Cherokee Language Lessons Eastern Dialect

A Giant leap forward!

2010-10-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to recommend a site that has taken a GIANT leap forward in advancing the Cherokee language.

This site is maintained by WCU- Western Carolina University- in Cullowhee, NC and it is under the direction of Dr. Hartwell Francis and western Cherokee Elder, Tom Belt.

Here is the link so you can go check it out too: http://blog.wcu.edu/cherokee/page/10/

as with most blogs, go to the oldest as I've linked here then click on NEWER ENTRIES at the bottom to continue through the postings.

I know you will enjoy it very much! I surely have!

Learn the syllabary

2010-01-17T20:13:00.000-08:00

If you click on this link... below... and start it... wait... it will begin after a bit... you can see and hear each letter of the syllabary-- then, when you are ready, make a set of flash cards for you to review.

try it!

http://cherokee.getonnow.net/learning/syllabaryFlashcards/

sign up NOW! so you won't miss out-- July 20-31, 2010

2010-01-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

This may be your ONLY opportunity to study the Eastern dialect!
If you are serious about learning- take this class!
if you can only do one thing to learn the language- this is the class you should take!
The Cherokee language immersion class will be offered July 20 – 31, 2009. This ten-day class will teach conversational Cherokee language using the Total Physical Response Method and the Rassius Method developed at Darmouth. Open to the general public ages 16 and up, the class costs $500. For information, contact Bo Taylor at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian by phone at 1-828-497-3481 or by email at botaylor@cherokeemuseum.org.
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To register and pay, contact Sharon Littlejohn by phone or by email at littlejohn@cherokeemuseum.org.
The Museum’s first Cherokee language immersion class was offered in 2003 for tribal members through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-- this is the one I was a participant in and it was awesome!
Culture & History :: Cherokee Language
The class will be led by Bo Taylor, along with at least one Cherokee elder in every class session. The ten-day class focuses on immersing participants in Cherokee language through classroom activities, interaction with elders, and field trips. The class will not cover reading and writing Cherokee using Sequoyah’s syllabary. Participants will be responsible for their own room and board. For more info on accommodations in the area, go to www.cherokee-nc.com. College credit is not offered for this course.
Bo Taylor works as Archivist at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and also lectures on Cherokee music, dance and spirituality. He has studied Cherokee language with Robert Bushyhead and Walker Calhoun for more than ten years and is dedicated to the preservation of the Cherokee language. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with a minor in Cherokee Studies from Western Carolina University. He has taught Cherokee language at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, in the Cherokee History and Culture Institute, and through the Cultural Resources Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. He also dances with the Warriors of AniKituhwa.
source http://www.cherokeemuseum.org/education-language.htm

2009-10-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday...
a young kid criticized the sharing of the language... she is a student too but she [apparently] didn't feel someone outside her own tribe [ebci] should be posting links to videos on the language... even videos others have posted... even tho the person on the video is aware of the video and of my link and is a good friend of our family.
so i spoke to some of the elders who have been assisting me...
what i was told was...
'KEEP doing it. Someone has to'
and that is what i'll do...
i started this as a way to keep records of what i've learned.. personal just for me... but someone else asked to see it and it grew...
all along i have been asking others to do this... others who know more and have more time..
that is still what i ask
if you know ANY words.. please ... share them, speak them, use them...
each word spoken is kept alive.
only when the words are silent do they die.
please... speak cherokee!
i know that this language is more important than my feelings or how people perceive me.
if you can..
use cherokee... and if you cannot yet... pick a word and learn that word and use that word.
don't do it for me-- do it for the future--do it for the language.
IF SOMEONE DOESN'T DO IT-- then what?
the old quote is true
"if not you, then who?"
NOTE-- update! I recently learned this girl is POSING as an EBCI member! she is NOT! and she is NOT enrolled in ANY TRIBE- neither state nor federal!!!!! BUT she conducts herself as if she is!!!!!!

