Editing Cherokee syllabary (section)

==Description==
The modern writing system consists of 85 characters, each representing a distinct [[syllable]]. The first six characters represent isolated vowel syllables. Characters for combined consonant and vowel syllables then follow.

The charts below show the syllabary in recitation order, left to right, top to bottom, as arranged by [[Samuel Worcester]], along with his commonly used transliterations.{{Sfn|Walker|Sarbaugh|1993|pp=72,76}}{{Sfn|Giasson|2004|p=42}} He played a key role in the development of Cherokee printing from 1828 until his death in 1859.  The Latin letter 'v' in the transcriptions, seen in the last column, represents the nasal [[mid-central vowel]], {{IPA|/ə̃/}}.

{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="12" style="font-size: smaller" | ''The chart below uses [[Unicode]] characters from the [[Cherokee (Unicode block)|Cherokee]] block.'' For an image alternative, see [[:File:Cherokee Syllabary.svg]].
|-
! Consonant
! colspan="4" | a 
! colspan="2" | e
! colspan="2" | i
! o
!u
!v [ə̃]
|-
!∅
| colspan="4" |<big>Ꭰ</big>
a [a]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꭱ</big>
e [e]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꭲ</big>
i [i]
|<big>Ꭳ</big>
o [o]
|<big>Ꭴ</big>
u [u̜]
|<big>Ꭵ</big>
v [ə̃]
|-
! g / k
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꭶ</big>
ga [ka]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꭷ</big>
ka [kʰa]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꭸ</big>
ge [ke]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꭹ</big>
gi [ki]
|<big>Ꭺ</big>
go [ko]
|<big>Ꭻ</big>
gu [ku̜]
|<big>Ꭼ</big>
gv [kə̃]
|-
! h
| colspan="4" |<big>Ꭽ</big>
ha [ha]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꭾ</big>
he [he]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꭿ</big>
hi [hi]
|<big>Ꮀ</big>
ho [ho]
|<big>Ꮁ</big>
hu [hu̜]
|<big>Ꮂ</big>
hv [hə̃]
|-
! l
| colspan="4" |<big>Ꮃ</big>
la [la]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮄ</big>
le [le]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮅ</big>
li [li]
|<big>Ꮆ</big>
lo [lo]
|<big>Ꮇ</big>
lu [lu̜]
|<big>Ꮈ</big>
lv [lə̃]
|-
! m
| colspan="4" |<big>Ꮉ</big>
ma [ma]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮊ</big>
me [me]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮋ</big>
mi [mi]
|<big>Ꮌ</big>
mo [mo]
|<big>Ꮍ</big>
mu [mu̜]
|<big>Ᏽ{{Efn-lr|The character Ᏽ was previously used to represent the syllable {{Transliteration|chr|mv}}, but is no longer used.{{efn|name=mv|Most sources, including materials produced by the Cherokee Nation, state that this character represented the {{Transliteration|chr|mv}} syllable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cherokee.org/Portals/0/Documents/Language/syllabary%20chart.pdf?ver=2017-08-04-145035-983 |title=Syllabary Chart |publisher=Cherokee Nation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184717/https://cherokee.org/Portals/0/Documents/Language/syllabary%20chart.pdf?ver=2017-08-04-145035-983 |archive-date=15 January 2018 |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref><ref>Cushman 2013, p. 93.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cherokee: Range: 13A0–13FF|url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U13A0.pdf|website=The Unicode Standard, Version 9.0|access-date=10 June 2017}}</ref> However, Worcester wrote that it represented a syllable similar to {{Transliteration|chr|hv}}, but with {{Transliteration|chr|hv}} more open.{{sfn|Walker| Sarbaugh|1993|pp=77, 89–90}}}}}}</big>
mv [mə̃]
|-
! n / hn
|<big>Ꮎ</big>
na [na]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮏ</big>
hna [n̥a]
|<big>Ꮐ</big>
nah [nah]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮑ</big>
ne [ne]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮒ</big>
ni [ni]
|<big>Ꮓ</big>
no [no]
|<big>Ꮔ</big>
nu [nu̜]
|<big>Ꮕ</big>
nv [nə̃]
|-
! qu<br>[kʷ]
| colspan="4" |<big>Ꮖ</big>
qua [kʷa]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮗ</big>
que [kʷe]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮘ</big>
qui [kʷi]
|<big>Ꮙ</big>
quo [kʷo]
|<big>Ꮚ</big>
quu [kʷu̜]
|<big>Ꮛ</big>
quv [kʷə̃]
|-
! s
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮝ</big>
s [s]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮜ</big>
sa [sa]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮞ</big>
se [se]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮟ</big>
si [si]
|<big>Ꮠ</big>
so [so]
|<big>Ꮡ</big>
su [su̜]
|<big>Ꮢ</big>
sv [sə̃]
|-
! d / t
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮣ</big>
da [ta]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮤ</big>
ta [tʰa]
|<big>Ꮥ</big>
de [te]
|<big>Ꮦ</big>
te [tʰe]
|<big>Ꮧ</big>
di [ti]
|<big>Ꮨ</big>
ti [tʰi]
|<big>Ꮩ</big>
do [to]
|<big>Ꮪ</big>
du [tu̜]
|<big>Ꮫ</big>
dv [tə̃]
|-
! dl / tl<br>[d͡ɮ] / [t͡ɬ]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮬ</big>
dla [d͡ɮa]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮭ</big>
tla [t͡ɬa]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮮ</big>
tle [t͡ɬe]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮯ</big>
tli [t͡ɬi]
|<big>Ꮰ</big>
tlo [t͡ɬo]
|<big>Ꮱ</big>
tlu [t͡ɬu̜]
|<big>Ꮲ</big>
tlv [t͡ɬə̃]
|-
! ts<br>[t͡s]
| colspan="4" |<big>Ꮳ</big>
tsa [t͡sa]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮴ</big>
tse [t͡se]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮵ</big>
tsi [t͡si]
|<big>Ꮶ</big>
tso [t͡so]
|<big>Ꮷ</big>
tsu [t͡su̜]
|<big>Ꮸ</big>
tsv [t͡sə̃]
|-
! w<br>[ɰ]
| colspan="4" |<big>Ꮹ</big>
wa [ɰa]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮺ</big>
we [ɰe]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ꮻ</big>
wi [ɰi]
|<big>Ꮼ</big>
wo [ɰo]
|<big>Ꮽ</big>
wu [ɰu̜]
|<big>Ꮾ</big>
wv [ɰə̃]
|-
! y<br>[j]
| colspan="4" |<big>Ꮿ</big>
ya [ja]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ᏸ</big>
ye [je]
| colspan="2" |<big>Ᏹ</big>
yi [ji]
|<big>Ᏺ</big>
yo [jo]
|<big>Ᏻ</big>
yu [ju̜]
|<big>Ᏼ</big>
yv [jə̃]
|}

