Cherokee style guide¶

Recommended reference material¶

Normative: Feeling and Van Tuyl, Cherokee-English Dictionary (1974); Feeling, Kopris, Lachler, Van Tuyl, A Handbook of the Cherokee Verb (2003); Feeling, The Cherokee Verb (1994); Cowen, Cherokee English Language Reference Book (1995); Holmes and Smith, Beginning Cherokee (1976). Any deviation fails a string in most cases.
Informative: Cook, A Grammar of North Carolina Cherokee (1979); King, A Grammar and dictionary of the Cherokee language (1975); Scancarelli, Grammatical relations and verb agreement in Cherokee (1987); Walker, Cherokee in Studies in Southeastern Indian Languages (1975); American Bible Society, Cherokee New Testament (1960).
UI reference: Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines.

Voice and register¶

Style: clear, friendly, concise. Use everyday conversational language, not formal technical language.
Choose words for the audience: technical terms for technical audiences, common words for consumers.
Write short, easy-to-read sentences.
Avoid the passive voice. It's hard to read and understand quickly.
Be pleasant. Make explanations feel individualized and enjoyable to read.
Avoid slang. Be careful with colloquialisms. A conversational tone is OK, but stay professional.
Avoid overuse of company, brand, and product names and logos. Refer to product names correctly.
Avoid the corporate we, such as Microsoft announces…, We're proud to introduce…, We want you to know. Keep the focus on you, the reader.
Non-standard translations are OK when they keep the intent of the source.
Do not translate literally. Translate the intent and what the customer needs to do the task.

Word choice¶

Prefer short, simple, everyday words. Shorter words are friendlier, save screen space, and read faster.
App: use app instead of application or program.
Pick, choose: use pick in more fun, less formal, light-weight situations (pick a color, not choose a color), and choose for more formal situations. Don't use select unless necessary for the UI.
Drive: use for general reference to any drive type (hard drive, CD drive, external hard drive). Use the specific drive type if necessary.
Get: fine as a synonym for obtain or come into possession of. Avoid for other general meanings.
Info: use in most situations unless information better fits the context. Use info when you point the reader elsewhere (for more info, see <link>).
PC: use for personal computing devices. Use computer for situations about PCs and Macs.
You: address the user as you, directly or indirectly, through first- and second-person pronouns. Avoid third-person references such as user. They sound formal and impersonal.
PC -> PC. Use for personal computing devices. Use computer for situations about PCs and Macs.
App -> ᎬᏙᏗ. Use this term for app and application, not ᎤᏙᏢᏒ, which translates program.
Email -> ᎠᎾᎦᎵᏍᎩ ᎪᏪᎵ. Do not use plain ᎪᏪᎵ, a loose term that can mean paper and mail. ᎠᎾᎦᎵᏍᎩ ᎪᏪᎵ is more specific.

Words and phrases to avoid¶

Achieve -> Do
As well as -> Also, too
Attempt -> Try
Configure -> Set up
Encounter -> Meet
Execute -> Run
Halt -> Stop
Have an opportunity -> Can
However -> But
Give/provide guidance, give/provide information -> Help
In addition -> Also
In conjunction with -> With
Locate -> Find
Make a recommendation -> Recommend
Modify -> Change
Navigate -> Go
Obtain -> Get
Perform -> Do
Purchase -> Buy
Refer to -> See
Resolve -> Fix
Subsequent -> Next
Suitable -> Works well
Terminate -> End
Toggle -> Switch
Utilize -> Use
Cherokee old word or phrase -> new word or phrase:
ᎠᏍᏆᏓ, ᏩᎯᎶᏢ -> ᎾᏛᎦ
ᎥᏍᏊᎴ ᎤᏠᏱ ᎠᎴ -> ᎥᏍᏊ, ᎥᏍᏊᎴ
ᎠᏁᎶᏙᏗ -> ᎭᏁᎶᏓ
ᏕᏣᏠᏏᎦ -> ᏗᏠᎯᏍᏗ
Ꭰ -> ᎡᎵᏊ
ᏭᎶᏒᏍᏛ -> ᎥᏍᏊᎴ

Sample voice text: address the user to take action¶

The password isn't correct, so please try again. Passwords are case-sensitive. -> Ꮎ ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏍᏙᏗ ᎥᎧᏁᎬᎢ Ꮭ ᎣᏍᏓ Ᏹ, ᏤᎭᏁᎶᏓ. ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏍᏙᏗ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏔᏅᎢ - ᎠᎯᏓ ᎪᎵᏍᎪᎢ.
This product key didn't work. Please check it and try again. -> ᎯᎠᎦᎾᏗᏅᏗᏍᏚᎢᏍᏗᎪᏪᎠᏅᏝᎣᏍᏓᏱᎨᏎᎢ. ᏣᎦᏛᎲᎦᎠᎴᏥᎭᏁᎸᏓ.
All ready to go -> ᏂᎦᏓᎠᏛᏅᎢᏍᏔᏃᏅᎢ
Would you like to continue? -> ᏔᏑᏯᎩᏴᏫᎠᎴᏗᎬᏙᏗᎾᏍᎩᎦᏨᏙᏗᏗᎦᎯᏁᏗᎨᏒᎢ? Use the second person pronoun you to politely ask the user if they would like to continue.
Give your PC a name—any name you want. If you want to change the background color, turn high contrast off in PC settings. -> ᎭᏑᏯᎩᎣᏂᏗᏜᎤᎵᏑᏫᏓᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗᎠᎴᏚᏙᎥᎾᏍᎩᏣᏤᎵ PC. ᏰᎵᏊᏨᏌᏣᏤᎵᎨᏒᏣᏁᏉᏍᏗᎩᎳ.

Sample voice text: promoting a feature¶

Picture password is a new way to help you protect your touchscreen PC. You choose the picture—and the gestures you use with it—to create a password that's uniquely yours. -> ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏍᏙᏗ ᎥᎧᏁᎬᎢ ᎢᏤ ᏣᏍᏕᎸᏗ ᏣᏤᎵ ᎠᏒᏂᏍᏗᎠᏰᏙᎳᏛᎢ PC. ᏰᎵᏊ ᏯᏑᏯᎩ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅ — ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏬᏯᏂᏍᎩ ᎲᏗᏍᎪ ᎬᏗ — ᏦᏢᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏍᏙᏗ ᎥᎧᏁᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏄᏓᎴ ᏣᏤᎵ. The em dashes emphasize the requirements that enable the feature.
Let apps give you personalized content based on your PC's location, name, account picture, and other domain info. -> ᏗᎬᏙᏗ ᏫᏨᏌ ᏃᎵᏍᎬᏊ ᏱᎬᏁᏗ ᎦᏚᏛᎢ ᏚᎳᏏᏔᏅᎩ ᎤᎾᎢ ᏣᏤᎵ ᎤᎿ ᎢᎬᎾᏕᎾ PC's, ᏚᏙᎥ, ᎠᏚᏓᎸᏗ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᎴ ᏐᎢ ᎢᎬᏂᏕᎾ ᏫᎦᎷᎬ ᎧᏃᎴᏍᎩ. Depending on the context you can add familiarity by using everyday words such as PC.

Sample voice text: providing how-to guidelines¶

To go back and save your work, click Cancel and finish what you need to. -> ᎢᏳᏃᎡᏣᏅᏍᏓᏱᎩᏗᏣᏍᏕᎸᏗᏕᏣᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎸ, ᎭᏐᏅᏍᏓᎠᏎᏒᏗᎠᎴᎯᏍᏆᏛᏣᏂᎬᎬᎢ.
To confirm your current picture password, just watch the replay and trace the example gestures shown on your picture. -> ᎪᎯᏳᏙᏗ ᏣᏤᎵ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏍᏙᏗ ᎥᎧᏁᎬᎢ ᏃᏊ ᏥᎩ, ᎭᎦᏙᏍᏔᏅᎯᏊ ᏙᎠᏂᎶᎲᏍᎬ ᎠᎴ ᎰᎷᏩᏛᎲ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏬᏯᏂᏍᎩ ᏚᏓᏴᎳᏛ ᎾᎿ ᏣᏤᎵ ᏓᏟᎶᏍᏛᎢ. Do not overload the user with information. Tell them only what they need to make a decision.
It's time to enter the product key. It should be on the box that the Windows DVD came in or in an email that shows you bought Windows. When you connect to the Internet, we'll activate Windows for you. -> ᎦᎾᏗᏅᏗ ᏍᏚᎢᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏃᏊ ᎥᎧᏁᏉᏍᎬᎢ. ᎧᏁᏌᎢ ᎡᎵᏍᏗ ᏱᏅᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎷᏣ ᎤᎾᎢ Windows DVD ᎠᎴ ᎠᎾᎦᎵᏍᎩ ᎪᏪᎸ ᎬᎾᎨᏍᏒ ᏱᎬᏂᎯ ᏣᏯᏍᏒᎢ Windows. ᎠᏏᎳᏕᏫᏒᎢ ᎱᏓᎸᏅ, Windows ᏱᏨᏯᏂᎩᏍᏓᏏ.

Sample voice text: explanatory text and providing support¶

The updates are installed, but Windows 8 Setup needs to restart for them to work. After it restarts, we'll keep going from where we left off. -> ᎾᏍᎩ ᏕᎦᏘᏅᏛᏅ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏙᏢᎯᏌᏅ, ᎠᏎᏃ Windows 8 ᏕᎦᎧᎲ ᎤᏚᏗ ᎠᎠᏂᎩᏍᏙᏗ ᎾᏍᎩᎾ ᏗᎬᏯᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ. ᎠᎠᏂᎩᏍᏔᏅ ᎤᎶᏐᏅ, ᎦᏯᎯᏐᏊ ᎢᏓᎢᏎᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩᎾᎢ ᎢᎦᎴᏫᏍᏔᏅᎩ. we gives a more personal feel.
If you restart now, you and any other people using this PC could lose unsaved work. -> ᎢᏳᏃ ᏱᏣᏂᎩᏍᏔᏂ ᏃᏊ, ᏂᎯ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᏐᎢᎠᏂᏴᏫ ᎠᏅᏗᏍᎩ ᎯᎠ PC ᎡᎵᏊ. ᎦᏓ ᎬᏩᏂᏲᎰᏎᏗ ᏂᎦᏓ ᎠᎵᏏᏅᏔᏅ ᏂᎨᏒᎾ ᏚᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎸᎢ.
This document will be automatically moved to the right library and folder after you correct invalid or missing properties. -> ᎯᎠ ᎪᏪᎳᏅᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎦᏯᎯᏍᏒᏉ ᏛᏂᎲᏍᏏ ᎾᎿᎢ ᎪᏢᎯᏌᏅ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎪᎵᏰᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏗᏴᏈᏛᎥᏍᎩ ᎦᎶᏐᏅ ᎣᏍᏓ ᏅᏁᎸᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᏓᏓᏂᎸᎬᎾ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎾᏙᏣᎵ ᎦᎷᎶᎪᎢ.
Something bad happened! Unable to locate downloaded files to create your bootable USB flash drive. -> ᎪᎱᏍᏗᏝᏱᏚᎸᏫᏍᏓᏏ! ᎠᏓᏄᎸᎲᎦᎠᏩᏛᏗᏱᎡᎳᏗᎠᏅᎯᏓᏍᏆᏂᎪᏛᎦᏦᏢᏗᏣᏤᎵᎠᏍᏚᎢᏍᏙᏗ USB flash drive. Use short sentences without complexity.

Abbreviations¶

Abbreviate in the UI (mainly button or option names) only for lack of space.
Cherokee is a syllabic language, so abbreviations are not typically used. Use them for calendar data such as days of the week and months.
Each form in the acceptable abbreviation list can be shortened to two syllables. For example Sunday: ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ -> ᏆᏍᎬ -> ᏆᏍ; February: ᎧᎦᎵ -> ᎧᎦᎵ -> ᎧᎦ.
Days of the week: ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ -> ᏆᏍᎬ
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ -> ᏉᏅᎯ
ᏔᎵᏁᎢᎦ -> ᏔᎵᏁ
ᏦᎢᏁᎢᎦ -> ᏦᎢᏁ
ᏅᎩᏁᎢᎦ -> ᏅᎩᏁ
ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ -> ᏧᎾᎩ
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ -> ᏈᏕᎾ
Months: ᎤᏃᎸᏔᏅ -> ᎤᏃᎸ
ᎧᎦᎵ -> ᎧᎦᎵ
ᎠᏅᏱ -> ᎠᏅᏱ
ᎧᏬᏂ -> ᎧᏬᏂ
ᎠᏂᏍᎬᏘ -> ᎠᏂᏍ
ᏕᎭᎷᏱ -> ᏕᎭᎷ
ᎫᏰᏉᏂ -> ᎫᏰᏉ
ᎦᎶᏂ -> ᎦᎶᏂ
ᏚᎵᏍᏗ -> ᏚᎵ
ᏚᏂᏅᏗ -> ᏚᏂᏅ
ᏅᏓᏕᏆ -> ᏅᏓᏕ
ᎥᏍᎩᏱ -> ᎥᏍᏱ

Acronyms¶

Acronyms are words made from the initial letters of major parts of a compound term. Examples WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), DNS (Domain Name Server), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language).
Cherokee is syllabic, so the language does not ordinarily use acronyms.
Common acronyms like HTML, URL stay the same in Cherokee as in English.

Adjectives¶

Adjectives typically come before the noun they describe, with exceptions.
ᎤᏔᎾ ᎩᏟ the big dog
ᎩᎦᎨᏓᏆᎴᎷ red wagon
An adjective can come after the noun it describes.
ᎾᎠᏍᎦᏯᎠᎦᏟᏱᏧᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗᏱ the man is eager to go to the office
The adjective form can appear attached to the verb root.
ᎠᎦᏔᏍᏗᎭ he is winking, literally his eye is shut
Possessive adjectives are handled by pronominal prefixes. Sometimes the prefixes attach to a possessive verb.
ᎩᏟ ᎠᏆᏤᎵ My dog, literally dog I possess. The root ᎠᏤᎵ is to possess or own.
ᎩᏟ ᏣᏤᎵ your dog
Other times the prefix attaches to the root word.
ᏓᏆᏕᏠᏆᏍᏗ My school, literally My place where I learn
ᏦᎦᏕᏠᏆᏍᏗ Our school, literally Our place where we learn

Articles¶

Articles are not used in Cherokee.
ᎠᏧᏣ can mean boy or a boy.
ᏒᎦᏔ can mean apple or an apple.
For an English loan word previously used in products, consider motivation (formal features allowing integration into the Cherokee noun class system), analogy (an equivalent Cherokee term), and frequency (the article used most often in other technical documentation).
Loan words come from English and Spanish and are few in number. From English: ᎩᎵᏏ transliterated from English, ᎧᏫ transliterated from coffee. ᏍᏆᏂ transliterated from Spanish.

Capitalization¶

Capital letters and lowercase letters are equal in Cherokee. Upper and lower case glyphs are supported after the Unicode 8.0 release.

Compounds¶

Keep compounds understandable and clear. Avoid overly long or complex compounds. Unintuitive compounds are an intelligibility and usability issue.
Compounds are very limited in Cherokee. Those used today were common and utilitarian in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
ᏎᎷᎦᏚ cornbread; ᏗᎦᏚᎴᎾ car, literally big eyes

Gender¶

There is typically no distinction of gender in Cherokee. Pronominal prefixes indicate who or what is involved in the action, so gender must be explicitly stated.
Ꮎ ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᏍᏓᏯ ᏚᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎭ. word by word Ꮎ The, ᎠᏍᎦᏯ Man, ᏍᏓᏯ Hard, ᏚᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎭ S/he, it is working. Meaning: The man is working hard.

Localizing colloquialism, idioms, and metaphors¶

Do not replace a source colloquialism with a Cherokee colloquialism of the same meaning unless it is a perfect and natural fit for that context.
Otherwise translate the intended meaning, not literally, and only if the meaning can't be omitted.
If the colloquialism can be omitted without affecting meaning, omit it.

Nouns¶

Nouns are generally gender neutral, except for direct descriptions of male and female, for example ᎠᏍᎦᏯ man and ᎠᎨᏴ woman.
ᏪᏌ cat can be male or female depending on context. Use ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᏪᏌ male cat if a specific gender is required.
Nouns can be possessive with prefixes.
File -> ᎠᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ
Your File -> ᏣᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ
My File -> ᎠᎩᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ
Her/his file -> ᎤᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ
Their file -> ᎤᏂᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ
Our file -> ᎢᎩᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ
The most common noun inflection is pluralization.
The yellow cat is sleeping. -> Ꮎ~ᏓᎶᏂᎨ~ᏪᏌ~ᎦᏟᎭ.
The cats are fighting. -> Ꮎ~ᏪᏌ~ᎠᎾᏟᎭ.
Bring me that box. -> ᎡᏍᎩᏗᏏ~Ꮎ~ᎧᏁᏌᎢ.
Bring me those boxes -> ᏙᏗᏍᎩᏗᏏ~Ꮎ~ᏗᎧᏁᏌᎢ.
A goose is flying (along). -> ᏌᏌ~ᎦᏃᎯᎵ.
Geese are flying (along). -> ᏌᏌ~ᎠᏂᏃᎯᎵ.
An airplane is flying. -> ᏥᏳ~ᎦᏃᎯᎵ.
Airplanes are flying. -> ᏥᏳ~ᏕᎦᏃᎯᎵ.
Typically nouns are not pluralized. ᏪᏌ and ᎩᏟ cat and dog can mean one or many.
When pluralization does occur it is often inflected in the verb. ᎩᏟᎠᎾᎵᏍᏓᏴᎲᏍᎦ The dogs are eating, literally Dog~they are eating.
When referring to people, the prefix ᎠᏂ- is typical, with exceptions.
Cherokee -> ᏣᎳᎩ; Cherokees -> ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ
Mexican -> ᏍᏆᏂ; Mexicans -> ᎠᏂᏍᏆᏂ
Man -> ᎠᏍᎦᏯ; Men -> ᎠᏂᏍᎦᏯ
Woman -> ᎠᎨᏴ; Women -> ᎠᏂᎨᏴ
Fireman -> ᏗᎦᏜᏗᏍᎩ; Firemen -> ᏗᏂᏜᏗᏍᎩ

Prepositions¶

Prepositions in Cherokee work more like postpositions, because positions change from English to Cherokee.
He is hitting it with a hammer. -> ᎦᏅᏆᎶᏍᏗ ᎬᏗ ᎬᏂᎭ. Ganvqualosdi gvhdi gvhniha. word by word Hammer_withHe is hitting it. The preposition is positioned after the noun.
Use prepositions correctly. Do not omit them or change the word order under influence of English.
Starting or ending a sentence with a preposition is acceptable and helps convey a casual, conversational tone.

Pronouns¶

Some pronouns are simple standalone words. ᏂᎯ can mean you, you two, or you all depending on context. ᎠᏴ can mean I, he and I, or we all depending on context.
Other times pronouns are indicated by a pronominal prefix. Present tense prefixes on SPEAK:
I -> Ꮵ-ᏬᏂᎭ
You -> Ꭿ-ᏬᏂᎭ
He -> Ꭶ-ᏬᏂᎭ
You & I -> ᎢᏂ-ᏬᏂᎭ
You two -> ᏍᏗ-ᏬᏂᎭ
He & I -> ᎣᏍᏗ-ᏬᏂᎭ
Those two -> ᎠᏂ-ᏬᏂᎭ
You all & I -> ᎢᏗ-ᏬᏂᎭ
You all (but not me) -> ᎢᏥ-ᏬᏂᎭ
They and I (but not you) -> ᎣᏥ-ᏬᏂᎭ
Those (three or more) -> ᎠᏂ-ᏬᏂᎭ
Address the user directly with first- and second-person pronouns like you. Avoid third-person references such as user. They sound formal and impersonal.
Use the first-person pronoun (I, me, my) when the user is telling the program or a wizard what to do. Use the second-person pronoun (you, your) when the program or wizard is telling the user what to do.
Use the first-person plural pronoun we to describe an action or recommendation by the product, service, or company.
Users can change when new updates get installed. -> You can change when new updates get installed.
This setting provides users with the best display appearance. -> Choose one of these schemes or make your own.
You can change when new updates get installed. -> ᏗᏣᏁᏟᏴᏍᏗᏊ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ ᏗᏤᎲᏍᏔᏅ ᏓᎵᏍᏆᏛᎢ
Choose one of these schemes or make your own. -> ᎭᏑᏯᎩ ᏌᏊ ᎯᎠ ᏥᏕᎪᏪᎳ ᎠᎴᏱᎩ ᏨᏌ ᏣᏤᎵ ᎰᏢᎾ.
Remember my password -> ᏣᏅᏖᏍᏗ ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏍᏙᏗ
Tell me when a new Bluetooth device tries to connect to my PC -> ᏍᎩᏃᏎᎸᎭ ᎢᏳᏃ Ꮎ ᏥᏂᎬᏗᏓᎾ Bluetooth ᎤᏭᏓᎸᏗ ᎠᏆᏤᎵ PC
We recommend that you back up your files on a regular schedule. -> ᎢᏨᏁᎢᏍᏓᏁ ᏗᏣᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ ᏂᏓᎵᏒᏍᏔᏂᏒᎢ.
We strongly discourage you from installing these codec packs. -> ᏍᏓᏯ ᎢᏨᏅᏍᏓᏕᎭ ᏂᏗᏨᏅᏙᏗ ᎯᎠ codec ᏕᎦᏇᏅᏛᎢ
We can't find a printer. Do you want to add one? -> ᎣᎩᏄᎸᎲᏍᎦ ᎣᎩᏩᏛᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎦᎴᏴᏗᏍᎩ. ᏌᏊᏍ ᏣᏁᏉᏍᏗ ᏣᏚᎵ?
The information we collect won't be used to personally identify you. -> ᎾᏍᎩ ᎧᏃᎮᏢᎥᏍᎩ ᏦᏨᏗᎭ Ꮭ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏴᎦᏴᎦᏓ ᏂᎯ ᎡᏦᏟᏍᏗᏱ.

Punctuation¶

All punctuation rules in Cherokee follow the guidelines of English.
ᎠᎹ ᎠᎩᏔᏕᎩᎠ ᎣᎩᎾᎵᎢᏃ Ꮭ. word by word ᎠᎹ water, ᎠᎩᏔᏕᎩᎠ I am thirsty for it, ᎣᎩᎾᎵᎢᏃ and my friend, Ꮭ (is) not. Meaning: I am thirsty for water, and my friend is not.
Bulleted lists follow standard US English format. Example items: ᏪᏌ, ᎩᏟ, ᏐᏈᎵ, ᏥᏍᏚ
Commas follow standard US English format.
ᏣᏂ, ᎦᏙᎭᏛᏁ? John, what are you doing?
Ꮭ, Ꮎ ᎣᏏᏛ. No, it is fine.
ᎩᎦᎨ, ᏌᎪᏂᎦ, ᏓᎶᏂᎨᎠ, ᎠᎴ ᎢᏤᏳᏍᏗ. Red, blue, yellow, and green.
Colons follow standard US English format.
These workers are resting: John, Michaeol, Annie, and Mary. -> ᎯᎠ ᎤᎾᏓᏪᏐ ᎸᏍᏗ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ: ᏣᏂ, ᎹᎦᎵ, ᎡᏂ, ᎠᎴ ᎺᎵ. Listing.
English uses three dash characters: hyphen, en dash, em dash.
The hyphen - divides words between syllables, links parts of a compound word, and connects the parts of an inverted or imperative verb form.
Strong-man -> ᏭᏟᏂᎩᏛᏴ-ᎠᏍᎦᏯ. Compound word.
The en dash – is used as a minus sign, usually with spaces before and after.
4 – 3 = 1 -> 4 – 3 = 1. Mathematics.
The en dash is also used in number ranges such as page numbers. No spaces around it in that case.
21 – 46 -> 21 – 46. Page ranges.
Use the em dash — only to emphasize an isolated element or introduce an element that isn't essential to the meaning.
Indians—Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws—wear feathers on their heads. -> ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ — ᎠᏂᎫᏐᎢ, ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ, ᎠᏂᏥᎧᏌ — ᏧᎩᏓᏟ ᏚᎾᏗᎵᎪᎢ. Isolated example list.
Ellipses follow standard US English rules.
She sells a lot of… -> ᎤᎪᏗ ᎦᎾᏕᎪᎢ… Suspended clause.
Periods follow standard US English rules.
He has ten acres of land. -> ᏐgᎯ ᎢᏳᏟᎶᏓ ᎦᏓ ᎤᎭ. Complete sentence.
Quotation marks follow standard US English rules. US source strings may have software references surrounded by English quotation marks.
"He's yawning because he's sleepy." -> "ᎤᎭᏠᎨ ᎦᏢᏍᎬ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ."
No space between the parentheses and the text inside them. Parentheses follow standard US English formatting.
He charges one dollar ($1) when he fixes a tire. -> ᎤᏃᏍᏓ ($1) ᏓᎬᏩᎶᏗᏍᎪ ᎠᏛᏗ ᎣᏍᏓ ᏱᏄᏩᏁᎳ.

Split infinitive¶

Cherokee does not use split infinitives.
To emphasize a verb, use ᏙᎯᏳ to modify it. ᏙᎯᏳ indicates an emphatic expression such as really, as in really great, or extra, as in extra hard.
ᏙᎧ or ᏙᏛ can be used the same way, but are often less emphatic.
He really likes it. -> ᏙᎯᏳ ᎤᎸᏉᏗ.

Subjunctive¶

Form the subjunctive with the term ᏱᎩ. It is a complex modifier and can indicate negation, uncertainty such as maybe and perhaps, and conditional statements depending on context.
If I were you, I'd go to sleep now. -> ᎢᏳᏃ ᎠᏴ ᏱᎩ, ᏱᏥᎸᎳ ᏃᏊ ᏥᎩ.

Symbols and non-breaking spaces¶

There is no special use of symbols or spaces in Cherokee. They follow standard US English rules.
[email protected] -> [email protected]
#Three -> #ᏦᎢ
For units of measure a non-breaking space may be used.
100 km -> 100 km
100 lbs -> 100 lbs

Verbs¶

Use simple tenses. The easiest tense to understand is the simple present. Avoid the future tense unless something really will happen in the future and the simple present is inapplicable. Use the simple past for events that already happened.
Cherokee verbs are complex and can be conjugated many ways. All Cherokee verbs are made up of at least three parts in a strict order: the pronominal prefix, the verb stem, then the tense suffix. Use the simplest conjugations and forms.
After you are finished installing the tool, the icon will appear on your desktop. (are finished is present perfect) -> After you finish installing the tool, the icon appears on your desktop. (finish is simple present)
Cherokee old use of verb tense -> new use of verb tense:
ᎦᏬᏂᏐᎿᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯ -> ᎦᏬᏂᏐᎿᎤᎬᏫᏳ
ᎧᏃᎩᏍᏗᎧᏃᎩᎠ -> ᎧᏃᎩᏍᏗᎧᏃᎩ
ᎠᏧᏣᏓᎵᏔᏚᎦ -> ᎠᏧᏣᏓᎵᏔᏚ
ᎠᎨᏳᏣᎦᏬᏂᎭ -> ᎠᎨᏳᏣᎦᏬᏂ

Localization considerations¶

The language should have the look and feel of a product originally written in Cherokee, using idiomatic syntax and terminology, while keeping a high level of terminological consistency.

Accessibility¶

Accessibility options and programs make the computer usable by people with cognitive, hearing, physical, or visual disabilities.
Some accessible products and services may not be available in Cherokee-speaking markets. Double-check with the appropriate resources.

Applications, products, and features¶

Application and product names are rarely translated. Feature names are occasionally trademarked too, for example IntelliSense™.
Version numbers always contain a period, for example Version 4.2.
Version 1.2 -> ᏄᏓᎴᏒᎢ 1.2
Version numbers are usually part of version strings but are not the same thing.
Product, feature, and component names are often located in version strings as they appear in the software. Always translate version strings that contain copyright information.

Software considerations¶

Translate all menus, menu items, commands, buttons, check boxes, and similar UI items consistently.

Error messages¶

Apply the voice principles so the target sounds natural and empathetic, not robot-like.
Oops, that can't be blank... -> Ꮒ, ᎠᎧᎵᏛᏐᏗ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ…
Not enough memory to process this command. -> ᎥