nu
|-
| nv || 37 || Ꮕ || nv
|-
| qua || 38 || Ꮖ || qua
|-
| que || 39 || Ꮗ || que
|-
| qui || 40 || Ꮘ || qui
|-
| quo || 41 || Ꮙ || quo
|-
| quu || 42 || Ꮚ || quu
|-
| quv || 43 || Ꮛ || quv
|-
| sa || 44 || Ꮜ || sa
|-
| s || 45 || Ꮝ || s
|-
| se || 46 || Ꮞ || se
|-
| si || 47 || Ꮟ || si
|-
| so || 48 || Ꮠ || so
|-
| su || 49 || Ꮡ || su
|-
| sv || 50 || Ꮢ || sv
|-
| da || 51 || Ꮣ || da
|-
| ta || 52 || Ꮤ || ta
|-
| de || 53 || Ꮥ || de
|-
| te || 54 || Ꮦ || te
|-
| di || 55 || Ꮧ || di
|-
| ti || 56 || Ꮨ || ti
|-
| do || 57 || Ꮩ || do
|-
| du || 58 || Ꮪ || du
|-
| dv || 59 || Ꮫ || dv
|-
| dla || 60 || Ꮬ || dla
|-
| tla || 61 || Ꮭ || tla
|-
| tle || 62 || Ꮮ || tle
|-
| tli || 63 || Ꮯ || tli
|-
| tlo || 64 || Ꮰ || tlo
|-
| tlu || 65 || Ꮱ || tlu
|-
| tlv || 66 || Ꮲ || tlv
|-
| ja || 67 || Ꮳ || tsa
|-
| je || 68 || Ꮴ || tse
|-
| ji || 69 || Ꮵ || tsi
|-
| jo || 70 || Ꮶ || tso
|-
| ju || 71 || Ꮷ || tsu
|-
| jv || 72 || Ꮸ || tsv
|-
| hwa || 73 || Ꮹ || wa
|-
| we || 74 || Ꮺ || we
|-
| wi || 75 || Ꮻ || wi
|-
| wo || 76 || Ꮼ || wo
|-
| wu || 77 || Ꮽ || wu
|-
| wv || 78 || Ꮾ || wv
|-
| ya || 79 || Ꮿ || ya
|-
| ye || 80 || Ᏸ || ye
|-
| yi || 81 || Ᏹ || yi
|-
| yo || 82 || Ᏺ || yo
|-
| yu || 83 || Ᏻ || yu
|-
| yv || 84 || Ᏼ || yv
|}

There are two main dialects of Cherokee spoken by modern speakers. The Giduwa (or Kituwah) dialect (Eastern Band) and the Otali dialect (also called the Overhill dialect) spoken in Oklahoma. The Otali dialect has drifted significantly from Sequoyah's syllabary in the past 150 years, and many contracted and borrowed words have been adopted into the language. These noun and verb roots in Cherokee, however, can still be mapped to Sequoyah's syllabary. There are more than 85 syllables in use by modern Cherokee speakers.

== Status and preservation efforts ==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 250
| image1            = Swyddfa Bost Tahlequah.jpg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = A sign in [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma]] in English and Cherokee (transcription: {{lang|chr|ᏓᎵᏊ ᎪᏪᎵ ᏧᏂᏍᏚᎢᏍᏗ}} – "{{lang|chr-Latn|daliquu goweli tsunisduisdi}}")
| image2            = Kituwah Academy.png
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = A lesson at [[New Kituwah Academy]] on the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina. The bilingual [[language immersion]] school, operated by the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]], teaches the same curriculum as other American primary schools
}}

In 2019, the Tri-Council of Cherokee tribes declared a state of emergency for the language due to the threat of it going extinct, calling for the enhancement of revitalization programs.<ref name="emergency" /> The language retains about 1,500<ref name="Strive" /> to 2,100<ref name="emergency" /> Cherokee speakers, but an average of eight fluent speakers die each month, and only a handful of people under 40 years of age are fluent as of 2019.<ref name="Strive" />{{additional citation needed|date=August 2023}} In 1986, the literacy rate for first language speakers was 15–20% who could read and 5% who could write, according to the 1986 [[Cherokee Heritage Center]].<ref name="Ethnologue17" /> A 2005 survey determined that the Eastern Band had 460 fluent speakers. Ten years later, the number was believed to be 200.<ref name="Standingdeer">{{cite news|url=http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/01/03/cracking-code-speak-cherokee/77744120/|title=Cracking the code to speak Cherokee|last=Neal|first=Dale|work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]]|date=January 4, 2016|archive-date=September 12, 2019|access-date=January 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912020232/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/01/03/cracking-code-speak-cherokee/77744120/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Tsali Boulevard sign, Cherokee, NC IMG 4880.JPG|upright=0.9|left|thumb|Tsali Boulevard (transcription: {{lang|chr|[[Tsali|ᏣᎵ]] ᏧᏩᏐᎯᏍᏗ}} – "{{lang|chr-Latn|tsali tsuwasohisdi}}") in [[Cherokee, North Carolina|Cherokee]], North Carolina]]
Cherokee is "definitely endangered" in Oklahoma and "severely endangered" in North Carolina according to [[UNESCO]].<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap&cc2=US|title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger|date=2010|publisher=UNESCO|language=en|access-date=2017-12-17|archive-date=November 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115091751/http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap&cc2=US|url-status=live}}</ref> Cherokee has been the co-[[official language]] of the [[Cherokee Nation]] alongside English since a 1991 legislation officially proclaimed this under the Act Relating to the Tribal Policy for the Promotion and Preservation of Cherokee Language, History, and Culture.<ref name="Cherokee">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JiN-P2aNrnoC&q=Established+cherokee+and+english+as+the+official+languages+of+the+tribe&pg=PA188|last=Cushman |first=Ellen |date=September 13, 2012 |title=The Cherokee Syllabary: Writing the People's Perseverance |chapter=8 – Peoplehood and Perseverance: The Cherokee Language, 1980–2010 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |pages=189–191 |access-date=June 2, 2014 |isbn=978-0-8061-8548-4 }}</ref> Cherokee is also recognized as the official language of the [[United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians]]. As Cherokee is official, the entire constitution of the United Keetoowah Band is available in both English and Cherokee. As an official language, any tribal member may communicate with the tribal government in Cherokee or English, English translation services are provided for Cherokee speakers, and both Cherokee and English are used when the tribe provides services, resources, and information to tribal members or when communicating with the tribal council.<ref name="Cherokee" /> The 1991 legislation allows the political branch of the nation to maintain Cherokee as a living language.<ref name="Cherokee" /> Because they are within the Cherokee Nation tribal jurisdiction area, hospitals and health centers such as the Three Rivers Health Center in [[Muscogee, Oklahoma]] provide Cherokee language translation services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cherokee.org/Services/Health/HealthCentersHospitals.aspx|title=Health Centers & Hospitals|publisher=Cherokee Nation|access-date=June 5, 2014|archive-date=June 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625105122/http://cherokee.org/Services/Health/HealthCentersHospitals.aspx}}</ref>

=== Education ===
[[File:Cherokeeclass.png|thumb|left|[[Oklahoma]] Cherokee language immersion school student writing in the [[Cherokee syllabary]]]]
[[File:CherokeeKituwahAcademy.png|thumb|left|The Cherokee language taught to preschool students at [[New Kituwah Academy]]]]
In 2008 the Cherokee Nation initiated a ten-year language preservation plan that involved growing new fluent speakers of the Cherokee language from childhood on up through school immersion programs, as well as a collaborative community effort to continue to use the language at home.<ref>{{cite web| title=Native Now: Language: Cherokee| work=We Shall Remain – American Experience – PBS| access-date=April 9, 2014| year=2008| url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/native_now/language_cherokee| archive-date=April 7, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407132754/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/native_now/language_cherokee}}</ref> This plan was part of an ambitious goal that in 50 years, 80 percent or more of the Cherokee people will be fluent in the language.<ref name="preservation" /> The [[Cherokee Preservation Foundation]] has invested $4.5 million into opening schools, training teachers, and developing curricula for language education, as well as initiating community gatherings where the language can be actively used. They have accomplished: "Curriculum development, teaching materials and teacher training for a total immersion program for children, beginning when they are preschoolers, that enables them to learn Cherokee as their first language. The participating children and their parents learn to speak and read together. The Tribe operates the [[New Kituwah Academy|Kituwah Academy]]".<ref name="preservation">{{cite web|title=Cherokee Language Revitalization |work=Cherokee Preservation Foundation |access-date=April 9, 2014 |year=2014 |url=http://www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org/cultural-preservation-connect/major-programs-and-initiatives/cherokee-language-revitalization |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407070520/http://www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org/cultural-preservation-connect/major-programs-and-initiatives/cherokee-language-revitalization |archive-date=April 7, 2014 }}</ref> Formed in 2006, the Kituwah Preservation & Education Program (KPEP) on the Qualla Boundary focuses on language immersion programs for children from birth to fifth grade, developing cultural resources for the general public and community language programs to foster the Cherokee language among adults.<ref name="kpep">Kituwah Preservation & Education Program Powerpoint, by Renissa Walker (2012)'. 2012. Print.</ref>

