Cherokee-Script Projects:

1. The Cherokee Syllabary in Sequoyah's own Handwriting:

   Click here or on the title to access this page. Be aware that some 85 small .GIF files must load before you can view the page properly. You may want to get up and get a drink of water while you wait. (Although the .GIFs are small and shouldn't take terribly long to load unless you're on an extremely slow system).
   
   

2. A Proposed System of Auxiliary (Diacritic) Markers to Aid Children and Adult Learners in Mastering Cherokee Script: (Updated Sept. 24th, 1999)

   Access this page by clicking here or on the title. This is version 1.0 as the section on pitch is now finished. So check it out! I do still need a couple of .WAV files (short one-word pronunciation examples) which I'm hoping I can get some nice person (a native speaker of Cherokee) to record for me and mail to me.
   
   

3. Your Name in Cherokee and Several other Scripts

   This is now working! I hope you'll click here to give it a try.
   
   

4. On-Line Cherokee Dictionary:

   White Dove originally put together this dictionary. I have converted it so that it displays single-character .GIFs in the Cherokee field. As a result, it loads much faster now. I have plans to substantially increase the listings using new data from White Dove which I haven't yet had a chance to look at.
   
   

5. Phonetic Unicode Typewriter for Cherokee Script (Updated March 24th, 2005!)

   Use my automatic script converter to type Cherokee phonetically, resulting in Unicode-encoded Cherokee which you can cut-and-paste into Word, email or other applications.
   
   The purpose of the above-mentioned program is to encourage native speakers of Cherokee to write in their native language and to assist them in this endeavour. Please let me know what I can do to make the program more useful: dave@languages-of-the-world.us
   
   There used to be two Cherokee font encodings competing for attention on the web. I hope both have now been replaced by Cherokee Unicode. One of these was the Cherokee Observer font which was really the only one in which Cherokee-language content was available on the web -- namely, at the Observer's website. They were charging $25 for it, which is not a big deal for me, but I feel that many folks who could benefit from Cherokee language texts on the web might have been unable to do so if it entailed spending money for a font. So I hope they have changed to Unicode now! But, if they haven't, it's still a very useful site for those who can read Cherokee.
   
   If you can read Cherokee and you can afford the font, I recommend that you purchase it because they have some great Cherokee-language articles over there including some historic legal documents, short stories, and the text of the very first native American novel ever written.
   
   In any case, I really hope these tools will contribute in some small way toward the blossoming forth of literature among the Cherokees in modern times. This is happening now among the Tohono O'odham of Arizona where authors like Ofelia Zepeda have worked hard to craft their native language into poems and stories that relate the unique experience of being a Tohono O'odham to others of their tribe and to the world. Cherokee is unique among Native American languages in that it has its own indigenous script. In other words, it's designed to be written down. You who have lived in the twentieth century are a living link between the Cherokees of old and those who will come in the future. I hope you will consider writing down your personal experiences and what you know of the old ways and of Cherokee history for your descendants.