PRESERVE THE CHEROKEE LANGUAGE WITH TINY TURTLE

Dr. Anita McGruder-Johnson is a Cherokee citizen and Clinical Psychologist.  She learned about the danger of the Cherokee language being lost in 2008 while her parents were attending a Cherokee history course. She became inspired to preserve the language by learning it with her father and by introducing it to her young children. She created “Tiny Turtle” as an icon of focus, curiosity, perseverance and love of knowledge. 

“Tiny” Turtle is a descendant of the giant turtles from the Cherokee legend, Legend of the Giant Turtles by Benny Smith. Like the ancestors, “Tiny” is always moving forward — focused and devoted to preserving knowledge for future generations. 

“Tiny” is a young turtle who is inquisitive and inconspicuous, eager to learn from the elders. “Tiny” learned about Sequoyah, the Cherokee linguist who created the written language, the syllabary,” for the Cherokee people. It is called a “syllabary” because it is based on the small sounds within the language. Sequoyah realized he could create a symbol for each sound in order to make concepts.

In the English language, there are 5 vowel sounds: a,e,i,o,u. However, in the Cherokee language, there are 6 vowel sounds: a [aw], e [ay], i [ee], o [o], u [oo], v [uh].

*To learn the syllabary, see it (look at each character closely), say it aloud, write it, and illustrate it. Practice each day. Practice saying the words that you know each day. Label items in your home. Talk to your pet in Cherokee. Learn prayers and songs. Replace English words with the Cherokee words that you learn.

Dr. Johnson has launched an online store to increase accessibility to materials for learning the Cherokee language:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/EducationExpressShop

The Cherokee Nation has a section for language learning on their website: Cherokee.org. In addition, RSUTV has a Cherokee 1 series for anyone. It shows on YouTube and is very interactive. https://rsu.tv/cherokee/

Start enrichment your thoughts and expanding your mind with the Cherokee language!