Language Drift
| Drifted Otali Sequoyah Syllabary Mapping |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Otali Syllable | Sequoyah Syllabary Index | Sequoyah Syllabary Chart | Sequoyah Syllable |
| nah | 32 | Ꮐ | nah |
| hna | 31 | Ꮏ | hna |
| qua | 38 | Ꮖ | qua |
| que | 39 | Ꮗ | que |
| qui | 40 | Ꮘ | qui |
| quo | 41 | Ꮙ | quo |
| quu | 42 | Ꮚ | quu |
| quv | 43 | Ꮛ | quv |
| dla | 60 | Ꮬ | dla |
| tla | 61 | Ꮭ | tla |
| tle | 62 | Ꮮ | tle |
| tli | 63 | Ꮯ | tli |
| tlo | 64 | Ꮰ | tlo |
| tlu | 65 | Ꮱ | tlu |
| tlv | 66 | Ꮲ | tlv |
| tsa | 67 | Ꮳ | tsa |
| tse | 68 | Ꮴ | tse |
| tsi | 69 | Ꮵ | tsi |
| tso | 70 | Ꮶ | tso |
| tsu | 71 | Ꮷ | tsu |
| tsv | 72 | Ꮸ | tsv |
| hah | 79 | Ꮿ | ya |
| gwu | 11 | Ꭻ | gu |
| gwi | 40 | Ꮘ | qui |
| hla | 61 | Ꮭ | tla |
| hwa | 73 | Ꮹ | wa |
| gwa | 38 | Ꮖ | qua |
| hlv | 66 | Ꮲ | tlv |
| guh | 11 | Ꭻ | gu |
| gwe | 39 | Ꮗ | que |
| wah | 73 | Ꮹ | wa |
| hnv | 37 | Ꮕ | nv |
| teh | 54 | Ꮦ | te |
| qwa | 06 | Ꭶ | ga |
| yah | 79 | Ꮿ | ya |
| na | 30 | Ꮎ | na |
| ne | 33 | Ꮑ | ne |
| ni | 34 | Ꮒ | ni |
| no | 35 | Ꮓ | no |
| nu | 36 | Ꮔ | nu |
| nv | 37 | Ꮕ | nv |
| ga | 06 | Ꭶ | ga |
| ka | 07 | Ꭷ | ka |
| ge | 08 | Ꭸ | ge |
| gi | 09 | Ꭹ | gi |
| go | 10 | Ꭺ | go |
| gu | 11 | Ꭻ | gu |
| gv | 12 | Ꭼ | gv |
| ha | 13 | Ꭽ | ha |
| he | 14 | Ꭾ | he |
| hi | 15 | Ꭿ | hi |
| ho | 16 | Ꮀ | ho |
| hu | 17 | Ꮁ | hu |
| hv | 18 | Ꮂ | hv |
| ma | 25 | Ꮉ | ma |
| me | 26 | Ꮊ | me |
| mi | 27 | Ꮋ | mi |
| mo | 28 | Ꮌ | mo |
| mu | 29 | Ꮍ | mu |
| da | 51 | Ꮣ | da |
| ta | 52 | Ꮤ | ta |
| de | 53 | Ꮥ | de |
| te | 54 | Ꮦ | te |
| di | 55 | Ꮧ | di |
| ti | 56 | Ꮨ | ti |
| do | 57 | Ꮩ | do |
| du | 58 | Ꮪ | du |
| dv | 59 | Ꮫ | dv |
| la | 19 | Ꮃ | la |
| le | 20 | Ꮄ | le |
| li | 21 | Ꮅ | li |
| lo | 22 | Ꮆ | lo |
| lu | 23 | Ꮇ | lu |
| lv | 24 | Ꮈ | lv |
| sa | 44 | Ꮜ | sa |
| se | 46 | Ꮞ | se |
| si | 47 | Ꮟ | si |
| so | 48 | Ꮠ | so |
| su | 49 | Ꮡ | su |
| sv | 50 | Ꮢ | sv |
| wa | 73 | Ꮹ | wa |
| we | 74 | Ꮺ | we |
| wi | 75 | Ꮻ | wi |
| wo | 76 | Ꮼ | wo |
| wu | 77 | Ꮽ | wu |
| wv | 78 | Ꮾ | wv |
| ya | 79 | Ꮿ | ya |
| ye | 80 | Ᏸ | ye |
| yi | 81 | Ᏹ | yi |
| yo | 82 | Ᏺ | yo |
| yu | 83 | Ᏻ | yu |
| yv | 84 | Ᏼ | yv |
| to | 57 | Ꮩ | do |
| tu | 58 | Ꮪ | du |
| ko | 10 | Ꭺ | go |
| tv | 59 | Ꮫ | dv |
| qa | 73 | Ꮹ | wa |
| ke | 07 | Ꭷ | ka |
| kv | 12 | Ꭼ | gv |
| ah | 00 | Ꭰ | a |
| qo | 10 | Ꭺ | go |
| oh | 03 | Ꭳ | o |
| ju | 71 | Ꮷ | tsu |
| ji | 69 | Ꮵ | tsi |
| ja | 67 | Ꮳ | tsa |
| je | 68 | Ꮴ | tse |
| jo | 70 | Ꮶ | tso |
| jv | 72 | Ꮸ | tsv |
| a | 00 | Ꭰ | a |
| e | 01 | Ꭱ | e |
| i | 02 | Ꭲ | i |
| o | 03 | Ꭳ | o |
| u | 04 | Ꭴ | u |
| v | 05 | Ꭵ | v |
| s | 45 | Ꮝ | s |
| n | 30 | Ꮎ | na |
| l | 02 | Ꭲ | i |
| t | 52 | Ꮤ | ta |
| d | 55 | Ꮧ | di |
| y | 80 | Ᏸ | ye |
| k | 06 | Ꭶ | ga |
| g | 06 | Ꭶ | ga |
There are two main dialects of Cherokee spoken by modern speakers. The Giduwa dialect (Eastern Band) and the Otali Dialect (also called the Overhill dialect) spoken in Oklahoma. The Otali dialect has drifted significantly from Sequoyah's syllabary in the past 150 years, and many contracted and borrowed words have been adopted into the language. These noun and verb roots in Cherokee, however, can still be mapped to Sequoyah's syllabary. In modern times, there are more than 85 syllables in use by modern Cherokee speakers. Modern Cherokee speakers who speak Otali employ 122 distinct syllables in Oklahoma.
Read more about this topic: Cherokee Language
Famous quotes containing the words language and/or drift:
“There is no such thing as a language, not if a language is anything like what many philosophers and linguists have supposed. There is therefore no such thing to be learned, mastered, or born with. We must give up the idea of a clearly defined shared structure which language-users acquire and then apply to cases.”
—Donald Davidson (b. 1917)
“To drift with every passion till my soul
Is a stringed lute on which all winds can play,
Is it for this that I have given away
Mine ancient wisdom, and austere control?
Methinks my life is a twice-written scroll
Scrawled over on some boyish holiday”
—Oscar Wilde (18541900)