There is also a [[Cherokee language immersion school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma]] that educates students from pre-school through eighth grade.<ref name="Chavez, Will">{{Cite news|last=Chavez, Will|title=Immersion students win trophies at language fair|work=Cherokeephoenix.org|access-date=April 8, 2013|date=April 5, 2012|url=http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/Index/6142|archive-date=May 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525231358/http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/Index/6142|url-status=live}}</ref>  A second campus was added in November 2021, when the school purchased Greasy School in [[Greasy, Oklahoma]], located in southern [[Adair County, Oklahoma|Adair County]] ten miles south of [[Stilwell, Oklahoma|Stilwell]].<ref name="Immersion">{{cite web|url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/cherokee-immersion-announces-second-campus/article_c000fbc2-3c1a-11ec-8157-776cb821c25a.html |title=Cherokee Immersion announces second campus|date=2 November 2021 |publisher=Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton, Tulsa World, November 2, 2021|access-date=November 2, 2021}}</ref>  Situated in the largest area of Cherokee speakers in the world, the opportunity for that campus is for students to spend the day in an immersion school and then return to a Cherokee-speaking home.<ref name="Immersion" />

Several universities offer Cherokee as a second language, including the [[University of Oklahoma]], [[Northeastern State University]], and [[Western Carolina University]]. Western Carolina University (WCU) has partnered with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) to promote and restore the language through the school's Cherokee Studies program, which offers classes in and about the language and culture of the Cherokee Indians.<ref name="wcu.edu">{{cite web|title=Cherokee Language Revitalization Project|work=Western Carolina University|access-date=April 9, 2014|year=2014|url=http://www.wcu.edu/academics/departments-schools-colleges/cas/casdepts/anthsoc/cherokee-studies/cherokeelanguagerevitalizationproject.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407084751/http://www.wcu.edu/academics/departments-schools-colleges/cas/casdepts/anthsoc/cherokee-studies/cherokeelanguagerevitalizationproject.asp|archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> WCU and the EBCI have initiated a ten-year language revitalization plan consisting of: (1) a continuation of the improvement and expansion of the EBCI Atse Kituwah Cherokee Language Immersion School, (2) continued development of Cherokee language learning resources, and (3) building of Western Carolina University programs to offer a more comprehensive language training curriculum.<ref name="wcu.edu" />


In November 2022, the tribe opened a $20 million language center in a {{cvt|52000|sqft|sqm}} building near its headquarters in Tahlequah.<ref name="Center">{{cite web|url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/cherokee-nation-opens-20-million-immersion-facility-where-english-becomes-a-foreign-language/article_efc8e322-6420-11ed-aecf-4fec10897829.html|title=Cherokee Nation opens $20 million immersion facility where English becomes a foreign language|date=15 November 2022|publisher=Michael Overall, Tulsa World, November 15, 2022|access-date=November 16, 2022|archive-date=November 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115232610/https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/cherokee-nation-opens-20-million-immersion-facility-where-english-becomes-a-foreign-language/article_efc8e322-6420-11ed-aecf-4fec10897829.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  The immersion facility, which has classes for youth to adults, features no English signage: even the exit signs feature a pictograph of a person running for the door rather than the English word.<ref name="Center" />

The Cherokee Nation has created language lessons on the online learning platform [[Memrise]] which contain "around 1,000 Cherokee words and phrases".<ref>{{cite news |last=Sellers |first=Caroline |date=8 June 2023 |title=Cherokee language lessons now available on two apps |url=https://kfor.com/news/local/cherokee-language-lessons-now-available-on-two-apps/ |url-status=live |agency=[[Kfor.com]] |location=Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923144201/https://kfor.com/news/local/cherokee-language-lessons-now-available-on-two-apps/ |archive-date=23 September 2023 |access-date=25 March 2024}}</ref>

== Phonology ==
[[File:Wikitongues Jerry speaking Cherokee.mp3|thumb|right|Recording of a native Cherokee speaker from the Eastern Band]]
[[File:Cherokeestompdance.ogg|thumb|right|Recording of a Cherokee language stomp dance ceremony in Oklahoma]]
The family of [[Iroquoian languages]] has a unique phonological inventory. Unlike most languages, the Cherokee inventory of consonants lacks the labial sounds {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/b/}}. It also lacks {{IPA|/f/}} and {{IPA|/v/}}. Cherokee does, however, have one [[labial consonant]], {{IPA|/m/}}, but it is rare, appearing in no more than ten native words.{{sfn|King|1975|pp=16, 21}} In fact, the Lower dialect does not produce {{IPA|/m/}} at all. Instead, it uses {{IPA|/w/}}.

In the case of {{IPA|/p/}}, {{angbr|qw}} {{IPA|/kʷ/}} is often substituted, as in the name of the [[:chr:|Cherokee Wikipedia]], {{lang|chr-Latn|Wigi'''qw'''ediya}}. Some words may contain sounds not reflected in the given phonology: for instance, the modern Oklahoma use of the loanword "automobile", with the {{IPA|/ɔ/}} and {{IPA|/b/}} sounds of English.

=== Consonants ===
As with many Iroquoian languages, Cherokee's phonemic inventory is small. The consonants for North Carolina Cherokee are given in the table below. The consonants of all Iroquoian languages pattern so that they may be grouped as (oral) obstruents, sibilants, laryngeals, and resonants.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Lounsbury |first=Floyd G. |date=1978 |editor-last=Trigger |editor-first=Bruce G. |title=Iroquoian Languages |journal=[[Handbook of North American Indians]] |location=Washington, DC |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |volume=15 |pages=334–343 |oclc=12682465}}</ref>{{Rp|page=337}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ North Carolina Cherokee consonants
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! <small>plain</small>
! [[Lateral consonant|<small>lateral</small>]]
! <small>plain</small>
! <small>[[Labialization|labial]]</small>
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
|
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|
|
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|kʷ}}
| {{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
|
| {{IPAlink|t͡s}}
| {{IPAlink|t͡ɬ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
| {{IPAlink|s}}
|
|
|
|
| {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|
| {{IPAlink|l}}
| {{IPAlink|j}}
| {{IPAlink|ɰ}}
|
|
|}

==== Notes ====
* The stops {{IPA|/t, k, kʷ/}} and affricates {{IPA|/t͡s, t͡ɬ/}} are voiced in the beginning of syllables and between vowels: {{IPA|[d, ɡ, ɡʷ, d͡z, d͡ɮ]}}. Before {{IPA|/h/}}, they surface as aspirated stops: {{IPA|[tʰ, kʰ, kʷʰ, t͡sʰ]}}, except {{IPA|/t͡ɬ/}} which surfaces as a plain voiceless affricate {{IPA|[t͡ɬ]}} or fricative {{IPA|[ɬ]}} in some Oklahoma Cherokee speakers.{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=41}}{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|pp=39, 64}} These aspirated allophones are felt as separate phonemes by native speakers and are often reflected as such in the orthographies (in romanization or syllabary).
* {{IPA|/t͡s/}} is palatalized as {{IPA|[t͡ɕ ⁓ t͡ʃ]}} (voiced allophones: {{IPA|[d͡ʑ ⁓ d͡ʒ]}}) in the Oklahoma dialects,{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|pp=40–41}} but {{IPA|[t͡s]}} before {{IPA|/h/}} + obstruent after vowel deletion:{{sfn|Scancarelli|1987|p=25}} {{lang|chr-Latn|jⱥ-hdlv́vga}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|tsdlv́vga}} {{gloss|you are sick}}.{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=65}}
* {{IPA|/t͡ɬ/}} has merged with {{IPA|/t͡s/}} in most North Carolina dialects.{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=41}}
* {{IPA|[ɡ]}} (the voiced allophone of {{IPA|/k/}}) can also be lenited to {{IPA|[ɣ]}}, and {{IPA|[ɡʷ]}} (the voiced allophone of {{IPA|/kʷ/}}) to {{IPA|[ɣʷ ⁓ w]}}.{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=39}}{{sfn|Scancarelli|1987|p=26}}
* The sonorants {{IPA|/n, l, j, ɰ/}} are devoiced when preceding or following {{IPA|/h/}}, with varying degrees of allophony: {{IPA|[n̥, l̥⁓ɬ, j̥⁓ç, w̥⁓ʍ⁓ɸ]}}.{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=42}}
* {{IPA|/m/}} is the only true labial. It occurs only in a dozen native words{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=43}} and is not reconstructed for [[Proto-Iroquoian language|Proto-Iroquoian]].{{sfn|Charles|2010|pp=21, 82}}
* {{IPA|/s/}} is realized as {{IPA|[ʃ]}} or even {{IPA|[ʂ]}} in North Carolina dialects. After a short vowel, {{IPA|/s/}} is always preceded by a faint {{IPA|/h/}}, generally not spelled in the romanized orthographies.{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=42}}{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=36}}{{sfn|Scancarelli|1987|p=25}}
* {{IPA|/ʔ/}} and {{IPA|/h/}}, including the pre-aspiration {{IPA|/h/}} mentioned above, participate in complex rules of laryngeal and tonal alternations, often surfacing as various tones instead. Ex: {{lang|chr-Latn|h-v'''h'''d-a}} > {{lang|chr-Latn|hv'''h'''da}} "use it!" but {{lang|chr-Latn|g-v'''h'''d-íha}} >  {{lang|chr-Latn|g'''vv̀'''díha}} "I am using it" with a low falling tone;{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=43}} {{lang|chr-Latn|wi-hi-ga'''h'''t-i}} > {{lang|chr-Latn|hwi'''k'''ti}} "you're heading there" but {{lang|chr-Latn|wi-ji-ga'''h'''t-i}} >  {{lang|chr-Latn|wijig'''áa'''ti}} "I am heading there" with a falling tone.

