Cherokee Syllabary

Cherokee Vowel & Consonant Sounds (Tips)

SOUNDS REPRESENTED BY VOWELS:

• a: as “a” in father, or short as “a” in rival
• e: as “a” in plate, or short as “e” in met
• i: as “i” in pique, or short as “i” in pit
• o: as “o” in note, approaching “aw” in law
• u: as “oo” in fool, or short as “u” in pull
• v: as “u” in but, nasalized

CONSONANT SOUNDS:

‘g’ is nearly as in English, but approaching ‘k’. ‘d’ nearly as in English, but approaching ‘t’.
‘h,’ ‘k,’ ‘l,’ ‘m,’ ‘n,’ ‘q,’ ‘s,’ ‘t,’ ‘w,’ and ‘y’ as in English.
Syllables beginning with ‘g’ (except ‘ga’) sometimes have the power of ‘k.’
‘go,’ ‘du,’ and ‘dv’ are sometimes sounded ‘to,’ ‘tu,’ and ‘tv.’
Syllables written with ‘tl’ (except ‘tla’) sometimes vary to ‘dl.’