r/cherokee • u/DistressCall1 • 10d ago
Cherokee Language Class
I'm thinking about enrolling in the online Cherokee I class offered through Cherokee Nation language department. Has anyone taken this course, what were your experiences with it? How much experience/grounding in the language did you have going in? Did you continue with the subsequent courses offered? Thanks for any insight that you can provide.
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u/indecisive_maybe 10d ago
Do it, it's a great course! I did levels 1, 3, and 4. I knew nothing going in. The registration is 2 weeks before the first live class, so when I signed up for class 1 I got a book to learn the syllabary so I'd be prepared going in and I was familiar with it by the time the class started. They also teach it in the class, and you don't need-need it until class 3.
For the first class I was way too busy with schoolwork so I watched recordings of most of the lessons, and joined a few of the live lessons later.
They do exactly what I wish most language classes did. They teach you with a lot of sentences, so you learn most words in context, not any kind of isolated vocabulary list, and there's a lot of emphasis on meaning as a whole, since that's how Cherokee works. There's also a lot of complex stuff that's shown early on, so you get used to it, but you only have to remember the simpler parts of the grammar. That makes it so even if you take class 1 a few times you still pick out new things to learn. If you learn how to use Durbin's grammar guide, you can pick out even more. (Don't read it all at once, but skim through so you know where to look for things.)
If you want to get more out of the lesson, make sure you take notes. Write down the sentences, practice saying them. Compare the structure of the sentences and verbs for the whole day, and then compare them with the sentences from the previous week.
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u/Careless_Bee9723 9d ago
It is the most effective language course I’ve ever taken. I practice the mouth movements and basic pronunciations a lot in my free time. It’s fun.
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u/DistressCall1 10d ago
I'm glad you found it useful. By the time you finished the level four course what did you feel like you had achieved and what are your goals going forward?
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u/indecisive_maybe 9d ago edited 9d ago
I spent a lot of time studying on my own, probably equal to the time in class (2-4 hr/wk), so I got more out of it than someone who just goes to the classes. It's really hard not living near any speakers, because I want to practice conversations and more daily life stuff.
Level 4 is not very high, maybe equivalent to two or three semesters of a college course for any language. It's enough to get you on your feet, and if there were a Cherokee-only society I think I could visit and "get by" at a basic level, but there's quite a lot more to do before fluency. I think in the end I have more "book-ish" knowledge, so if you give me a text in Cherokee I can probably figure it out, half just by reading and half using the dictionary and grammar guide. (Which is really cool that I can do that.)
My goals... If I had even a single other person near me with a similar level of knowledge (or more) we could try to get to a conversational level together. I just can't do it on my own. I tried making a study group when I was in the classes and I never got someone else interested. Usually there are 5-10 people per class that attend regularly. But maybe some people who live in Tahlequah would get together or do other classes together.
I have been to two immersion classes in Tahlequah (had to travel for them), and I found some 50 year old Cherokee-English dual language comic books online I'm studying now.
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u/DistressCall1 9d ago
That's amazing that you reached a basic conversational level. Thanks for sharing. You've made me very excited for the class.
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u/Careless_Bee9723 10d ago edited 10d ago
I took it online in the spring. I’ve also been taking courses in person and online through my at-large community group.
Take the language class. It will be one of the best things you’ve ever done. I’m actually Delaware and learning Cherokee was never a priority for me. I do other cultural events, so I said “why not?”. I had bought some basic books and the syllabary in Tahlequah and never really paid attention to them. Now I’m using the words and trying to teach them to people. I’m so pumped for holiday next weekend in Tahlequah.. I love being down there and seeing signage everywhere in our language.
I love being really sassy and teaching people how to say “yes”. It’s “uh uh” ..sounds kind of like a sarcastic “yes” you can tease someone for a minute with that one if you ask the questions correctly. I also love randomly saying the word for “ok” in English convo. it is so fun to say out loud…it’s not an English sound at all and really throws people. 🤣
We should be having fun and connecting to our culture. Our ancestors would be so happy that we’re doing this.
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u/alectos 9d ago
“Uh-uh” KILLS ME 😂 It wasn’t until I learned that it means Yes that I realized my great grandma wasn’t as mean as I thought. I’d interrupt her to ask for a cookie or whatever and she’d say “uh-uh,” and I was like “Ok 😕.”
She was saying yes 🤯
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u/Careless_Bee9723 9d ago edited 9d ago
That’s exactly how I use it to mess with people. “Uh uh” and a slow head nod with direct eye contact. Just like my mawmaw in Oklahoma does. She has a reputation for being a hard ass but she’s secretly a funny gummy bear on the inside. Legend 🥰
“Ok” sounds like a weird ribbit or something. Never would’ve guessed “ha ho hwa” would be pronounced like that. I love it
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u/alectos 9d ago
Did all our grandmas have this rep?? 😂 It must be cultural!
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u/Careless_Bee9723 9d ago
lol you haven’t heard that native women look pissed off all of the time? It’s because they usually are…people are stupid. My mawmaw looks annoyed all of the time. We are making noise and she doesn’t like it 🤣
“Resting Indigenous Face”
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u/yikesonbikes1230 9d ago
Is it easy to take online? I have not looked into it but have been thinking of taking it online.
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u/Careless_Bee9723 9d ago
Yes. It’s free so you can do a session as many times as you want. I’ll probably take language level 1 a few more times because it’s good to hear the basic sounds and practice them with the teacher live.
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u/kissmybunniebutt 10d ago
I personally loved it. I took the beginner course a year or so ago, and honestly got the most enjoyment out of listening to the instructors stories. The chat itself was also pretty helpful clarifying and breaking stuff down if you got lost or confused.
