Written by ᏗᎦᏃᏣᎵ Patrick Del Percio
ᎬᏂᎨᏒ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎯ – Introduction
The following examples represent the simple subject – verb sentence structure:
wesa nigawe
cat – it is meowing (making a noise)
‘A cat is meowing.’
sasa naniwe
geese – they are honking
‘Some geese are honking.’
*You’ll notice that there are no articles such as ‘a/an’ or ‘some’ in Cherokee. These articles are implied in the structure of the sentence. As we will see in the examples that follow, the article na can be used to mean ‘that/the’ depending on the context of the sentence.
Typically in simple declarative statements, sentences in Cherokee take on a subject – object – verb word order. However, to reverse this structure is not always incorrect, as we will see in the following examples.
na agehya gitli agowatiha
the – woman – dog – she sees
‘The woman sees a dog.’
gitli agowatiha na agehya
dog – she sees – the – woman
‘The woman sees a dog.’
udohiyu udlvkwsati na achutsa
really – he is a braggart – the/that boy
‘The boy really is a braggart.’
Notice sentences two and three. In both examples, the subject of the sentence is placed at the end of the sentence, pulling the object into primary focus. Sentence three, the adjective udlvkwsati is made the focal point of the sentence, and then towards the end of the sentence we are given our subject – na achuja/achutsa ‘the boy’.
In The Story about a Man Named Old George Stonejug, find two good examples of sentences with a subject-object-verb word order. Write them in the lines provided below in syllabary, phonetics, and English.
-
- ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
- phonetics:
- ᏲᏁᎦ:
-
- ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
- phonetics:
- ᏲᏁᎦ:
Sentences Involving Adjectives
Adjectives function in various ways in Cherokee sentence structure. In the two examples below, the adjective is placed before the noun and verb yielding the following translations.
usdi gitli atlido’a
little – dog – (it) is running around
‘A little dog is running around.’
na utana yona nigawe’a
the – big – bear – (it) is growling
‘The big bear is growling.’
The next way that adjectives can be used in a sentence is by adding the adjective after a noun which gives the meaning of ‘[it] is ______.’
na tsisqua gigage’i
the – bird – it is red
‘The bird is red.’
na nvya uwodige’i
the – rock – it is brown
‘The rock is brown.’
Find an example of this type of sentence from the story titled “Thunder and the Big Snake“ written by Willie Jumper. Once you find an example, write it below in syllabary, phonetics, and English.
ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
phonetics:
ᏲᏁᎦ:
Sentences Involving Both Adjectives and Verbs
In these examples, you will see that adverbs in Cherokee typically precede the verb and come after the noun.
na usdi gitli ayanuli atlido’a
the – little – dog – fast – (it’s) running
‘The little dog is running fast.’
na utana yona sdaya nigawe’a
the – big – bear – loud – it’s making noise
‘The big bear is growling loudly.’
Find at least two examples of this type of sentence from the story titled “Story of Old-Time Indians” written by Willie Jumper. Once you find an example, write it below in syllabary, phonetics, and English.
ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
phonetics:
ᏲᏁᎦ:
ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
phonetics:
ᏲᏁᎦ:
Sentences Without Verbs
In the late Durbin Feeling’s Outline of Cherokee Grammar, he relates how not all sentences in Cherokee will exhibit a verb. To make this more clear, he provides the following examples to illustrate how some nouns and adjectives in Cherokee already contain a verb:
na asgaya agidoda
that – man – he is father to me
‘That man is my father.’
agidoda utana
my father – he is big
‘My father is big.’
‘To Be’
The verb ‘to be’ functions differently in Cherokee than it does in English. Many Cherokee verbs, as well as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, already have ‘to be’ built into the word itself.
- 4 ᎠᎵᏱᎵᏒᎢ ᎤᏃᏴᏍᏗᎢ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ ᎢᏦᏗᏱ.
- 4 – the time of – for him/her to be buried – it will be – at Echota
- ‘Burial will be toward 4:00 [p.m.] at Echota.’
- ᎩᎶᎢ ᏥᏓᏓᏅᏫᏍᎪᎢ ᎤᏓᎦᏎᏍᏗᏳ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ.
- Someone – [he/she] who heals – [he/she is] very careful – must be
- ‘One who is a healer must take care of himself [themselves].’
Find at least two examples of this type of sentence from the story titled “Story of Decoration Day“ written by Willie Jumper. Once you find an example, write it below in syllabary, phonetics, and English.
ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
phonetics:
ᏲᏁᎦ:
ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
phonetics:
ᏲᏁᎦ:
Passive Sentence Construction
Passive voice is used when the action is being done to someone or when the person doing the action is unknown. Let’s look at a few examples from Durbin Feeling’s Outline of Cherokee Grammar that demonstrate a simple example of the passive sentence structure.
asgaya atsigowhtiha
man – he is being seen
‘A man is being seen.’
vgigowhtiha
‘I am being seen.’
asgaya ugohwtiha agehya
man – she is being seen – woman
‘A woman is being seen by a man.’
Next, let’s look at some examples that can be found in the DAILP collections:
Asehno naquuhno agasehele’i igvwadvnhdi gesv’i
but – now – he was shown – what he could do – being
‘But then he was shown what he could do.’
Anidawehi jigegehyohvsge’i
[to be] magicians – they were taught
‘They were taught to be magicians.’
ᎠᎾᏗᏍᎪᎢ ᏧᎾᏛᏐᏅᎯ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᎸᎯ ᎨᏒ Ꮔ[Ꮝ]ᏛᎢ ᎤᏁᏲᏅᎯ
Anadisgo’i tsunatvsohnvhi unihnohelvhi gesv nu[s]dv’i unehyonvhi
they say – the elders – they told about – being – what – they were taught
‘The elders said this. They spoke of what they were taught.’
Ududu agayvli udasonv[nv]hi gese’i
his grandfather – ancient – [he] wounded – was
‘His grandfather was wounded.’
Sentences with Prepositions
There are few prepositions in Cherokee that function on their own. For the most part, prepositions are found intertwined in the Cherokee verb. Below are some examples of prepositions that stand on their own, drawn from Durbin Feeling’s Outline of Cherokee Grammar.
gvhdi: ‘with, using’
yonega gvhdi gawoniha
English – with – s/he is speaking
‘S/he is speaking English.’
Seli daquado’a tsalagi gvhdi
Seli – My name is – Cherokee – using
‘My name in Cherokee is Seli.’
ganvqualosdi gvhdi gvhniha
hammer – with – s/he is hitting it
‘S/he is hitting it with a hammer.’
didla: ‘toward’
digaduhv didla ega
town – toward – s/he is going
‘S/he is going towards town.’
igvyididla: ‘in front of’
gahltsode igvyididla gadoga
house – in front of – s/he is standing
‘S/he is standing in front of the house.’
Now, let’s look at some examples from the DAILP collections:
ᏚᏂᎾᏗ ᎢᎬᏱ ᎢᎦ ᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ ᏓᎦᏃᏴᏥ ᎢᏦᏗ ᏧᏙᏓᏂᏐᏘᏱ
Dunindi igvyi iga dodaquonvhi daganoyvtsi itsodi tsudanisodiyi
October – first – day – Monday – s/he will be buried – Echota – at the cemetary
‘Burial will be Monday [2:00 p.m.], October 1 at Echota Cemetary.’
Gvsgalisgi wahya gatsiyowelasi gequili daksi
Gvsgalisgi – Wahya – I just wrote it for them – Gequili – dagsi
‘Gvsgalisgi Wahya, I, Gequili Dagsi, just wrote it for them.’
Igvwsdihaquv tohi dagigitsvhnega
Just the same – peaceful / healthy – I am going from day to day
‘I am the same, still healthy from day to day.’
ᎯᎠ ᎤᏛᎢᏍᏗ ᎤᏫᏅ ᎠᏯᎭ ᎠᏧᏣ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏓᏥᏲᎱᏎᎴᎢ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎤᎾᎥᎢ [ᎠᎴ ᏧᎬᏩᎶᏗ ᏄᏩᎾᏅ]
Hi’a utv’isdi uwinv ayaha atsutsa nasgihno datsiyohusele’i gohusdi una’v’i [ale tsugvwahldi nuwananv]
This – old man – Young man – he is in [here] – boy – and that – it was left to him – something – he had
‘This old man left his belongings to a young man in here. [that is, all his valuables.]’
ᎪᏪᎵᏋ ᎬᏗ ᎠᏴ ᎠᎹ ᎥᏉᏪᎳᏏ ᏄᏍᏛᏋ ᏂᏥᏪᏍᎬᎢ
Gohweliquv gvhdi ayv ama vquohwelasi nusdvquv nitsiwesgv’i
Letter – by – I – Ama – he wrote it for me – just what – I was saying
‘This was written for me, Ama, just as I said.’
Ursula oginanta nusdv nuwanv nasgi gohweli
Both – another and I know – what – she had it [in] – that – letter
‘We both know what was in the letter.’
Can you find at least two examples of sentences with prepositions in this Letter to Dollie Duncan from Walter Duncan? When you have found your examples, please write them in syllabary, phonetics, and English.
ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
phonetics:
ᏲᏁᎦ:
ᏗᏣᎳᎩ:
phonetics:
ᏲᏁᎦ: