Correct words for things--Why it is important to speak Cherokee--Tsa-ra-gi--Some more thoughts from Wiggins Blackfox, Inoli

Some words that people say, but don’t realize that they are not saying full Tsa-ra-gi words:          

 1.- Plow – The Implement or the tool used for plowing –People say Ga-da-lu-go-d(i).         That means to plow. The complete word is Ga-da-lu-go-do-ti for the tool used to plow with.

 2.- Pencil – Implement for writing – People say – Di-go-we-lo-d(i) . That means to write.

The complete word is Di-go-we-lo-do-ti for the tool to write with.

  3.- Hoe- Tool for Hoeing weeds . People say- Ga-lo-go-d(i) . That means to Hoe . The complete word is Ga-lo-go-do-ti for the tool Hoe

 4.- Shovel- Tool used for digging or picking up material . People say ko-da-gi-s-d(i) . That means to shovel. The complete word is A-ko-da-gi-s-do-di for the tool.

These are some examples but there are probably a lot more. In order for people to learn the real Tsa-ra-gi- word, all the syallables of the complete word must be spoken or else we’re just gonna have a form of Tsa-ra-gi . The Instructor must know the complete word.

Now that we learned this very little drop in the bucket ,don’t expect only the Speakers to carry on . The will be gone soon and the only ones that will understand Tsa-ra-gi will be the dogs and the animals. When I was a boy in Wolftown ,NC , the older people would tell us one day soon in the future that all Cherokee would be white. They didn’t mean that there wouldn’t any Cherokees left. They ment that the only Language that would be spoken here would be English ( Yu-wa-(u)-ne-ga ).

 We must learn Eastern Cherokee Dialect,  in order to still be Eastern Cherokees. Our language identifies who we are.