Native American syllabaries
Native American syllabaries are writing systems that represent the syllables of spoken languages, distinct from both pictographs and alphabets, which represent shorter units of sound. The introduction of syllabaries to Native American communities coincided with European contact in the late 15th century. A significant milestone occurred in 1821 when Sequoyah, a Cherokee leader, developed a syllabary for the Cherokee language, consisting of eighty-six characters that corresponded to its syllables. This writing system gained formal recognition and was widely adopted, contributing to literacy and the preservation of the Cherokee language. The Cherokee Phoenix, established in 1828, became the first Native American newspaper, utilizing both English and the Cherokee syllabary. Other Native American languages also saw the development of syllabaries, notably by missionaries who created systems for the Creek and Choctaw languages, as well as adaptations among the Cree and Inuit peoples in Canada. Despite their initial success, syllabaries gradually diminished in use as the Roman alphabet became more prevalent, largely due to the availability of literature and resources in European languages and the challenges of translating native phonetics.
Native American syllabaries
Tribes affected: Pantribal
Significance: Syllabic writing systems first made it possible to record American Indian languages; Sequoyah, a Cherokee, produced the first syllabary for an Indian language
A syllabary is a phonetic transcription of a spoken language. It is distinct from pictographs, which are symbols of objects and actions. Technically, it may also be distinguished from an alphabet; in a syllabary, symbols represent syllables, whereas in an alphabet, they represent shorter units of sound (consonants and vowels).
It is generally accepted that the first knowledge the Indians had of alphabets was when they were contacted by European explorers starting in the late fifteenth century. Among the explorers were Christian missionaries, who were very much interested in converting the natives and therefore tried both to teach them European languages and to transliterate native languages into European alphabets. Considerable difficulties were involved, however, and early attempts were unsuccessful.
In 1821 a Cherokee leader named Sequoyah created the first syllabic writing system for an American Indian language. Sequoyah had been a volunteer under General Andrew Jackson, and he had been impressed with the white people’s method of writing that enabled them to communicate over great distances. Sequoyah’s syllabary had eighty-six characters for syllables in the Cherokee language. Although he used some English characters, the sounds they represented were distinct from those they represented in English. The Cherokee tribal council, impressed at its effectiveness, sanctioned its use for the Cherokee.
The Cherokee Phoenix, begun in 1828 and called the first American Indian newspaper, printed articles in both English and the Cherokee syllabary. As use of the syllabary spread, books were translated into the Cherokee language; soon books were being written using the syllabary. The Bible was translated into the Cherokee syllabary by missionary Samuel Worcester. Soon other missionaries and tribal leaders alike began to use the syllabic approach. Missionary John Fleming developed a syllabary for the Creek language; Cyrus Bovington created one for the Choctaw language that could also be used by the Chickasaws. Farther north, a syllabary came into use among the Cree people of Canada and was adapted by some Inuit groups.
Eventually the alphabet used by the European settlers and their descendants won out over syllabic systems in most areas. One reason is simply that most books were available in European languages and were not available in the syllabaries. There has always been difficulty in translating native languages into the Roman alphabet because the phonetic systems are extremely different; scholars and linguists have grappled with these problems for many years with varying degrees of success.