Cherokee
A language of United States
| Population | 16,400 (2000 census). 130 monolinguals. 14,000 on Oklahoma rolls (1986 D. Feeling), 1,000 in North Carolina (1997 R. Sabino). Ethnic population: 308,132 (1990 census) including 70,000 on Oklahoma rolls (1986 D. Feeling), 9,800 in Eastern Band (1997 R. Sabino). |
| Region | East and northeast Oklahoma and Cherokee Reservation, Great Smokey Mountains, western North Carolina. |
| Language map |
Southeastern United States of America |
| 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 |
| Language use | Vigorous in some Oklahoma communities. Elsewhere most young people prefer English. Elati dialect extinct. |
| Language development | Literacy rate in L1: 15%–20% can read, 5% can write (1986 Cherokee Heritage Center). Now taught in schools, churches, and other classes (1986 Cherokee Advocate). Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1850–1951. |
| Writing system | Cherokee script. Latin script. |
| Comments | Christian, traditional religion. |
Ethnologue: Web |
Ethnologue: Print |
Bibliography |
Publications Catalog |
Software |
Email Updates
Who we are |
Shopping cart |
Site search |
Site map |
Home
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | External links
Copyright © 2012 SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics)