==== Orthography ====
There are two main competing orthographies, depending on how plain and aspirated stops (including affricates) are represented:{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=11}}{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|pp=33, 64}}{{sfn|Scancarelli|2005|pp=359-362}}
* In the ''d/t system'', plain stops are represented by English voiced stops (''d, g, gw, j, dl'') and aspirated stops by English voiceless stops (''t, k, kw, c, tl''). This orthography is favored by native speakers.
* In the ''t/th system'', plain stops are represented by voiceless stops instead, and aspirated stops by sequences of voiceless stops + ''h'' (''th, kh, khw/kwh, ch, thl/tlh''). This orthography is favored by linguists.

Another orthography, used in Holmes (1977), doesn't distinguish plain stops from aspirated stops for {{IPA|/t͡sa/}} and {{IPA|/kw/}} and uses ''ts'' and ''qu'' for both modes.{{sfn|Scancarelli|1987|p=30}} Spellings working from the syllabary rather than from the sounds often behave similarly, {{IPA|/t͡s/}} and {{IPA|/kʷ/}} being the only two stop series not having separate letters for plain and aspirated before any vowel in Sequoyah script. Ex: {{lang|chr|ᏌᏊ}} {{transliteration|chr|saquu}} {{IPA|chr|saàɡʷu|}}, {{lang|chr|ᏆᎾ}} {{transliteration|chr|quana}} {{IPA|chr|kʷʰana|}}.

=== Vowels ===
There are six short vowels and six long vowels in the Cherokee inventory.{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=ix}} As with all Iroquoian languages, this includes a nasalized vowel.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=337}} In the case of Cherokee, the nasalized vowel is a mid central vowel usually represented as ''v'' and is pronounced {{IPA|[ə̃]}}, that is as a [[schwa]] vowel like the unstressed "a" in the English word "comma" plus the nasalization. It is similar to the nasalized vowel in the French word ''un'' which means "one".

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Cherokee vowels
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|iː}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|eː}}
| {{IPA link|ə̃}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|ə̃ː}}
| {{IPA link|o}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|oː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPA link|a}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|aː}}
|
|}

{{IPA|/u/}} is weakly rounded and often realized as {{IPA|[ɯ ⁓ ʉ]}}.

Word-final vowels are short and nasalized, and receive an automatic high or high-falling tone: {{lang|chr-Latn|wado}} {{IPA|chr|wadṍ|}} 'thank you'.{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=45}} They are often dropped in casual speech: {{lang|chr-Latn|gaáda}} {{IPA|chr|ɡaátʰ|}} 'dirt'.{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=49}} When deletion happens, trailing {{IPA|/ʔ/}} and {{IPA|/h/}} are also deleted and any resulting long vowel is further shortened:{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=78}} {{lang|chr-Latn|uùgoohvv́ʔi}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|uùgoohv́}} 'he saw it'.

Short vowels are devoiced before {{IPA|/h/}}: {{lang|chr-Latn|digadóhdi}} {{IPA|chr|diɡadó̥hdĩ́|}}.{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=45}} But due to the phonological rules of [[#Vowel deletion|vowel deletion]], [[#H-metathesis|laryngeal metathesis]] and [[#Laryngeal alternation|laryngeal alternation]] (see below), this environment is relatively rare.

Sequences of two non-identical vowels are disallowed and the vowel clash must be resolved. There are four strategies depending on the phonological and morphological environments:{{sfn|Uchihara|2013|pp=127-130}}
# the first vowel is kept: {{lang|chr-Latn|uù-aduulíha}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|uùduulíha}} 'he wants',
# the second vowel is kept: {{lang|chr-Latn|hi-ééga}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|hééga}} 'you're going',
# an [[epenthetic]] consonant is inserted: {{lang|chr-Latn|jii-uudalééʔa}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|jiiyuudalééʔa}},
# they merge into a different vowel or tone quality.

These make the identification of each individual morpheme often a difficult task:

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=3B:Set B third person
|top= '''dúu'''daanv́vneelvv́ʔi
|d'''ee-''' '''ii-''' '''uu-''' '''a'''daa(d)- nv́vneel -vv́ʔi
|DIST- ITER- 3B- REFL- give:PFV -EXP
|"he gave them right back to him"}}

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=1A:Set A first person
|top= d'''éena'''suúléésgo
|d'''ee-''' '''iinii-''' '''a'''suúléésg -o
|DIST- 1A.DU- wash.hands:IPFV -HAB
|"you and I always wash our hands"}}

=== Tone ===
Cherokee distinguishes six pitch patterns or [[Tone (linguistics)|tones]], using four pitch levels. Two tones are level (low, high) and appear on short or long vowels. The other four are [[contour tone]]s (rising, falling, lowfall, highrise) and appear on long vowels only.{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=51}}

There is no academic consensus on the notation of tone and length, although in 2011 a project began to document the use of tones in Cherokee to improve language instruction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dunlap |first=Mary Jane |date=2011-11-01 |title=Language specialists racing with time to revitalize Cherokee language |url=https://today.ku.edu/2011/11/01/language-specialists-racing-time-revitalize-cherokee-language |access-date=2023-01-28 |publisher=The University of Kansas |language=en |archive-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907230605/https://today.ku.edu/2011/11/01/language-specialists-racing-time-revitalize-cherokee-language |url-status=live }}</ref> Below are the main conventions, along with the standardized [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] notation.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! Vowel length
! Tone
! IPA
! Pulte & Feeling<br />(1975)
! Scancarelli<br />(1986)
! Montgomery-Anderson<br />(2008, 2015)
! Feeling (2003),<br />Uchihara (2016)
|-
|rowspan="2"|Short
| Low
| {{IPA|˨}}
|ạ²
|à
|a
|a
|-
| High
| {{IPA|˧}}
|ạ³
|á
|á
|á
|-
|rowspan="6"|Long
| Low
| {{IPA|˨}}
|a²
|à:
|aa
|aa
|-
| High
| {{IPA|˧}}
|a³
|á:
|áa
|áá
|-
| Rising
| {{IPA|˨˧}}
|a²³
|ǎ:
|aá
|aá
|-
| Falling
| {{IPA|˧˨}}
|a³²
|â:
|áà
|áà
|-
| Lowfall
| {{IPA|˨˩}}
|a¹ (= a²¹)
|ȁ:
|aà
|àà, àa
|-
| Superhigh
| {{IPA|˧˦}}
|a⁴ (= a³⁴)
|a̋:
|áá
|aa̋
|}

* The ''low tone'' is the default, unmarked tone.
* The ''high tone'' is the marked tone. Some sources of high tone apply to the [[Mora (linguistics)|mora]], others to the syllable. Complex [[morphophonological]] rules govern whether it can spread one mora to the left, to the right or at all. It has both lexical and morphological functions.
* The ''rising and falling tones'' are secondary tones, i.e. combinations of low and high tones, deriving from moraic high tones and from high tone spread.
* The ''lowfall tone'' mainly derives from glottal stop deletion after a long vowel, but also has important morphological functions ([[#Pronominal lowering|pronominal lowering]], [[#Tonicity|tonic/atonic alternation]], [[#Laryngeal alternation|laryngeal alternation]]).
* The ''superhigh tone'', also called ''highfall'' by Montgomery-Anderson, has a distinctive [[morphosyntactical]] function, primarily appearing on adjectives, nouns derived from verbs, and on subordinate verbs. It is mobile and falls on the rightmost long vowel. If the final short vowel is dropped and the superhigh tone becomes in word-final position, it is shortened and pronounced like a slightly higher final tone (notated as ''a̋'' in most orthographies). There can only be one superhigh tone per word, constraint not shared by the other tones. For these reasons, this contour exhibits some accentual properties and has been referred to as an [[Stress (linguistics)|accent]] (or stress) in the literature.{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=95}}

While the tonal system is undergoing a gradual simplification in many areas, it remains important in meaning and is still held strongly by many, especially older, speakers. The syllabary displays neither tone nor vowel length, but as stated earlier regarding the paucity of minimal pairs, real cases of ambiguity are rare. The same goes for transliterated Cherokee ({{lang|chr-Latn|osiyo}} for {{IPA|chr|oosíjo|}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|dohitsu}} for {{IPA|chr|doòhiı̋dʒu|}}, etc.), which is rarely written with any tone markers, except in dictionaries. Native speakers can tell the difference between written words based solely on context.