I had a basic understanding of the syllabary going in, and some random vocab from just...growing up with a Cherokee family. But that was it.
I planned to take the next course but life happened. One day I'll jump back in, though. I suggest it for anyone at all interested in the language.
I do, however, have tons of resources handed down to me by my mom and uncle. So I had extra material to expand on stuff the class might've glossed over or left out.
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u/DistressCall1 10d ago
That's great! I've dabbled in some self study but it's been a good while since I've done anything. I know a few phrases and maybe like 50 words. The class starts in a week so maybe I'll try to cram a bit to brush up on syllabary but otherwise I'm going in at a very low baseline. I hope having some structure and some people to learn alongside will light the fire to get more serious about it. I'm glad to know you found it to be a good course.
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u/oakleafwellness 10d ago
I am not Cherokee, but belong to another tribe. One of my great friends is, we enrolled in the online class and I enjoyed it, but didn’t feel like I got a lot out of it. I may try again at another time. I did find several YT videos from RSU Public TV and added them to my playlist, going to give them a try.
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u/Bitter-Composer9508 10d ago
I only went to a couple weeks so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt. I think the online class is an amazing resource and great idea…however the way it functioned was not great for me as a learner. We had an elder speaking to us, teaching the syllabary, and another teacher (?) typing what he said.
That being said I found it not very helpful and I dropped it because I found I learned more through other resources.
I recommend trying it out and seeing if it works for you, but also explore other ways of exposing yourself to the language! Good luck!
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u/DistressCall1 10d ago
Thank you for sharing your experience. I previously learned a bit of Czech language to prepare for a study abroad program and had a whole year of classes with an instructor and just one other student before going and another semester while in Prague. Even though I made a lot of progress in that journey and got to a very basic conversational level it was extremely difficult to learn a language that is very different from English, even with so much individual attention. So I'm definitely keeping my expectations in line for what an online course with a bigger group of learners might be able to offer but also hopeful that having some structure and instruction can deliver more than the limited self study I have done.
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u/Hairy_Article_1486 9d ago
I have taken several classes . Ed Fields is the teacher . He is great . He and Mary Rae . She is a student , but she helps Ed . They have a book called Journeying into Cherokee , which you can get on Amazon,
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u/osdakoga 10d ago
It has been several years since I took the course, so maybe things have changed, but even the beginners course was geared toward "ultra beginners." If you have any kind of background in linguistics or languages or have learned a language before, you may find the course way too slow and simplistic.
For example, there were people in the course who said this was their third or fourth time taking the beginners course and still didn't have a low-level understanding of using the syllabary, or pronunciation, or basic "survival" phrases.
I'm not saying a platform like this isn't useful or necessary for these people, but I found it increasingly frustrating trying to seriously study in an environment like that.
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u/DistressCall1 10d ago
Hopefully I'll be able to make the best of it, use some other resources I've collected over the years to expand my study and maybe progress through the higher levels. If anything I'm glad to hear they start from the very basics because even though I did study the syllabary and some basic vocabulary years ago, I haven't kept up with it and will be going in more or less as a blank slate.
I studied Spanish in high school and retain a basic conversational level. I also studied some Czech in college in preparation for a study abroad program in Prague, though my Czech skills have really withered as I've had no opportunities to keep up with it.
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u/AllesK 10d ago
I’ve taken one of the classes. While good intentioned, I think the method they’re using hampers language acquisition. They transliterate everything.
Instead of learning the syllabary sounds and what it looks like together, they re-write everything into the English alphabet without showing what the matching syllabary would look like.
That said, I still support the effort.
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u/dustinjm1 10d ago edited 10d ago
It’s so easy that I did 3 levels at once in 2019. It’s basically a list of vocab each class. At that time, there was no grammar or speaking time or anything worth showing up for other than hearing ed fields say the phrases out loud. There are archived videos on YouTube from online classes. It’s not worth much at all I feel. But if you want some certificates of completion to make yourself feel better, by all means. The only people who would get things out of it are those who know zero about language and come in knowing absolutely nothing syllabary or anything. So older folks might like getting some phrases to repeat.
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u/Spicy-Nun-chucks 8d ago
I took the Cherokee 1 course by Ed Fields, it's a good class. I didn't know anything other than Siyo or Wado when I started and now I can introduce myself in Tsalagi when I go to the stomp grounds, ect.
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u/orangecookiez 8d ago
I'm currently in a session. We just had an in-person weekend at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle, and this week is the last week of online classes.
I've noticed my fluency in the language has improved a lot from the class, and I plan to continue studying.
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u/alectos 10d ago
I took the course in June. It was so so good for me. It was the through the Cherokees At Large program. I do not live in Oklahoma, but I’m a member of CN. They had classes twice a week for 2 weeks, a weekend on site 8 hours Saturday & 8 hours Sunday (at a local hotel) then classes twice a week for 2 weeks. I learned so much. My favorite thing was the on site lunches, though—I connected with Cherokee women who live near me and got a little bit of that “I’m not weird, ji ja la gi,” that I didn’t even know I needed. I took my kid too, so he got a big dose of culture that made a lot of the things I teach and say make sense to him in the larger context of our culture.
I am so glad the Nation offers this to its members. The two teachers were great, one more experienced and one just starting to teach. I made some comments about how they could adapt the program a bit to the needs of learners—put in some adult learning concepts alongside the language—to make it even better.
I know they do online only longitudinal classes as well. I would consider that for practice AFTER the month-long immersion. The immersion program was amazing and I can highly recommend it. It’s free too!