Editing Cherokee language (section)

{{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 }}</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}}</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 }}</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}}</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}}</ref> As a polysynthetic language, Cherokee differs dramatically from [[Indo-European languages]] such as English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese, and as such can be difficult for adult learners to acquire.<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 }}</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 }}</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>