Sequoyah: how he created writing for the Cherokee language

How do you convey a sentence to someone who is not present to hear it? In the early 19th century, Sequoyah worked on an answer for Cherokee. He is not trying to create a new language. He conceives a writing adapted to that which his people already speak, after several years of trials.

The decisive choice is to represent the syllables by signs. Presented in 1821, the system is known as a syllabary. The commonly described version has eighty-five characters, after a first form consisting of eighty-six. Its learning and adoption allow Cherokee texts to circulate, especially thanks to printing.

In 1828, the Cherokee Phoenix appeared with texts in Cherokee and English. Writing provides an additional way to preserve and share the language in a period of forced displacement and assimilation. The exploit of Sequoyah lies in this transformation of support: an already rich word can now travel on a page.