Michael Joyner > Quotes

“The structure of this material does not follow standard European language teaching style. The Cherokee language is too different from any European language to be able to follow such a style. Cherokee is a language of description and of relationship.”
― Michael Joyner, Cherokee Language Lessons

“In Cherokee shifts in tone are actually considered parts of words and can also be used to indicate things like “happened in the past” or “let it happen in the future”. ☞ The tones used in words or phrases can change their meaning, sometimes dramatically.”
― Michael Joyner, Cherokee Language Lessons

“Run a lot of miles,
Some faster than your race pace,
Rest, once in a while.”
― Michael Joyner, MD

“All of the consonants in Cherokee sound the same as their English versions, with the following few exceptions: g: Sounds like either the “g” in “ g aff” or the “k” in “ k ite”.”
― Michael Joyner, Cherokee Language Lessons

“Cherokee is spoken with the tip of the tongue against the lower front teeth most of the time. You should be using the middle of your tongue to make the “s”, “d”, and “t” sounds, not the tongue's tip. Keeping your tongue properly placed takes practice, but is critical for properly emulating native pronunciation. Do not give up .”
― Michael Joyner, Cherokee Language Lessons

“Cherokee is not English Sex-gender Neutral Cherokee does not make a distinction between “he”, “she”, or “it”. Whenever you see an English translation of “he”, you can usually substitute “she” or “it”. To save space and typing, only one of the “he”, “she”, or “it” words will be provided depending on context.”
― Michael Joyner, Cherokee Language Lessons

“The importance of writing in learning the Cherokee Syllabary. The best way to learn any writing system is by writing it. Unless you learn to write the Syllabary, you will be spending a lot of effort just to learn to read Cherokee. The physical act of writing each Cherokee Syllabary letter immediately after speaking aloud the letter you are going to write, will dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes for you to learn the Cherokee Syllabary.”
― Michael Joyner, Cherokee Language Lessons