SEQUOYAH


Meaning of SEQUOYAH in English

n.

or Sequoya or Sequoia

born 0441; 1760/1770, Taskigi, North Carolina colony

died August 1843, near San Fernando, Mex.

Creator of the Cherokee writing system.

Sequoyah was probably the son of a British trader. Convinced that the secret of the white people's power was written language, Sequoyah set about developing a Cherokee system. Adapting letters from English, Greek, and Hebrew, he created a system of 86 symbols representing all the syllables of the Cherokee language. Most Cherokee quickly became literate as a result. Sequoyah never learned to speak, read, or write English.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.