== Grammar ==
{{main|Cherokee grammar}}
Cherokee, like many Native American languages, is [[polysynthetic]], meaning that many [[morphemes]] may be linked together to form a single word, which may be of great length. Cherokee [[verbs]] must contain at a minimum a [[pronoun|pronominal]] [[prefix]], a verb root, an [[Grammatical aspect|aspect]] suffix, and a modal suffix,{{sfn|Feeling|Kopris|Lachler|Van_Tuyl|2003|p=16}} for a total of 17 verb tenses.<ref name="Standingdeer" /> They can also bear prepronominal prefixes, reflexive prefixes, and derivational suffixes. Given all possible combinations of affixes, each regular verb can have 21,262 inflected forms.

For example, the verb form {{lang|chr-Latn|gééga}}, 'I am going', has each of these elements:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Verb form {{lang|chr|ᎨᎦ}} '''{{lang|chr-Latn|gééga}}'''
|-
! colspan="2"|{{lang|chr|Ꭸ}}
! colspan="2"|{{lang|chr|Ꭶ}}
|-
| g-  || -éé- || -g- || -a
|-
| <small>PRONOMINAL PREFIX</small><br/> 1 sg|| <small>VERB ROOT</small> <br/>'to go' || <small>ASPECT SUFFIX</small><br/>present || <small>MODAL SUFFIX</small>
|}

The pronominal prefix is {{lang|chr-Latn|g-}}, which indicates first person singular. The verb root is {{lang|chr-Latn|-éé-}}, 'to go.' The aspect suffix that this verb employs for the present-tense stem is {{lang|chr-Latn|-g-}}. The present-tense modal suffix for regular verbs in Cherokee is {{lang|chr-Latn|-a}}.

Cherokee makes three [[Grammatical number|number]] distinctions on pronouns: singular, dual and plural. It does not make gender distinction,{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=xiii}} but does distinguish [[animacy]] in third person pronouns. Cherokee also makes the distinction between inclusive and exclusive pronouns in the first person dual and plural. There is no distinction between dual and plural in the 3rd person. This makes a total of 10 persons.

The following is the conjugation of this verb form in all 10 persons.{{sfn|Robinson|2004|p=60}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Full conjugation in the present progressive aspect of verbal root {{lang|chr-Latn|-éé-}} 'to be going'
|-
! colspan="2" | Person
! Singular
! Dual
! Plural
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1st
! exclusive
| rowspan="2" | {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎨᎦ&emsp;(ge-ga)|''gééga''|I'm going}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎣᏍᏕᎦ&emsp;(o-s-de-ga)|oòsdééga|We two (not you) are going}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎣᏤᎦ&emsp;(o-tse-ga)|oòjééga|We're (not you) all going}}
|-
! inclusive
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎢᏁᎦ&emsp;(i-ne-ga) |iìnééga|You &amp; I are going}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎢᏕᎦ&emsp;(i-de-ga)|iìdééga|We're (&amp; you) all going}}
|-
! colspan="2" | 2nd
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎮᎦ&emsp;(he-ga) |hééga|You're going}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᏍᏕᎦ&emsp;(s-de-ga) |sdééga|You two are going}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎢᏤᎦ&emsp;(i-tse-ga) |iìjééga|You're all going}}
|-
! colspan="2" | 3rd
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎡᎦ&emsp;(e-ga)|ééga |She/he/it's going}}
| colspan="2" | {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎠᏁᎦ&emsp;(a-ne-ga)|aànééga|They are going}}
|}

The translation uses the present progressive ('at this time I am going'). Cherokee differentiates between progressive ('I am going') and habitual ('I go') more than English does. For the habitual, the aspectual prefix is {{lang|chr-Latn|-g-}} "imperfective" or "incompletive" (here identical to present, but can vary for other verbs) and the modal prefix {{lang|chr-Latn|-óóʼi}} "habitual".

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Full conjugation in the habitual aspect of verbal root {{lang|chr-Latn|-éé-}} 'to often/usually go'{{sfn|Robinson|2004|p=60}}
|-
! colspan="2" | Person
! Singular
! Dual
! Plural
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1st
! exclusive
| rowspan="2" | {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎨᎪᎢ&emsp;(ge-go-i)|géégóóʼi|I often/usually go}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎣᏍᏕᎪᎢ&emsp;(o-s-de-go-i)|oòsdéégóóʼi|We two (not you) often/usually go}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎣᏤᎪᎢ&emsp;(o-tse-go-i)|oòjéégóóʼi|We (not you) often/usually go}}
|-
! inclusive
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎢᏁᎪᎢ&emsp;(i-ne-go-i)|iìnéégóóʼi|You &amp; I often/usually go}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎢᏕᎪᎢ&emsp;(i-de-go-i)|iìdéégóóʼi|We (&amp; you) often/usually go}}
|-
! colspan="2" | 2nd
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎮᎪᎢ&emsp;(he-go-i)|héégóóʼi|You often/usually go}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᏍᏕᎪᎢ&emsp;(s-de-go-i)|sdéégóóʼi|You two often/usually go}}
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎢᏤᎪᎢ&emsp;(i-tse-go-i)|iìjéégóóʼi|You often/usually go}}
|-
! colspan="2" | 3rd
| {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎡᎪᎢ&emsp;(e-go-i)|éégóóʼi|She/he/it often/usually goes}}
| colspan="2" | {{fs interlinear|lang=chr|ᎠᏁᎪᎢ&emsp;(a-ne-go-i)|aànéégóóʼi|They often/usually go}}
|}

=== Pronouns and pronominal prefixes ===
Like many Native American languages, Cherokee has many pronominal prefixes that can index both subject and object. Pronominal prefixes always appear on verbs and can also appear on adjectives and nouns.{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=49}} There are two separate words which function as pronouns: {{lang|chr-Latn|aya}} 'I, me' and {{lang|chr-Latn|nihi}} 'you'.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Table of Cherokee pronominal prefixes before a consonant, vowel
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | 1st person
! colspan="2" | 2nd person
! colspan="2" | 3rd person
|-
! set I || set II
! set I || set II
! set I || set II
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
| {{lang|chr-Latn|ji-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|g-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|agi-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|agw-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|hi-, h-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|ja-, j-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|ga/a-, X-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|u-, X-}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | dual
! inclusive
| {{lang|chr-Latn|ini-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|in-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|gini-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|gin-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|sdi-, sd-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|desdi-, desd-}}
| &ndash;
| &ndash;
|-
! exclusive
| {{lang|chr-Latn|osdi-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|osd-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|ogini-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|ogin-}}
| &ndash;
| &ndash;
| &ndash;
| &ndash;
|-
! rowspan="2" | plural
! inclusive
| {{lang|chr-Latn|idi-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|id-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|igi-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|ig-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|iji-, ij-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|deji-, dej-}}
| &ndash;
| &ndash;
|-
! exclusive
| {{lang|chr-Latn|oji-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|oj-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|ogi-}}, {{lang|chr-Latn|og-}}
| &ndash;
| &ndash;
| {{lang|chr-Latn|ani-, an-}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|uni, un-}}
|}

=== Compound pronouns ===
A Cherokee pronoun's number marks not only the agent of a verb, but often the object as well. This is the case if the depending object was already mentioned and would be substituted by a separate pronoun in English as well. Contrary to English, animacy is marked but gender is not.

(These suffixes have to be treated in a CV syllabary structure.) Set I and II join here except if written ''A'' | ''B''.
{| class="wikitable"
!{{diagonal split header|Subject|Object}}
!1 s
!2 s
!3 s an
!3 s in
!1 d inc
!1 d exc
!2 d
!1 p inc
!1 p exc
!2 p
!3 p an
!3 p in
|-
|1 singular
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gv(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ji(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|g(e)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sdv(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ijv(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gaji(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|deg(a)-}}
|-
|2 singular
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sg(w)(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|hi(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|h(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sgini(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|isgi(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gahi(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|deh(i)-}}
|-
|3 singular (animate)
|{{lang|chr-Latn|agw(a)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|j(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|g(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|g(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gin(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ogin(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sd(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ig(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|og(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ij(i)-}}
|deg(i)-
|{{lang|chr-Latn|deg(i)-}}
|-
|1 dual inclusive
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|en(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|in(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gen(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|den(i)-}}
|-
|1 dual exclusive
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sdv(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|osd(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|osd(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sdv(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ijv(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gosd(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|dosd(i)-}}
|-
|2 dual
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sgin(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|esd(i)}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sd(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|sgin(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|isgi(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gesd(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|desd(i)-}}
|-
|1 plural inclusive
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ed(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|id(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ged(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ded(i)-}}
|-
|1 plural exclusive
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ijv(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|oj(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|oj(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ijv(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ijv(y)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|goj(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|doj(i)-}}
|-
|2 plural
|{{lang|chr-Latn|isgi(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ej(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ij(i)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|isgi(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|isgi(y)-}}
|&ndash;
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gej(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|dej(i)-}}
|-
|3 plural (animate)
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gvg(w)(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gej(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|<nowiki>an(i)- | un(i)-</nowiki>}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|<nowiki>an(i)- | un(i)-</nowiki>}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gegin(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gogin(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gesd(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|geg(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gog(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|gej(i)-}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|<nowiki>gan(i)- | gun(i)-</nowiki>}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|<nowiki>dan(i)- | dun(i)-</nowiki>}}
|}

Some prefixes are the same, even though they mean their opposite. Understanding is ensured by regular stem changes within the verb.

=== Shape classifiers in verbs ===
Some Cherokee verbs require special classifiers which denote a physical property of the direct object. Only around 20 common verbs require one of these classifiers (such as the equivalent of 'hold'). The classifiers can be grouped into five categories:

* Live
* Flexible (most common)
* Long (narrow, not flexible)
* Indefinite (solid, heavy relative to size), also used as default category{{sfn|King|1975}}
* Liquid (or container of)

Example:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Conjugation of 'hand him{{nbsp}}...'
|-
! Classifier type
! Cherokee
! Transliteration
! Translation
|-
| Live
| {{lang|chr|ᎯᎧᏏ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|hikasi}}
| Hand him (something living)
|-
| Flexible
| {{lang|chr|ᎯᏅᏏ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|hinvsi}}
| Hand him (something like clothes, rope)
|-
| Long, indefinite
| {{lang|chr|ᎯᏗᏏ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|hidisi}}
| Hand him (something like a broom, pencil)
|-
| Indefinite
| {{lang|chr|ᎯᎥᏏ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|hivsi}}
| Hand him (something like food, book)
|-
| Liquid
| {{lang|chr|ᎯᏁᎥᏏ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|hinevsi}}
| Hand him (something like water)
|}

There have been reports that the youngest speakers of Cherokee are using only the indefinite forms, suggesting a decline in usage or full acquisition of the system of shape classification.{{sfn|Scancarelli|2005}} Cherokee is the only Iroquoian language with this type of classificatory verb system, leading linguists to reanalyze it as a potential remnant of a noun incorporation system in Proto-Iroquoian.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Evolution of Noun Incorporation|last=Mithun|first=Marianne|date=1984|journal=Language|doi=10.1353/lan.1984.0038|issue=4|pages=847–894 |volume=60|s2cid=143600392}}</ref> However, given the non-productive nature of noun incorporation in Cherokee, other linguists have suggested that classificatory verbs are the product of historical contact between Cherokee and non-Iroquoian languages, and instead that the noun incorporation system in Northern Iroquoian languages developed later.<ref>Chafe, Wallace. 2000. "Florescence as a force in grammaticalization." ''Reconstructing Grammar'', ed. Spike Gildea, pp. 39–64. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.</ref>

=== Word order ===
All orderings between subjects, verbs, and objects are possible in Cherokee sentences, but word order preferences are influenced by a number of factors. Some preferences are determined by [[information structure]]; items that express contrast with alternatives generally precede other arguments,{{sfn|Hsu|Frey|2024}} and items that express new information typically precede those that refer to entities already in the conversation.{{sfn|Scancarelli|1987|pp=181-198}} Word order is also influenced by [[Thematic relation|thematic role]], such that agent arguments of transitive sentences (subjects) typically precede theme arguments (objects).{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=353}}{{sfn|King|1975|p=111}}{{sfn|Hsu|Frey|2024}} Verbs typically occur either at the end of the sentence or followed by exactly one phrase; it is highly uncommon to find two phrases following the verb in a single sentence.{{sfn|Hsu|Frey|2024}} In [[Copula (linguistics)|copular]] sentences, the subject complement must precede the copular verb.{{sfn|Akkuş|2018}} Negative sentences have a different word order.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Within the nominal expression, some relative orders are fixed, while others are flexible. Demonstratives, such as {{lang|chr|ᎾᏍᎩ}} {{lang|chr-Latn|nasgi}} ('that') or {{lang|chr|ᎯᎠ}} {{lang|chr-Latn|hia}} ('this'), occur at the beginning of noun phrases.{{sfn|Scancarelli|1987|p=175}} Numerals follow demonstratives, and precede both nouns and adjectives.{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=516}} Adjectives may either precede or follow nouns. Relative clauses follow the nouns that they modify.{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=353}} Adverbs precede the verbs that they are modifying. For example, 'she's speaking loudly' is {{lang|chr|ᎠᏍᏓᏯ ᎦᏬᏂᎭ}} {{lang|chr-Latn|asdaya gawoniha}} (literally, 'loud she's-speaking').{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=353}}

In affirmative present tense sentences, no verb is required to express a copular, predicative relationship between two noun phrases. In such a case, word order is flexible. For example, {{lang|chr|Ꮎ ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᎠᎩᏙᏓ}} {{lang|chr-Latn|na asgaya agidoda}} ('that man is my father'). Adjectives can also be used predicatively with a noun phrase subject, as in {{lang|chr|ᎠᎩᏙᏓ ᎤᏔᎾ}} {{lang|chr-Latn|agidoda utana}} ('my father is big').{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=354}}

== Orthography ==
{{main|Cherokee syllabary}}
[[File:Sequoyah.jpg|thumb|[[Sequoyah]], inventor of the Cherokee syllabary]]

Cherokee is written in an 85-character [[syllabary]] invented by [[Sequoyah]] (also known as Guest or George Gist). Many of the letters resemble the [[Latin script|Latin]] letters they derive from, but have completely unrelated sound values; Sequoyah had seen English, [[Hebrew]], and [[Greek language|Greek]] writing but did not know how to read them.{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=xvii}}<!-- In all known cases where a person invented a script after seeing phonetic writing, but without knowing how to write, the results have been syllabaries.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} -->

Two other scripts used to write Cherokee are a simple Latin [[transliteration]] and a more precise system with [[Diacritic]]al marks.{{sfn|Feeling|Kopris|Lachler|Van_Tuyl|2003|pp=1-2}}

=== Description ===
Each of the characters represents one syllable, as in the Japanese ''[[kana]]'' and the [[Bronze Age]] Greek [[Linear B]] writing systems. The first six characters represent isolated [[Cardinal vowel|vowel]] syllables. Characters for combined consonant and vowel syllables then follow. It is recited from left to right, top to bottom.{{Sfn|Walker|Sarbaugh|1993}}{{Rp | needed=yes|date=December 2012}}

The charts below show the syllabary as arranged by [[Samuel Worcester]] along with his commonly used transliterations. He played a key role in the development of [[Cherokee printing]] from 1828 until his death in 1859.

[[File:Cherokee Syllabary.svg|frameless|upright=2.75]]

==== Notes ====
# In the chart, 'v' represents a [[nasal vowel]], {{IPA|/ə̃/}}.
# The character Ꮩ ''do'' is shown upside-down in some fonts.{{Refn | group="lower-alpha" | There was a difference between the old-form DO (Λ-like) and a new-form DO (V-like). The standard Digohweli font displays the new-form. Old Do Digohweli and Code2000 fonts both display the old-form.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.languagegeek.com/font/fontdownload.html#Cherokee | website=LanguageGeek | title=LanguageGeek Fonts: Cherokee | access-date=April 5, 2014 | archive-date=April 19, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419212845/http://languagegeek.com/font/fontdownload.html#Cherokee | url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The transliteration working from the syllabary uses conventional consonants like ''qu'' and ''ts'', and may differ from the ones used in the phonological orthographies (first column in the below chart, in the d/t system).