CWY Language Class April 10 Deadline -class begins Saturday April 25-May 2, 2009

2009-03-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

this class is over.... but the next class will be thru the same office...
so you can contact them next time
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Cherokee Language Class -registration deadline is April 10, 2009
class begins April 25th
Preference is given to EBCI enrolled members but YOU can learn to speak! Enroll today! Space is limited!
Classes are daily 8:00 a.m. till 4:30 p.m.
The Kituwah Preservation and Education Program (KPEP) is hosting a Cherokee language class using the TPR (Total Physical Response) Method which is a teaching methodology with PROVEN results that helps EVERYONE any age to learn the language FASTER than through any other method or means!
You can join instructor Bo Taylor for a fun and exciting way to learn the Cherokee language!
Contact information:
Cynthia Grant, Language Resourse Supervisor at (828)497-1849 or (828)736-4172 or fax: (828)497-1590
email: cyntgran@nc-cherokee.com
This program has LIMITED SPACE so Gatsanul! (Hurry!)

!

SGI

2009-03-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Someone asked-- who taught me?

well the good stuff-- the stuff I do /say right -- all the credit for the GOOD

goes to many folks--
however, the mistakes are not theirs!

the blame, for me not remembering or speaking as well as I ought lies squarely with me...

but the credit i give to those who have loved me and worked with me and basically put up with me for all these years!

So EQUA sgi to the following folks: Edohi aka Walker Calhoun who spoke with me and challenged me for more than 6 years and kept making me say it "Shgwo" (Again) and to James "Bo" Taylor who never lets up but keeps challenging me to try harder... SGI! To Shirley Oswalt and to Nula who were and are patient with me to Francis Hartwell over at WCU who taught and teaches the Cherokee language where I am glad to say I was enrolled as a student, and, To Tom Belt from OK but also teaching over at WCU, and to my brother Jeremy who learns from several folks and teaches me and challenges me to learn more

and of course, my first words in the language [including my name: tsasuyeda] were taught to me by my dad, who was a speaker and who learned from his mom, Agnes, [whom he said named me] who I'm told, held me and rocked me, speaking and singing to me in the language when I was very young.

Words for Holidays

2008-09-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

coming soon!
if you sign up with YOUTUBE (free) and "subscribe" you tube will let you know each time a new video is posted.
no- i don't get any money for that. LOL. but you will find the new stuff faster.
Be sure you also watch each video listed on the left of this page,too.

The first one with HOLIDAY terms/words that I'm going to post deals with Halloween.
Hope you can use it!

we'll post some other holday words as well...
things like thanksgiving, advent, christmas, valentines and so on....
altho...thanksgiving holiday words-- these are not meant to offend anyone-- tho my dad would FAST every thanksgiving -day before and morning of-- as a day of mourning--

In addition to the Yunega holiday words, we'll post some native holiday themes as well..
so subscribe for first notice!

Oh-- and be sure to read the earlier blogs about the language being Eastern Dialect and about lanuage learning tips if you haven't read them yet.

just scroll down on this page.

Cherokee Lessons-LIVE!

2008-09-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

siyu!
I am a student of cherokee.
I will be a student all my life.

Where can YOU go to get accurate, live instruction?
You can go to the Cherokee Museum on the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina!

The Museum has a Cherokee Immersion Class every year!

Its held every summer, usually in July or August. You can go to the Cherokee Musuem website to find out the next year's dates.

The Cherokee language immersion class is amazing. This ten-day class will teach conversational Cherokee language using the Total Physical Response Method and the Rassius Method developed at Dartmouth.
If you take this class, you will come away speaking!
The class is open to the general public ages 16 and up, the class costs --but there is a discount for certain levels of Museum membership.

AND EBCI enrolled members may attend for FREE.

For information, contact Bo Taylor at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian by phone at 1-828-497-3481 and ask for him but if he's not available, you can ask whomever answers the phone.

The Museum’s first Cherokee language immersion class was offered in 2003 for tribal members through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

This is the class I attended. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

And after all these years, I remember it like it was yesterday! This TPR method really does work!

If you are serious about wanting to learn, try taking this class!

The class will be led by Bo Taylor, along with at least one Cherokee elder in every class session. The ten-day class focuses on immersing participants in Cherokee language through classroom activities, interaction with elders, and field trips. The class will not cover reading and writing Cherokee using Sequoyah’s syllabary. Participants will be responsible for their own room and board.

