Sequoyah and Cherokee literacy Sequoyah

1 sequoyah , cherokee literacy

1.1 creation of syllabary
1.2 teaching syllabary
1.3 use of syllabary in official documents , print
1.4 impact of sequoyah s syllabary beyond cherokee

sequoyah , cherokee literacy

as silversmith, sequoyah dealt regularly whites had settled in area. impressed writing, referring correspondence talking leaves . knew represented way transmit information other people in distant places. however, majority of cherokees believed writing either sorcery, special gift, or pretense. sequoyah accepted none of these explanations. said invent way cherokees talk on paper, though friends , family thought idea ridiculous.

creation of syllabary


sequoyah s syllabary in order arranged characters.

around 1809, sequoyah began creating system of writing cherokee language. @ first sought create character each word in language. spent year on effort, leaving fields unplanted, friends , neighbors thought had lost mind. wife said have burned initial work, believing witchcraft. realized approach impractical because require many pictures remembered. tried making symbol every idea, caused many problems practical.

sequoyah decided develop symbol each syllable in language. after approximately month, had system of 86 characters, of latin letters obtained spelling book. in present form, many of syllabary characters resemble roman, cyrillic or greek letters or arabic numerals, says janine scancarelli, scholar of cherokee writing, there no apparent relationship between sounds in other languages , in cherokee.

teaching syllabary

sequoyah first taught syllabary six-year old daughter, ayokeh (also spelled ayoka), because not find adults willing learn it. traveled indian reserves in arkansaw territory cherokee had settled. when tried convince local leaders of syllabary s usefulness, doubted him. sequoyah asked each leader word, wrote down, , called daughter in read words back. demonstration convinced leaders let him teach syllabary few more people. took several months, during rumored might using students sorcery. after completing lessons, sequoyah wrote dictated letter each student, , read dictated response. test convinced western cherokee had created practical writing system.

the cherokee phoenix publication use cherokee syllabary.

when sequoyah returned east, brought sealed envelope containing written speech 1 of arkansas cherokee leaders. reading speech, convinced eastern cherokee learn system, after spread rapidly.

in 1824, general council of eastern cherokees awarded sequoyah large silver medal in honor of syllabary. according davis, 1 side of medal bore image surrounded inscription in english, presented george gist general council of cherokee ingenuity in invention of cherokee alphabet. reverse side showed 2 long-stemmed pipes , same inscription written in cherokee. supposedly, sequoyah wore medal throughout rest of life , buried him.

use of syllabary in official documents , print

in 1825 cherokee nation officially adopted writing system. in 1826, cherokee national council commissioned george lowrey , david brown translate , print 8 copies of laws of cherokee nation in cherokee language using sequoyah s new system. 1828 1834, american missionaries assisted cherokee in using sequoyah s syllabary develop type characters , print cherokee phoenix, first newspaper of cherokee nation, text in both cherokee , english.

impact of sequoyah s syllabary beyond cherokee

the news illiterate cherokee had created syllabary spread throughout usa. missionary working in northern alaska read , created syllabary, has become known cree syllabics. syllabic writing inspired other groups across canada adapt syllabics languages. literate cherokee emigrated liberia , told syllabary, leading bassa language speaker of liberia create own syllabary, led others groups in west africa follow suit, creating own syllabaries. missionary in china read cree syllabary , inspired follow example in writing local language in china. result of diffusion of sequoyah s work has led 21 scripts devised, used on 65 languages.