{| class="wikitable" summary="Cherokee"
|-
! Ø
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭰ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| a
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭱ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| e
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭲ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| i
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭳ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| o
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭴ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| u
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭵ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| v
|-
! g / k
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭶ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ga
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭷ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ka
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭸ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ge
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭹ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| gi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭺ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| go
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭻ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| gu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭼ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| gv
|-
! h
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭽ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ha
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭾ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| he
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꭿ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| hi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮀ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| ho
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮁ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| hu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮂ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| hv
|-
! l / hl
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮃ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| la
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮄ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| le
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮅ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| li
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮆ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| lo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮇ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| lu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮈ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| lv
|-
! m
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮉ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ma
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮊ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| me
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮋ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| mi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮌ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| mo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮍ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| mu
| colspan="2" |
|-
! n / hn
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮎ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| na
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮏ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| hna
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮐ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| nah
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮑ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ne
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮒ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ni
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮓ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| no
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮔ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| nu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮕ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| nv
|-
! gw / kw
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮖ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| qua
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮗ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| que
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮘ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| qui
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮙ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| quo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮚ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| quu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮛ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| quv
|-
! s
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮝ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| s
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮜ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| sa
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮞ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| se
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮟ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| si
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮠ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| so
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮡ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| su
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮢ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| sv
|-
! d / t
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮣ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| da
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮤ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ta
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮥ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| de
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮦ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| te
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮧ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| di
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮨ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| ti
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮩ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| do
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮪ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| du
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮫ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| dv
|-
! dl / tl (hl)
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮬ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| dla
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮭ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| tla
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮮ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| tle
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮯ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| tli
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮰ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| tlo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮱ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| tlu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮲ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| tlv
|-
! j / c <br/> (dz / ts) 
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮳ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| tsa
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮴ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| tse
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮵ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| tsi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮶ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| tso
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮷ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| tsu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮸ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| tsv
|-
! w / hw
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮹ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| wa
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮺ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| we
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮻ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| wi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮼ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| wo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮽ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| wu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮾ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| wv
|-
! y / hy
| style="font-size:large;" | Ꮿ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ya
| colspan="4" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏸ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| ye
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏹ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden; border-right:#aaa hidden;"| yi
| colspan="2" | &nbsp;
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏺ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| yo
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏻ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| yu
| style="font-size:large;" | Ᏼ || style="border-left:#aaa hidden;"| yv
|}

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 often represent different forms of the same syllable.{{Sfn | Walker | Sarbaugh | 1993}}{{Rp | needed=yes|date=December 2012}}  Not all [[phoneme|phonemic]] distinctions of the spoken language are represented:
* Aspirated consonants are generally not distinguished from their plain 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 (somewhat like the Japanese [[dakuten]]) have been suggested.
* Tones are not marked. 
* Syllables ending in vowels, ''h,'' or glottal stop are undifferentiated.  For example, the single symbol Ꮡ is used to represent both ''suú'' as in {{lang|chr-Latn|suúdáli}}, meaning 'six' ({{lang|chr|ᏑᏓᎵ}}), and ''súh'' as in {{lang|chr-Latn|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 [[#Vowel deletion|vowel deletion]] for instance). For example, {{lang|chr|ᏧᎾᏍᏗ}} ({{transliteration|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}} ({{gcl|DIST-3B.pl-small}}), where ''a'' is part of the root. The vowel is included in the transliteration, but is not pronounced.

As with some other [[underspecified]] writing systems, such as [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]], adult speakers can distinguish words by context.

=== Unicode ===
Cherokee was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in September 1999 with the release of version 3.0.

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

The main Unicode block for Cherokee is U+13A0–U+13FF.{{efn|The PDF Unicode chart shows the new-form of the letter ''do''.}} It contains the script's upper-case syllables as well as six lower-case syllables:
{{Unicode chart Cherokee}}

The rest of the lower-case syllables are encoded at U+AB70–ABBF:
{{Unicode chart Cherokee Supplement}}

==== Fonts and digital platform support ====
A single Cherokee Unicode font, Plantagenet Cherokee, is supplied with [[macOS]], version 10.3 (Panther) and later. [[Windows Vista]] also includes a Cherokee font. Several free Cherokee fonts are available including Digohweli, Donisiladv, and [[Noto fonts|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|archive-date=November 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106224512/https://typeculture.com/foundry/font-collection/phoreus-cherokee/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Cherokee Nation Language Technology Program supports "innovative solutions for the Cherokee language on all digital platforms including smartphones, laptops, desktops, tablets and social networks."<ref>{{cite web|title=How the Cherokee language has adapted to texts, iPhones|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-09-13/how-cherokee-language-has-adapted-texts-iphones|access-date=2015-10-03|date=September 13, 2015|website=[[Public Radio International]], Digital Voices Online|first=Eduardo|last=Avila|archive-date=October 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006090559/http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-09-13/how-cherokee-language-has-adapted-texts-iphones|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Vocabulary ==
[[File:Cherokee stop sign.png|thumb|right|upright=0.7|Cherokee stop sign, [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma]], with {{lang|chr|ᎠᎴᏫᏍᏗᎭ}} "{{lang|chr-Latn|alehwisdiha}}" (also spelled "{{lang|chr-Latn|halehwisda}}") meaning 'stop']]
[[File:Cwy no parking.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Cherokee traffic sign in [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma]], reading {{lang|chr|Ꮭ ᎠᏗ ᏱᎩ}}  "{{lang|chr-Latn|tla adi yigi}}", meaning 'no parking' from "{{lang|chr-Latn|tla}}" meaning 'no']]

=== Numbers ===
Cherokee uses [[Arabic numerals]] (0–9).  The Cherokee council voted not to adopt Sequoyah's numbering system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://intertribal.net/NAT/Cherokee/WebPgCC1/Numerals.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102075444/http://intertribal.net/NAT/Cherokee/WebPgCC1/Numerals.htm |archive-date=November 2, 2011 |publisher=Inter tribal |title=Sequoyah's Numerals }}</ref> Sequoyah created individual symbols for 1–20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 as well as a symbol for three zeros for numbers in the thousands, and a symbol for six zeros for numbers in the millions.  These last two symbols, representing ",000" and ",000,000", are made up of two separate symbols each.  They have a symbol in common, which could be used as a zero in itself.

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|-
! English
! Cherokee<ref name="omniglot.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.omniglot.com/language/numbers/cherokee.htm |title=Numbers in Cherokee |work=omniglot.com |access-date=May 18, 2015 |archive-date=May 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514094858/http://www.omniglot.com/language/numbers/cherokee.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
! Transliteration
|-
| one
| {{lang|chr|ᏌᏊ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|saquu}}
|-
| two
| {{lang|chr|ᏔᎵ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|tali}}
|-
| three
| {{lang|chr|ᏦᎢ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|tsoi}}
|-
| four
| {{lang|chr|ᏅᎩ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|nvgi}}
|-
| five
| {{lang|chr|ᎯᏍᎩ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|hisgi}}
|-
| six
| {{lang|chr|ᏑᏓᎵ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|sudali}}
|-
| seven
| {{lang|chr|ᎦᎵᏉᎩ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|galiquogi}}
|-
| eight
| {{lang|chr|ᏧᏁᎳ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|tsunela}}
|-
| nine
| {{lang|chr|ᏐᏁᎳ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|sonela}}
|-
| ten
| {{lang|chr|ᏍᎪᎯ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|sgohi}}
|-
| eleven
| {{lang|chr|ᏌᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|sadu}}
|-
| twelve
| {{lang|chr|ᏔᎵᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|talidu}}
|-
| thirteen
| {{lang|chr|ᏦᎦᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|tsogadu}}
|-
| fourteen
| {{lang|chr|ᏂᎦᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|nigadu}}
|-
| fifteen
| {{lang|chr|ᎯᏍᎦᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|hisgadu}}
|-
| sixteen
| {{lang|chr|ᏓᎳᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|daladu}}
|-
| seventeen
| {{lang|chr|ᎦᎵᏆᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|galiquadu}}
|-
| eighteen
| {{lang|chr|ᏁᎳᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|neladu}}
|-
| nineteen
| {{lang|chr|ᏐᏁᎳᏚ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|soneladu}}
|-
| twenty
| {{lang|chr|ᏔᎵᏍᎪᎯ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|talisgohi}}
|}

=== Days ===
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|-
! English
! Cherokee<ref name="omniglot.com" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cherokee.org/AboutTheNation/Language/Dikaneisdi%28WordList%29.aspx|title=Dikaneisdi (Word List)|work=cherokee.org|access-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508224207/http://www.cherokee.org/AboutTheNation/Language/Dikaneisdi(WordList).aspx|archive-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref>
! Transliteration
|-
|Days of the week
|{{lang|chr|ᎯᎸᏍᎩᎢᎦ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|hilvsgiiga}}
|-
|Sunday
|{{lang|chr|ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|unadodaquasgv}}
|-
|Monday
|{{lang|chr|ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|unadodaquohnvhi}}
|-
|Tuesday
|{{lang|chr|ᏔᎵᏁᎢᎦ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|talineiga}}
|-
|Wednesday
|{{lang|chr|ᏦᎢᏁᎢᎦ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|tsoineiga}}
|-
|Thursday
|{{lang|chr|ᏅᎩᏁᎢᎦ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|nvgineiga}}
|-
|Friday
|{{lang|chr|ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|junagilosdi}}
|-
|Saturday
|{{lang|chr|ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|unadodaquidena}}
|}

