Sequoyah Creates a Cherokee Syllabary
Written by Studio AM.
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In the early 1800s, Cherokee people spoke a language that did not yet have a widely used writing system. Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith, saw how writing could carry messages. He began looking for a way to represent Cherokee speech on a page.
At first, he tried making one symbol for each word. There were too many words for that plan. He changed his method and developed characters for syllables, the sound units that make up words. He completed his system in 1821. A syllabary represents these units, while an alphabet uses letters to represent individual speech sounds.
His daughter learned the syllabary and helped him teach it to other Cherokee people. As its use spread, people could write letters, record information and read in their own language. The Cherokee Phoenix began printing in Cherokee and English in 1828. A reader no longer needed to know English to read the Cherokee sections of the newspaper.
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Questions
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Question 1 of 4
Which statement best gives the passage’s main idea?
The answer is B: Sequoyah developed a way to write Cherokee that people used for letters and publications.
The passage follows the writing system from Sequoyah's early attempts to its use by Cherokee readers.
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Question 2 of 4
Why did Sequoyah abandon one symbol for every word?
The answer is C: There were too many words for a separate symbol for each one.
A symbol for every word would require too many symbols. Sequoyah switched to representing syllables.
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Question 3 of 4
How could the newspaper reach a reader who spoke Cherokee but not English?
The answer is D: By printing sections the reader could learn to read in Cherokee.
The syllabary represented Cherokee speech. Someone who learned it could read the Cherokee sections without learning English.
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Question 4 of 4
A “syllabary” is a writing system whose characters represent
The answer is B: syllables in spoken words
The second paragraph says the characters stand for syllables, which are sound units within words.
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