A Dictionary of the Cherokee Indian Language

Alternate Language Names

Tsalagi (ᏣᎳᎩ), ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, Tsalagi Gawonihisdi, Giduwa.

Region

North Carolina, Alabama, Oklahoma, and California, United States.

Who

J. T. Alexander (Compiler).

Others Involved

Levi Gritts (Speaker); Sam Hider (Linguistic Assistance); the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, the John Howard Payne papers (Language Resources).

Publishing Information

This resource appears to be self-published by the compiler in 1971.

How People are Cited

People are cited in the dictionary’s front matter.

How Information is Cited

The speaker source for this dictionary is cited in the front matter. We are unable to determine where previously published materials that contributed to this dictionary may be cited in the dictionary.

Where is Information Coming from

Information in this dictionary predominantly comes from Levi Gritts, a Cherokee speaker from Adair County, Oklahoma who compiled and translated much of the language included in this dictionary. The compiler of this dictionary does not specify from where, when, or how he accessed Gritts’ written documentation of Cherokee.

Tools and Framework used

This dictionary is available as a physical book.

Access

This dictionary is accessible through libraries.

Included Languages and Directionality

English to Cherokee; Cherokee to English.

Dialects Included

Levi Gritts, the main source for this dictionary, was from Adair County in Oklahoma and was likely a speaker of the Western (i.e., Overhill, Otali, or ᎣᏔᎵ) dialect. Therefore, this is a dictionary predominantly including the Western dialect of Cherokee. Entries that were documented from sources other than Gritts are marked with an asterisk, but the dialect, if different, is not specified.

Type of Dictionary

This is a bilingual, bidirectional word list.

How are Entries Organised

Entries are organized alphabetically by English in the English to Cherokee section of the dictionary. Entries in this section include the English headword, the romanized representation of the Cherokee translation, and the Cherokee translation in the Cherokee syllabary. Entries in the Cherokee to English section are organized alphabetically by Cherokee and include the Cherokee head word in the Cherokee syllabary followed by the English translation. No other information is included in these entries.

Preceding the dictionary, there is a brief description of the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah and the Roman alphabet equivalents to describe the sound system.

We are unable to access this dictionary to confirm other information that may be included in this dictionary. However, based on the description offered by UBC Library, this dictionary includes word lists covering topics such as cardinal and ordinal numbers, days of the week, months of the year, and phrases of common usage, all of which are organized English to Cherokee.

Other Features