=== Months ===
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|-
! English
! Meaning
! Cherokee
! Transliteration
|-
| January
| Month of the Cold Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᏚᏃᎸᏔᏂ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|dunolvtani}}
|-
| February
| Month of the Bony Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᎧᎦᎵ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|kagali}}
|-
| March
| Month of the Windy Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᎠᏄᏱ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|anuyi}}
|-
| April
| Month of the Flower Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᎧᏩᏂ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|kawani}}
|-
| May
| Month of the Planting Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᎠᎾᎠᎬᏘ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|anaagvti}}
|-
| June
| Month of the Green Corn Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᏕᎭᎷᏱ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|dehaluyi}}
|-
| July
| Month of the Ripe Corn Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᎫᏰᏉᏂ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|guyequoni}}
|-
| August
| Month of the End of Fruit Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᎦᎶᏂᎢ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|galonii}}
|-
| September
| Month of the Nut Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᏚᎵᎢᏍᏗ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|duliisdi}}
|-
| October
| Month of the Harvest Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᏚᏂᏅᏗ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|duninvdi}}
|-
| November
| Month of Trading Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᏄᏓᏕᏆ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|nudadequa}}
|-
| December
| Month of the Snow Moon
| {{lang|chr|ᎥᏍᎩᎦ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|vsgiga}}
|}

=== Colors ===
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|-
! English
! Cherokee
! Transliteration
|-
| black
| {{lang|chr|ᎬᎾᎨᎢ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|gvnagei}}
|-
| blue
| {{lang|chr|ᏌᎪᏂᎨᎢ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|sagonigei}}
|-
| brown
| {{lang|chr|ᎤᏬᏗᎨ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|uwodige}}
|-
| green
| {{lang|chr|ᎢᏤᎢᏳᏍᏗ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|itseiyusdi}}
|-
| gray
| {{lang|chr|ᎤᏍᎪᎸ ᏌᎪᏂᎨ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|usgolv sagonige}}
|-
| gold
| {{lang|chr|ᏓᎶᏂᎨᎢ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|dalonigei}}
|-
| orange
| {{lang|chr|ᎠᏌᎶᏂᎨ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|asalonige}}
|-
| pink
| {{lang|chr|ᎩᎦᎨᎢᏳᏍᏗ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|gigageiyusdi}}
|-
| purple
| {{lang|chr|ᎩᎨᏍᏗ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|gigesdi}}
|-
| red
| {{lang|chr|ᎩᎦᎨ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|gigage}}
|-
| silver
| {{lang|chr|ᎠᏕᎸ ᎤᏁᎬ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|adelv unegv}}
|-
| white
| {{lang|chr|ᎤᏁᎦ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|unega}}
|-
| yellow
| {{lang|chr|ᏓᎶᏂᎨ}}
| {{lang|chr-Latn|dalonige}}
|}

=== Word creation ===
The polysynthetic nature of the Cherokee language enables the language to develop new descriptive words in Cherokee to reflect or express new concepts. Some good examples are {{lang|chr|ᏗᏘᏲᎯᎯ}} (''{{transliteration|chr|ditiyohihi}}'', 'he argues repeatedly and on purpose with a purpose') corresponding to 'attorney' and {{lang|chr|ᏗᏓᏂᏱᏍᎩ}} (''{{transliteration|chr|didaniyisgi}}'', 'the final catcher' or 'he catches them finally and conclusively') for 'policeman'.<ref name="begin">Holmes and Smith, p. vi</ref>

Other words have been adopted from another language such as the English word ''gasoline'', which in Cherokee is {{lang|chr|ᎦᏐᎵᏁ}} (''{{transliteration|chr|gasoline}}''). Other words were adopted from the languages of tribes who settled in Oklahoma in the early 1900s.  One interesting and humorous example is the name of [[Nowata, Oklahoma]], deriving from {{lang|chr-Latn|nowata}}, a Delaware word for 'welcome' (more precisely the Delaware word is {{lang|del|nuwita}} which can mean 'welcome' or 'friend' in the [[Delaware languages]]). The white settlers of the area used the name {{lang|chr-Latn|Nowata}} for the township, and local Cherokee, being unaware that the word had its origins in the Delaware language, called the town {{lang|chr|ᎠᎹᏗᎧᏂᎬᎾᎬᎾ}} (''{{transliteration|chr|Amadikanigvnagvna}}'') which means 'the water is all gone gone from here'&nbsp;— i.e. 'no water'.<ref name="Holmes and Smith, p. vii">Holmes and Smith, p. vii</ref>

Other examples of adopted words are {{lang|chr|ᎧᏫ}} (''{{transliteration|chr|kawi}}'') for 'coffee' and {{lang|chr|ᏩᏥ}} (''{{transliteration|chr|watsi}}'') for 'watch'; which led to {{lang|chr|ᎤᏔᎾ ᏩᏥ}} ({{lang|chr-Latn|utana watsi}}, 'big watch') for ''clock''.<ref name="Holmes and Smith, p. vii" />

Meaning expansion can be illustrated by the words for 'warm' and 'cold', which can be also extended to mean 'south' and 'north'.  Around the time of the [[American Civil War]], they were further extended to US party labels, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], respectively.<ref name="Holmes and Smith, p. 43">Holmes and Smith, p. 43</ref>

== Samples ==
From the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]:

{{fs interlinear
|{{lang|chr|ᏂᎦᏓ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ ᏂᎨᎫᏓᎸᎾ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏂᎶᏱ ᎤᎾᏕᎿ ᏚᏳᎧᏛ ᎨᏒᎢ.}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|Nigada aniyvwi nigeguda'lvna ale unihloyi unadehna duyukdv gesv'i.}}
|All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
}}

{{fs interlinear
|{{lang|chr|ᎨᏥᏁᎳ ᎤᎾᏓᏅᏖᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏃᎵᏍᏗ}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|Gejinela unadanvtehdi ale unohlisdi}}
|They are endowed with reason and conscience
}}

{{fs interlinear
|{{lang|chr|ᎠᎴ ᏌᏊ ᎨᏒ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᎠᎾᏟᏅᏢ ᎠᏓᏅᏙ ᎬᏗ.}}
|{{lang|chr-Latn|ale sagwu gesv junilvwisdanedi anahldinvdlv adanvdo gvhdi.}}
|and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last=Akkuş |first=F. |year=2018 |chapter=Copular constructions and clausal syntax in Cherokee |editor-first1=M. |editor-last1=Keough |editor-first2=N. |editor-last2=Weber |editor-first3=A. |editor-last3=Anghelescu |editor-first4=S. |editor-last4=Chen |title=Proceedings of the Workshop on the Structure and Constituency of Languages of the Americas 21 |series=University of British Columbia Working Papers in Linguistics |volume=46}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Durbin Feeling|last=Feeling|first=Durbin|title=Cherokee-English Dictionary: Tsalagi-Yonega Didehlogwasdohdi|place=Tahlequah, Oklahoma|publisher=Cherokee Nation|year=1975}}
* {{cite book|author1-link=Durbin Feeling|last1=Feeling|first1=Durbin|first2=Craig |last2=Kopris|first3=Jordan |last3=Lachler|first4=Charles |last4=Van Tuyl|title=A Handbook of the Cherokee Verb: A Preliminary Study|place=Tahlequah, Oklahoma|publisher=Cherokee Heritage Center|year=2003|isbn=978-0-9742818-0-3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Holmes|first1=Ruth Bradley|first2=Betty |last2=Sharp Smith|title=Beginning Cherokee: Talisgo Galiquogi Dideliquasdodi Tsalagi Digohweli|place=Norman|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=1976}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Hsu|first1=Brian|last2=Frey|first2=Benjamin|year=2024|title=Word order in Cherokee: Information structure, thematic structure, and variability|journal=Language|volume=100|pages=e124-e55|doi=10.1353/lan.2024.a937196}}
* {{cite web|last=Montgomery-Anderson|first=Brad|title=A Reference Grammar of Oklahoma Cherokee|date=May 30, 2008a |url=http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/bitstream/1808/4212/1/umi-ku-2613_1.pdf}}
* {{cite book|last1=Montgomery-Anderson|first1=Brad |title=Cherokee Reference Grammar|date=May 2015|publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]]|place=Norman |isbn=978-0-8061-4342-2|oclc=880689691|url=https://www.oupress.com/books/14202890/cherokee-reference-grammar}}
* {{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Prentice|title=Conjugation Made Easy: Cherokee Verb Study|place=Tulsa, Oklahoma|publisher=Cherokee Language and Culture|year=2004|isbn=978-1-882182-34-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Scancarelli|first=Janine|year=2005|chapter=Cherokee|editor-first=Janine |editor-last1=Scancarelli|editor-first2=Heather K. |editor-last2=Hardy|title=Native Languages of the Southeastern United States|place=Lincoln, NE|publisher=University of Nebraska Press in cooperation with the American Indian Studies Research Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington|pages=351–384|oclc=56834622}}
* {{cite web|last=Uchihara|first=Hiroto|title=Tone and Accent in Oklahoma Cherokee|date=2013|url=https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/content/dam/arts-sciences/linguistics/AlumniDissertations/Uchihara%2520dissertation.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwin4Lb_j-HnAhUYCTQIHf3sDsQQFjAAegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw3f-j0BpEyOFYLfmwUqCziF|type=Ph.D. dissertation|place=Buffalo, State University of New York}}
* {{cite book|last=Uchihara|first=Hiroto|title=Tone and Accent in Oklahoma Cherokee|date=2016|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|place=New York|isbn=978-0-19-873944-9|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/tone-and-accent-in-oklahoma-cherokee-9780198739449?cc=mx&lang=en&}}

=== Concerning the syllabary ===
* {{cite book|author-link=Margaret Bender|last=Bender|first=Margaret|year=2002|title=Signs of Cherokee Culture: Sequoyah's Syllabary in Eastern Cherokee Life|place=Chapel Hill|publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}
* {{cite journal|author-link=Margaret Bender|last=Bender|first=Margaret|year=2008|title=Indexicality, voice, and context in the distribution of Cherokee scripts|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language|volume=2008|issue=192|pages=91–104|doi=10.1515/ijsl.2008.037|s2cid=145490610}}
* {{Cite book|last=Daniels|first=Peter T.|year=1996|title=The World's Writing Systems|place=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=587–592}}
* {{Cite book|last=Foley|first=Lawrence|title=Phonological Variation in Western Cherokee|place=New York|publisher=Garland Publishing|year=1980}}
* {{cite book|last1=Kilpatrick|first1=Jack F.|first2=Anna Gritts|last2=Kilpatrick|title=New Echota Letters|place=Dallas|publisher=Southern Methodist University Press}}
* {{Cite journal |author1-link=Konrad Tuchscherer|last1=Tuchscherer|first1=Konrad|year=2002|first2=Paul Edward Hedley|last2=Hair|title=Cherokee and West Africa: Examining the Origins of the Vai Script|journal=History in Africa|volume=29|pages=427–486|doi=10.2307/3172173|jstor=3172173|s2cid=162073602}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Sturtevant|editor1-first=William C.|editor2-first=Raymond D.|editor2-last=Fogelson|title=Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast|volume=14|place=Washington, DC|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|year=2004|isbn=0-16-072300-0}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Walker|first1=Willard|first2=James|last2=Sarbaugh|s2cid=156008097|year=1993|title=The Early History of the Cherokee Syllabary|journal=Ethnohistory|volume=40|number=1|pages=70–94|doi=10.2307/482159|jstor=482159}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |editor-last=Bruchac |editor-first=Joseph |title=Aniyunwiya/Real Human Beings: An Anthology of Contemporary Cherokee Prose |location=Greenfield Center, NY |publisher=Greenfield Review Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-912678-92-4}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Charles |first=Julian |title=A History of Iroquoian Languages |date=2010 |url=https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/items/e0467e7f-1d1a-464f-b07f-8fefe8ce0225 |hdl=1993/4175 |hdl-access=free |type=PhD dissertation |location=Winnipeg |publisher=University of Manitoba}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Cook |first=William Hinton |year=1979 |title=A Grammar of North Carolina Cherokee |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=Yale University |oclc=7562394}}
* {{cite thesis |last=King |first=Duane H. |year=1975 |title=A Grammar and Dictionary of the Cherokee Language |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=University of Georgia |oclc=6203735}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Munro |editor-first=Pamela |year=1996 |title=Cherokee Papers from UCLA |series=UCLA Occasional Papers in Linguistics |volume=16 |oclc=36854333 |url=https://linguistics.ucla.edu/publications/opl_16.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815131830/http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/publications/opl_16.pdf |archive-date=2009-08-15}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Pulte |first1=William |last2=Feeling |first2=Durbin |year=2001 |entry=Cherokee |editor-last1=Garry |editor-first1=Jane |editor-last2=Rubino |editor-first2=Carl |title=Facts About the World's Languages: An Encyclopedia of the World's Major Languages: Past and Present |location=New York |publisher=H. W. Wilson |isbn=0-8242-0970-2 |pages=127–130 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/factsaboutworlds0000unse/page/126/mode/2up}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Scancarelli |first=Janine |year=1987 |title=Grammatical Relations and Verb Agreement in Cherokee |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=University of California |location=Los Angeles |oclc=40812890 |url=https://linguistics.ucla.edu/images/stories/Scancarelli.1987.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204094331/https://linguistics.ucla.edu/images/stories/Scancarelli.1987.pdf |archive-date=2024-02-04}}
* {{cite book |last=Scancarelli |first=Janine |chapter=53. Cherokee Writing |title=The World's Writing Systems |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last1=Daniels |editor-first1=Peter T. |editor-last2=Bright |editor-first2=William |isbn=0-19-507993-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_chr_ortho-3/}}

== External links ==
{{InterWiki|code=chr}}
{{Wiktionary|Cherokee}}
{{Wikibooks}}
{{Commons category|Cherokee language}}
* [http://www.cherokeedictionary.net/ Cherokee-English Dictionary Online Database]
* [https://language.cherokee.org/word-list/ Cherokee word list lookup]
* [https://language.cherokee.org/language-programs/cherokee-language-consortium/ Cherokee Nation Dikaneisdi (Word List)]
* [http://www.languagesandnumbers.com/how-to-count-in-cherokee/en/chr/ Cherokee numerals]
* [http://www.translitteration.com/transliteration/en/cherokee/sequoyah/ Cherokee&nbsp;– Sequoyah transliteration system]&nbsp;– online conversion tool
* [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U13A0.pdf Cherokee Unicode Chart]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150930042006/http://www.cherokee.org/languagetech/en-us/%E1%8E%A3%E1%8F%AA%E1%8F%85%E1%8F%92(home).aspx Cherokee Nation ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᏖᎩᎾᎶᏥ ᎤᎾᏙᏢᏅᎢ (Tsalagi Gawonihisdi teginalotsi unadotlvnvi) / Cherokee Language Technology]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150319230347/https://sites.google.com/site/tsalagianagalisgi/ List of both short and long names for every country and dependency in the world]

=== Language archives, texts, audio, video ===
* [http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/?sectionId=458 Cherokee Phoenix], bilingual newspaper in Cherokee and English
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140921023619/http://www.wcu.edu/library/digitalcollections/cherokeetraditions/LanguageAndLiterature/ Cherokee Traditions digital archive], from [[Western Carolina University]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190825010742/https://www.cherokeenewtestament.com/ Cherokee New Testament Online] Online translation of the New Testament.  Currently the largest Cherokee document on the internet.
* {{cite web
 |title=Native American Audio Collections: Cherokee
 |work=[[American Philosophical Society]]
 |url=http://www.amphilsoc.org/exhibit/natamaudio/cherokee
 |access-date=2013-05-20
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302034703/https://www.amphilsoc.org/exhibit/natamaudio/cherokee
 |archive-date=2013-03-02
 }}
* [http://cdm.bostonathenaeum.org/cdm/search/collection/p16057coll24/searchterm/cherokee/field/langua/mode/all/conn/and/order/nosort Cherokee Language Texts], from the [http://cdm.bostonathenaeum.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16057coll24 Boston Athenæum: Schoolcraft Collection of Books in Native American Languages. Digital Collection.]

=== Language lessons and online instruction ===
* [https://learn.cherokee.org/ Free online Cherokee classes] from the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma 
* [http://www.culturev.com/cherokee/cherokee.html Cherokee Language Online] (Beginning dialogues, audio, flashcards and grammar from culturev.com)
* [https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/cherokee Cherokee Language downloadable flashcard decks] (Some based on culturev.com)
* [https://mangolanguages.com/available-languages/learn-cherokee/ Mango Languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213838/https://mangolanguages.com/available-languages/learn-cherokee/ |date=2021-06-02 }} has free lessons via their website or app
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120646/http://cherokeelanguage.wcu.edu/classes/ Online Cherokee language classes], from [[Western Carolina University]]
* [https://www.facebook.com/WCUCherokeeLanguage?_fb_noscript=1 Cherokee Language Program at Western Carolina University on Facebook], additional materials
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110708142042/http://www.cherokeelessons.com/ CherokeeLessons.com] (Hosts Creative Commons licensed materials including a textbook covering grammar and many hours of challenge/response based audio lesson files).
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuqKGb4re9a5TssItxrTw6Q Cherokee language YouTube videos for beginners, by tsasuyeda]
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZEkBhbUA_CWtVSnXEf64ny7pUwlJFfgl Cherokee speakers], Cherokee Nation

{{Cherokee}}
{{Iroquoian languages}}
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{{Languages of the United States}}
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