Table Of ContentA REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF OKLAHOMA CHEROKEE
Brad Montgomery-Anderson
B.A., University of Colorado, 1993
M.A., University of Illinois at Chicago, 1996
Submitted to the Linguistics Program
and the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Kansas
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Dr. Akira Yamamoto, Chair
Dr. Clifton Pye
Dr. Anita Herzfeld
Dr. Harold Torrence
Dr. Lizette Peter
Date Defended: May 30, 2008
The Dissertation Committee for Brad Montgomery-Anderson certifies
that this is the approved version of the following dissertation:
A REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF OKLAHOMA CHEROKEE
BY
Copyright 2008
Brad Montgomery-Anderson
Committee:
________________________________
Chairperson
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Date Approved: May 30, 2008
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ABSTRACT
The majority of Native American Languages are threatened with extinction
within the next 100 years, a loss that will entail the destruction of the unique cultural
identity of the peoples that speak them. This dissertation is a reference grammar of
one such language, the Cherokee language of Oklahoma. Cherokee is the sole
member of the southern branch of the Iroquoian language family. If current trends
continue, it will cease to exist as a living language in two generations. Among the
three federally-recognized tribes there is a strong commitment to language
revitalization; furthermore, there is a large number of active speakers compared to
other Native American languages. This current work aims to serve as a reference
work for Cherokees interested in learning about the grammar of their language as
well as for educators who are developing language materials. This dissertation also
offers the academic community a comprehensive descriptive presentation of the
phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language.
Cherokee has a relatively small inventory of sounds, and vowels are
distinguished by length and tone. One of the goals of this work is to allow the reader a
better understanding of complex phonological rules involving vowel deletion,
metathesis, and aspiration by using contextualized examples of these phenomena
throughout this work. To this end an emphasis is based on using stem forms rather
than natural citation forms. The use of tone as a syntactic device for creating
subordinate clauses is also stressed throughout this work.
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The four parts of speech are verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Cherokee
is a polysynthetic language and has complex verbal morphology. Verbs are complete
utterances as they always carry pronominal prefixes indicating their subject and
object. Prepronominal prefixes as well as clitics add considerably to the expressive
range of the Cherokee verb. Nouns and adjectives, many of which are derived from
verbs, often have these prefixes as well. All of the affixes and clitics are methodically
described; throughout the grammar their usage is demonstrated by numerous
everyday examples accompanied by an underlying morpheme breakdown and a
morpheme-by-morpheme gloss. This grammar also contains a description of the rich
variety of valency-adjusting operations, including Causative, Applicative and Middle
voice affixes.
This dissertation uses a Romanized writing system that marks tone and vowel
length; all words and sentences are also written in the Cherokee Syllabary in order
that the information can be useful to those already literate or those who wish to
become literate in the traditional writing system. The inclusion of both systems
reflects the need to serve the linguistic community as well as the Cherokee
community, for whom use of the syllabary is a powerful cultural symbol.
This dissertation includes three texts in the final chapter. Two are traditional
narratives involving a race between two animals; the third is a short historical
narrative. Excerpts from these narratives, as well as examples from the New
Testament and newspaper articles, are given throughout the grammar to underline the
importance of the context is establishing word order and grammatical relations.
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DEDICATION
[gGYhSU ha gO/hsd aQ[]Qv uqd dgkWscpk nsf
a/Ewf a/xW #/pd gO/hsd unp]tm9i. nsf ns~
ha [gkWscpk [GYhS aQcli Elizabeth nsf /ccYszn
afJscv a> afglscdsdsz nsf qPlsz ha gO/hsd.
I dedicate this grammar to the efforts of the Cherokee People to pass on their
language to a new generation. I also dedicate this work to my wife Elizabeth for her
unfailing support and encouragement during the writing of this grammar.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This dissertation would not have been possible without the incredible
knowledge and guidance of my advisor, Akira Yamamoto. He first introduced me to
the Cherokee community and gave me the invaluable opportunity to get involved with
Cherokee Nation teacher training workshops in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Once the
grammar was underway he provided detailed proofreading of several drafts of the
manuscript. The other members of my committee have supplied much useful
feedback during the revision process, and I would like to thank Anita Herzfeld,
Lizette Peter, Clif Pye, and Harold Torrence.
My decision to become a linguist came later in my college career. I would like
to acknowledge David Rood at the University of Colorado for first encouraging my
interest in linguistics. Terrence Kaufman, Roberto Zavala, and John Justeson
provided me with wonderful field work training during three summers in Mexico with
the Project for the Documentation of the Languages of the Americas.
This dissertation has received important financial backing from the Phillips
Fund of the American Philosophical Society. The Center for Latin American Studies
at the University of Kansas supported my graduate career by providing a Foreign
Language Areas Studies Fellowship as well as teaching opportunities. The
Department of Linguistics also supported my studies through teaching opportunities
and the Frances Ingemann Fellowship.
