Tsalagi, the Outsider's Language

I thought it would be fun to post a post about the Cherokee language, Tsalagi. Tsalagi is a acient language used by the Cherokees for many generations. Cherokee is a branch of the Iroquoian language family, related to Cayuga, Seneca, Onondega, Wyandot-Huron, Tuscarora, Oneida and Mohawk. The actual word tsalagi is actually a Creek word meening "people with another language".

Here are some quick pointers.
-The Cherokee alphabet consists of 85 letters that some what resemble the Roman alphabet.
-Cherokee is a SVO language like English.
-There are about 20,000 speakers of Tsalagi
-Tsalagi is used a lot in Tahlequah the capitol of the Cherokee Nation


Originally the Cherokees had no writing system, but in 1821 Sequoyah invented a alphabet for the Cherokee language. By 1825 the literacy for the Cherokees sky rocketed. Many books are still being published in the Cherokee language. The US saw this as a threat and many Cherokee children were taken out of their Cherokee speaking homes to kill the language. Now a days Tsalagi is becoming more popular and is one of the most widely spoken Native American language. Tsalagi Alphabet Sequoyah

If you would like to learn more about the Cherokee language check out this website! They also have words and phrases that I didn't cover.