It is SO worth it to come take this class! If you do, you WILL come out of it speaking Eastern Dialect Cherokee! Yes! Speaking!

Bo Taylor works as Archivist at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and also lectures on Cherokee music, dance and spirituality. He has studied Cherokee language with Robert Bushyhead and Walker Calhoun for many- many years
[both Bushyhead and Walker are recognized as the best authorities on the authentic Eastern Dialect- both were /are elders and both grew up with Eastern Cherokee as their native or first langauge BEFORE they heard or learned English they spoke fluently in Cherokee]
and Bo is dedicated to the preservation of the Cherokee language. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with a minor in Cherokee Studies from Western Carolina University. He has taught Cherokee language at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, in the Cherokee History and Culture Institute, and through the Cultural Resources Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. He also dances with the Warriors of AniKituhwa.

If you attended the revamp of "unto these hills" in 2008, you would recognize his voice-- he sang most all the songs for the production's musical score.

If you listen to CREED- you might recognize his voice on their cd-- he sings the opening on the track "who's got my back now?" on the album "weathered".

Some have asked-- yes-- WCU (Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC) WCU does offer cherokee classes-- but from what I have observed, they are all in TUTIYI or snowbird dialect- NOT in GIDUWA dialect.

Totally Different IMHO.

So don't go there! BUT-- DO go to the Cherokee Musuem on the Qualla!
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for more info on the eastern dialect- just scroll down this page

language learning tips

2008-09-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

1---Listen listen Listen
cherokee has sounds that are very different than English.
so take time and LISTEN.

I was told to listen at least 21 times before I even try to say a new word.

I tell you, it took a long time for me to hear it right much less say it right.

the more i heard it --the more i heard in it.

2--- speak it-- & LISTEN! i suggest that after you listen to each video a few 20 or 30 times, (you can hit replay at the end)that you go &
get yourself the audacity program and record YOURSELF saying it-- then compare.
Listen again to mine, then listen to yours. IF possible-- find a speaker living in Big Cove and speak with them. If you cannot speak with a native giduwa speaker, then by all means record yourself on Audacity or some other program and listen to yourself. Rerecord if you make a mistake.

it really does help!

3-- Immerse yourself-- turn off the tv & radio and play the videos over and over. Get the eastern dialect as the only thing you hear for a couple of hours per day. A friend of mine burned them to a cd and plays it while he does work in the house and while he drives around in his truck. He is sounding OSD! (Great!)

4--commit yourself to using the cherokee words you DO know in with your english (or other language) revert to english when you don't know the cherokee word but if you DO know the cherokee word, USE IT.

5-- when you know a word /phrase- and you have verified it with a native speaker-- and it is in the Eastern Dialect-- make your own youtube video so that others can learn it.

oh--and one more thing-- no matter what your taste or preference is in music-- listen to the songs too-- they contain the words and the sounds. There is also something about singing that makes the mind/brain remember better. So even if you don't like the songs, sing them for the language.

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for more info on the eastern dialect just scroll down this page

Cherokee Language Lessons- Giduwa Dialect

2008-09-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Siyu!
I am posting lessons in the EASTERN (aka Giduwa) Dialect of the Cherokee language as spoken in Big Cove on the Qualla in North Carolina.

The LINKS on this web page take you to YOU TUBE where you may SEE the language, HEAR the language and REPEAT the language as many times as you need.

There are not many resources available for studying this language. I am blessed to live among the people who speak this dialect. This gift is not something I would dare hoard, and so I was delighted when my daughter, Walelu, showed me how to share the language through YOU TUBE. Next, my daughter in law told me about this site where I can post links to the lessons.

Please enjoy and learn.

Remember, this dialect is different than what is spoken in Oklahoma and elsewhere.

It is even different than what you will hear in NC in Tutiyi (Snowbird)-- which is ALSO a apart of the Qualla but has a different dialect than Giduwa!

That does not make any dialect incorrect. It is merely different-- just as folks in England speak their language differently than folks in Australia--One is not more correct than the other. They are just different.

Sgi!
(Shgee means thanks!)

Tsasuyed

Cherokee Greetings in Eastern Dialect

Slow version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdxJaH8Bxpg

Normal speaking (Fast) Version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EcqRlCYANQ