The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: CER
ISO 639-2: chr
| Population | 11,905 to 22,500 speakers, including 14,000 speakers out of 70,000 population on Oklahoma rolls (1986 Durbin Feeling, Cherokee Nation, OK), 8,500 in North Carolina. 11,905 speakers including 130 monolinguals, 308,132 ethnic Cherokee (1990 USA Census). |
| Region | Eastern and northeastern Oklahoma and Cherokee Reservation, Great Smokey Mts., western North Carolina. |
| Alternate names | TSALAGI, TSLAGI |
| Dialects | ELATI (LOWER CHEROKEE, EASTERN CHEROKEE), KITUHWA (MIDDLE CHEROKEE), OTALI (UPPER CHEROKEE, WESTERN CHEROKEE, OVERHILL CHEROKEE), OVERHILL-MIDDLE CHEROKEE. |
| Classification | Iroquoian, Southern Iroquoian. |
| Comments | In Oklahoma children are being raised speaking the language (1998). Vigorous in some Oklahoma communities. Elsewhere some younger ones prefer English. The Elati dialect is extinct. Dictionary. Grammar. Literacy rate in first language: 15% to 20% can read it, 5% can write it (1986 Cherokee Heritage Center). Sequoyah syllabary. Now being taught in schools, churches, and other classes (1986 Cherokee Advocate). Christian, traditional religion. NT 1850-1951. |