'''Notes:'''
{{notelist-lr}}

The Cherokee character {{lang|chr|Ꮩ}} ({{Transliteration|chr|do}}) has a different orientation in old documents, an upside-down letter V, flipped as compared to modern documents.{{efn|name=old-do| There is a difference between the old form of {{Transliteration|chr|do}} (Λ-like) and the modern form of {{Transliteration|chr|do}} (V-like). The standard Digohweli font displays the modern form. Old Do Digohweli and Code2000 fonts both display the old form.}}

There is also a handwritten cursive form of the syllabary;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/cherokee.htm|title=Cherokee language, writing system and pronunciation|at=sec. "Hand-written Cherokee syllabary"|website=[[Omniglot]]}}</ref> notably, the handwritten glyphs bear little resemblance to the printed forms.

=== Detailed considerations ===
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 may represent multiple variations of the same syllable.{{Sfn|Walker|Sarbaugh|1993|pp=72–75}} Not all [[phoneme|phonemic]] distinctions of the spoken language are represented:

* Voiced consonants are generally not distinguished from their non-voiced 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 have been suggested.
* Syllables ending in vowels, ''h'', or a glottal stop are not differentiated. For example, the single symbol {{lang|chr|Ꮡ}} is used to represent both {{Transliteration|chr|suú}} as in {{Transliteration|chr|suúdáli}}, meaning "six" ({{lang|chr|ᏑᏓᎵ}}), and {{Transliteration|chr|súh}} as in {{Transliteration|chr|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 [[Cherokee language#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}}, where ''a'' is part of the root. The vowel is included in the transliteration, but is not pronounced.
* Tones are not marked in the script.

As with some other writing systems, proficient speakers can distinguish words by context.