I am deeply indebted to the Cherokee speakers I worked with for more than
three years. During the beginning of my work Benny Smith met with me for a few
hours a week for over two years. I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity
to work with such master speakers as Rosa Carter, Marilyn Cochran, Anna Huckaby,
Ed Jumper, Harry Oosahwee, and Dennis Sixkiller. (I owe a special thanks to Anna
Huckaby for translating the dedication at the beginning of this work.) The field work
done for this dissertation has been greatly facilitated by the Cultural Resource Center
of the Cherokee Nation, in particular from the director, Gloria Sly. She allowed me
the opportunity to get to know these speakers by inviting me to speak at numerous
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training conferences and workshops. Countless informal discussions with Harry
Oosahwee and Wyman Kirk at the Cherokee Degree Program Office helped me to
appreciate the intricacies of Cherokee grammar. Many wonderful hours of road trip
conversation with Akira and Kimiko Yamamoto, Lizette Peter, and Tracy Hirata-
Edds gave me fresh ideas and insights. In addition to my committee members, I owe
many thanks to the individuals who have proofread all or parts of this manuscript,
including Elizabeth Montgomery-Anderson, Kelly Harper Berkson, and Christopher
and Anita Mann. I received invaluable technical support in the form of a surprise
laptop that was a gift from Shary and Dow Walker and Jan Montgomery. My
friendships with Dave McKinney and Christen Burke were a great help during the
dissertation writing process.
I am deeply grateful to my parents, Bob and Jerene Anderson and Bruce and
Irene Rose, who have helped and encouraged me through many years of college.
Most of all, I would like to thank my wife, Elizabeth. She was willing to support my
graduate career by starting a new life in Kansas, and I thank her for her love and
devotion during my studies.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………….……….………..iii
DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………...…..v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………….…..vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………...…..viii
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS……………………………………………..xi
CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION…………………………………………….…...…2
1. HISTORY OF THE CHEROKEES AND THEIR LANGUAGE………...3
2. CHEROKEE LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION……………...………...10
3. PREVIOUS LINGUISTIC WORK ON CHEROKEE………………..….13
4. GOALS AND FEATURES OF THIS GRAMMAR…………………..….17
5. INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHEROKEE CONSULTANTS………23
NOTES………………………………………………………………………..…25
CHAPTER 2: CHEROKEE SOUNDS AND HOW TO WRITE THEM……….31
1. INVENTORY OF SOUNDS…………………………………………..…...31
2. PHONOLOGICAL RULES………………………………………..………63
3. MORPHOPHONOLOGICAL RULES………………………...…………80
4. REPRESENTING SOUNDS IN THE SYLLABARY……………...…….93
5. SYLLABLE STRUCTURE…………………………………………..……98
6. STRESS ……………………………………………………………………103
7. SUMMARY …………………………………………...……………..……105
NOTES…………………………………………………………………………107
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CHAPTER 3: GENERAL STRUCTURE OF CHEROKEE………………..…116
1. WORD ORDER…………………………………………….……………..116
2. CLAUSE TYPES…………………..……………………………………...125
3. INTERJECTIONS …………………………………………………..……140
4. CLITICS ……………………………………………………………..……141
5. SUMMARY…………………..……………………………………………159
NOTES…………………………………………..……………………………..160
CHAPTER 4: PRONOMINAL PREFIXES………………………………..……162
1. OVERVIEW…………………………………………………………..…...162
2. SET A…………………………………………………………………..…..168
3. SET B…………………………………………………………………..…..183
4. COMBINED…………………………………………………………….....198
5. OBJECT FOCUS ………………………………………………………....203
6. PHONOLOGICAL CHANGES……………………………………….....207
7. SUMMARY………………………………………………………………..215
NOTES……………………………………………………………………..…..216
CHAPTER 5: THE MINIMAL VERB………………………………………..…220
1. PREDICATES……………………………………………………….….…220
2. PRONOMINAL PREFIXES ON VERBS…………………………...…..221
3. VERB STEMS………………………………………………………..……252
4. FINAL SUFFIXES……………………………………………………..….268
5. CLASSIFICATORY VERBS………………………………………….....275
6. EXISTENCE AND LOCATION VERBS…………………………….….278
7. SUMMARY…………………………………………………………….….285
NOTES…………………………………………………………………..……..286
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CHAPTER 6: BUILDING ON THE STEM…………………………………..…291
1. ADDING TO THE STEM………………………………………….….….291
2. VALENCY-CHANGING AFFIXES……………………………….….…348
3. EXPANDING THE STEM…………………………………………….....377
4. SUMMARY…………………………………………………………..……391
NOTES…………………………………………………………………..……..393
CHAPTER 7: THE NOUN…………………………………………………..…...403
1. DEFINITION AND SHAPE OF NOUNS…………………………..…....403
2. ROOT NOUN PRONOMINAL INFLECTION……………………..….413
3. NOUN DERIVATION………………………………………………..…...441
4. COMPOUND NOUNS………………………………………………..…...473
5. PRONOUNS……………………………………………………….….…...476
6. MODIFYING THE NOUN PHRASE ……………………………..…….483
7. SUMMARY…………………………………………………………..……484
NOTES…………………………………………………………………..……..486
CHAPTER 8: MODIFIERS……………………………………………….….….491
1. ADJECTIVALS……………………………………………………..…….491
2. ADVERBIALS………………………………………………………..…...526
3. SUMMARY………….…………………………………………………….546
NOTES………………………………………………………………….….…..548
CHAPTER 9: TEXTS………………………………………………………….....550
1. THE WOLF AND THE CRAWDAD…………………...……...……..….550
2. THE SEARCH PARTY………………………..……………………..…...556
3. THE TURTLE AND THE RABBIT…………………..…………..……..561
BIBLIOGRAPHY………….……………………………………………….….….570
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Description:This current work aims to serve as a reference work for Cherokees interested in
learning about the grammar of their language as well as for educators who are
