Page Type: languageCherokee | Ethnologue

CHR ISO 639-3

Cherokee

Tsalagi, ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ‎ (Tsalagi Gawonihisdi) Autonym

A language of United States

ISO 639
chr
Alternate Names
Aniyunwiya, Tslagi
Autonym
Tsalagi, ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ‎ (Tsalagi Gawonihisdi)
Population
1,520 (2018 Cherokee Nation Tribal Survey). Spoken by 1,200 of the 124,000 member Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, by 217 of the 8,600 members of the Eastern Band of Cherokees in North Carolina, by 101 of the 8,000 members of the United Keetoowah Band of Oklahoma and Arkansas. 130 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 376,000 (2018 Cherokee Nation Tribal Survey).
Location:
Oklahoma: Cherokee Reservation; North Carolina: Great Smokey Mountains area.
Language Status
8a (Moribund). Language of registered tribe: Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Classification
Iroquoian
Dialects
Elati (Eastern Cherokee, Lower Cherokee, Underhill Cherokee), Keetoowah (Kituhwa, Middle Cherokee), Otali (Overhill Cherokee, Upper Cherokee, Western Cherokee), Overhill-Middle Cherokee.
Typology
SOV; noun head final; animate/inanimate nouns; polysynthetic language; tense and aspect; 10 consonants and 12 vowels; pitch accent; inclusive/exclusive pronouns.
Language Use
Older adults only. Most shifted to English [eng].
Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 15%–20% can read, 5% can write (1986 Cherokee Heritage Center). Cherokee Nation’s Tsalagi tsunadeloquasdi began in 2001 as a language preservation program through an Administration for Native Americans grant which led to establishment of their Immersion School serving tribal members for preschool through sixth grade (2019 S. Young). Dictionary. Grammar. Texts. NT: 1850–1951. Cherokee is regularly taught at University of Oklahoma and Northeast Oklahoma University as well as adult language classes at Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band tribal headquarters and communities. Online language classes are offered to Cherokee Nation citizens as are employee immersion programs and an adult immersion program. United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians offer language revitalization initiatives and classes through their Education Center and Cherokee introductory language initiatives (2019 S. Young).
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Cherokee
Writing
Cherokee script [Cher]. Latin script [Latn].
Other Comments
Christian, traditional religion.

Also Spoken in

Map

Location: Oklahoma: Cherokee Reservation; North Carolina: Great Smokey Mountains area.