If a [[labial plosive]] appears in a borrowed word or name, it is written using the ''qu'' row. This {{IPA|/kw/}} ~ {{IPA|/p/}} correspondence is a known linguistic phenomenon that exists elsewhere (cf. [[P-Celtic]], [[Osco-Umbrian]]). The ''l'' and ''tl'' rows are similarly used for borrowings containing ''r'' or ''tr/dr'', respectively, and ''s'' (including within ''ts'') can represent /s/, /ʃ/, /z/, or /ʒ/, as indicated in the above word ''juunsdi̋''.

=== Transliteration issues ===
Some Cherokee words pose a problem for transliteration software because they contain adjacent pairs of single-letter symbols that (without special provisions) would be combined when doing the back-conversion from Latin script to Cherokee. Here are a few examples:

{{fs interlinear|lang=chr|indent=2
|Ꭲ Ꮳ Ꮅ Ꮝ Ꭰ Ꮑ Ꮧ
|i tsa li s a ne di
|{{Transliteration|chr|itsalisanedi}}
}}

{{fs interlinear|lang=chr|indent=2
|Ꭴ Ꮅ Ꭹ Ᏻ Ꮝ Ꭰ Ꮕ Ꮑ
|u li gi yu s a nv ne
|{{Transliteration|chr|uligiyusanvne}}
}}

{{fs interlinear|lang=chr|indent=2
|Ꭴ Ꮒ Ᏸ Ꮝ Ꭲ Ᏹ
|u ni ye s i yi
|{{Transliteration|chr|uniyesiyi}}
}}

{{fs interlinear|lang=chr|indent=2
|Ꮎ Ꮝ Ꭲ Ꮿ
|na s i ya
|{{Transliteration|chr|nasiya}}
}}

For these examples, the back conversion is likely to join ''s-a'' as ''sa'' or ''s-i'' as ''si'', as the consonant ''s'' can be written either with its own isolated glyph, or combined with a following vowel—but the vowel itself does not require being attached to a consonant. One solution is to use a [[Interpunct|middle dot]] to separate the two,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012 |title=Cherokee / ᏣᎳᎩ / Tsalagi |url=https://www.eki.ee/knab/lat/kblchr2.pdf |access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref> While some use an apostrophe instead, apostrophes are also used to represent a [[glottal stop]] in Cherokee.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cherokee Nation Education Services |url=https://language.cherokee.org/learning-materials/teaching-materials/?term=&page=2&pageSize=7 |title=We Are Learning Cherokee: Level 1 |date=2018 |publisher=Cherokee Nation |edition=1 |publication-date=2018 |pages=11 |language=en, chr}}</ref>

Other Cherokee words contain character pairs that entail overlapping transliteration sequences. For example:

* {{lang|chr|ᏀᎾ}} transliterates as {{Transliteration|chr|nahna}}, yet so does {{lang|chr|ᎾᎿ}}. The former is {{Transliteration|chr|nah-na}}, the latter is {{Transliteration|chr|na-hna}}.
* {{lang|chr|ᎤᏡᏀᎠ}} transliterates as {{Transliteration|chr|utlunaha}}, yet so does {{lang|chr|ᎤᏡᎾᎭ}}. The former is {{Transliteration|chr|u-tlu-nah-a}}, the latter is {{Transliteration|chr|u-tlu-na-ha}}.

If the Latin script is parsed from left to right, longest match first, then without special provisions, the back conversion would be wrong for the latter. There are several similar examples involving these character combinations: {{Transliteration|chr|nahe nahi naho nahu nahv}}.

A further problem encountered in transliterating Cherokee is that there are some pairs of different Cherokee words that transliterate to the same word in the Latin script. For example:

* {{lang|chr|ᎠᏍᎡᏃ}} and {{lang|chr|ᎠᏎᏃ}} both transliterate to {{Transliteration|chr|aseno}}
* {{lang|chr|ᎨᏍᎥᎢ}} and {{lang|chr|ᎨᏒᎢ}} both transliterate to {{Transliteration|chr|gesvi}}

Without special provision, a round trip conversion may change {{lang|chr|ᎠᏍᎡᏃ}} to {{lang|chr|ᎠᏎᏃ}} and change {{lang|chr|ᎨᏍᎥᎢ}} to {{lang|chr|ᎨᏒᎢ}}.