The Original American Languages

Explore the fascinating world of Native American languages in this 28-minute video lecture by Professor John McWhorter. Discover how Sequoyah brought literacy to the Cherokee using a unique writing system based on the English alphabet. Learn about the spread of this system to Liberia and delve into the shared attributes of Iroquoian languages. Examine how prefixes reveal language families and investigate the unusual vocabulary of the Tanoan language Kiowa. Understand the impact of colonialism on early American languages, using the Gros Ventre language as an example. Explore the development of pidgins across colonial America and their role in communication with outsiders. Journey from the Finger Lakes region to northern New York, challenging conventional understanding of alphabets and language evolution.

Syllabus

McWhorter Discovers Iroquoian Through Fingerlake Wine
Cherokee Writing System Keeps Language Alive
Sequoyah Creates First Iroquoian Writing System
Sequoyah´s Cherokee Alphabet Success Reaches Liberia
Iroquoian Languages Share a Unique Attribute
Prefixes Reveal Disparate Languages To Be a Family
Tanoan Language Kiowa Exhibits Bizarre Vocabulary
Colonialism Degrades Early American Languages
Gros Ventre Example Displays Proof of Degradation
Constructive Breakdown of Languages Create Pidgins
Pidgins Pop Up Across The Colonial US
Pidgin Becomes Standard Communication With Outsiders