Cherokee/Learning Tips

Below are some tips to keep in mind when learning Cherokee.

General Tips

• Spaced repetition is the key to memorization. Look into it.
• Not all verbs and inflections occur with equal frequency. Follow the progression of the course to learn the most common verbs and even memorize specific inflections if they occur frequently. This will more rapidly build up your knowledge to the point where you have enough words to experiment with new sentence structures and to have fun expressing your thoughts and feelings.
• When you learn something, think of it as a secret about the language that you now have insider knowledge on. This can be good for keeping yourself engaged.
• Never lose track of the love and soul that motivates you to learn (and help revitalize) the Cherokee language. Learning a language is not a breeze—it takes dedication and discipline. Keep your values in sight and you will learn to love the struggle.
• Read the dictionary. Actually read it for fun. Jump around and don't stay on one page for too long if it gets boring. However, when you land on a page, do quickly skim through close to all of it. Because dictionary entries are in alphabetical order, reading the dictionary will give you a decent sense of the phonetic possibilities in the language.

Cherokee-Specific Tips

• Imperative and immediate past forms seem to be more psychologically fundamental than many indicative forms, even including the present continuous depending on whom you ask. As such, it is advisable to drill the immediate (IV) stem of each verb to the point of solid internalization. In other words, this stem is arguably the most important of the five, so make sure you know it comfortably!
• It is advisable to memorize some specific stems of verbs rather than drilling in all the stems of one verb in a way that gives each stem equal psychological weight. Some stems, as touched on above, are psychologically more fundamental. Keep this in mind as you encounter verb stems. Remember that after all, in such languages as Russian, the differentiation of verb "stems" is thought of simply as having (in this case) two different verbs. This is an okay thing to believe and might reflect more closely how native Cherokee speakers think about verbs.
• Some tone processes are more important than others. The rank from most to least important is as such: Pronominal Tonic Lowering > Laryngeal Alternation > H1 > H3 > H2.
• When learning morphology, drill the phonetic changes, but if it bores you, don't be afraid to start out pronouncing the full forms of all prefixes, roots, and suffixes, for example saying the first person set A pronominal prefix ji- followed by a vowel-initial verb root instead of the technically correct g-. Eventually you probably want to say it the more orthodox way, but becoming functional at putting morphemes (word parts) together should ideally happen as quickly as possible, i.e. when you have enough of a theoretical basis that learning morphology is just barely outside your comfort zone.
• Similarly, for the sake of becoming functional quickly at morphology, memorize bare verb roots as well. You don't have to do this super thoroughly, but knowing a few hundred bare roots by heart can be immensely helpful.