Google search now supports Cherokee (ᏣᎳᎩ) language

Google launched a Cherokee-language interface on Friday in collaboration with the Cherokee Nation and its community members.

Google Cherokee-language interface

The new search page lets anyone conduct searches in the Cherokee written language, a syllabary system, without a special keyboard as previously required. The page includes an on-screen, 85-character keyboard you can open through the click of a button located on the righthand side of the search bar.

Cherokee is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people. The Cherokee syllabary writing system was developed by Sequoyah in the early 19th century. He realized the power of writing systems, and wanted his people to benefit from that power. Some of the 85 characters he developed for his syllabary were modified from his original handwritten script for a printing press in the 1820s, resulting in characters that resemble Latin and Greek letters. Despite the resemblance, they are pronounced differently. The modified script was quickly adapted for printing Cherokee newspapers, books and pamphlets. The adoption and use of the script enabled the Cherokee people to maintain their language and culture. Today, Cherokee is spoken mostly in the states of Oklahoma and North Carolina. (The Cherokee Nation is the sovereign operating government of the Cherokee people. It is a federally recognized tribe of more than 300,000 Cherokee citizens, with its capital located in Tahlequah, Okla. To learn more, please visit www.cherokee.org.)

To try Google's Cherokee-language interface, go to http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=ch

Google search now supports Cherokee (ᏣᎳᎩ) [via]