Sequoya, or George Guess, born. ca.1760, died Aug. 1843, buried in Zaragoza, Coahuila, Mexico
is credited with the invention of the Cherokee written language, the so-called talking leaves. As a young man he was a fine hunter, warrior, trader, and silver craftsman. An able linguist who learned French, Spanish, and English, he was determined to preserve Cherokee culture and was implacably opposed to American intrusions into his tribal lands. After continued white encroachments, however, Sequoya journeyed westward (1797), although he returned periodically to his homeland.
Recognizing the power of the written word, Sequoya developed a Cherokee syllabary of 86 symbols by adapting letters of the English alphabet to represent sounds in the Cherokee tongue. The generally accepted date for its completion is 1821, although Cherokee tradition dates the syllabary earlier. Although there is some question whether Sequoya was its inventor, he certainly popularized the syllabary, which led to the founding of the Cherokee Phoenix, a Cherokee language newspaper, on Feb. 21, 1828.
Cherokee
(Tsalagi) Language Syllabary
25KB
Character Names
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|
e ge he le me ne que se de te tle ye o go ho lo mo no quo so do |
tlo tso wo a ga ha la ma na qua sa da yo yu yv wa ya ka hna ta i |
gi hi li mi ni qui si di ti tli tsi wi yi u gu hu lu mu nu quu su |
du tlu tsu wu v gv hv lv nv quv sv dv tlv tla nah s dla tsa tsv wv tse we |
Sequoyah,
Sequoya, Sequoia, Sikwayi
Inventor of the Cherokee Syllabary
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