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This article is a detailed History of the Cherokee Language, the Native American Indian Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people. == Origin of the name == The Cherokee call their language ''Tsalagi'' () or ''Tslagi''. They refer to themselves as ''Aniyunwiya'' (), which means "Principal People". The Iroquois based in New York have historically called the Cherokee ''Oyata’ge'ronoñ'', which means "inhabitants of the cave country". Many theories – though none proven – abound about the origin of the name "Cherokee". It may have originally been derived from the Choctaw word ''Cha-la-kee'', which means "those who live in the mountains", or Choctaw ''Chi-luk-ik-bi,'' meaning "those who live in the cave country".〔(Cherokee Indian Tribe. ) ''Access Genealogy.'' (September 21, 2009)〕 The earliest Spanish rendering of Cherokee, from 1755, is ''Tchalaquei''.〔Charles A. Hanna, ''The Wilderness Trail'', (New York: 1911).〕 Another theory is that "Cherokee" derives from a Lower Creek word, ''Cvlakke'' ("chuh-log-gee"), meaning someone who speaks another language.〔Martin and Mauldin, "A Dictionary of Creek/Muskogee". Sturtevant and Fogelson, p. 349〕 In the Lower dialect of , which was traditionally spoken in what is now Georgia and South Carolina, the Cherokee called their language ''jaragi,'' as the Eastern or lower dialect had a rolling “r” sound in place of the “l” sound used in the other dialects. This pronunciation may have served as a basis for the current English language name for the people. The North American origins and eventual English language form of "Cherokee" were researched by James Mooney in the nineteenth century. In his ''Myths of the Cherokee'' (1888) he writes: It first appears as ''Chalaque'' in the Portuguese narrative of De Soto's expedition, published originally in 1557, while we find ''Cheraqui'' in a French document of 1699, and "Cherokee" as an English form as early, at least, as 1708. The name has thus an authentic history of 360 years. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the Cherokee language」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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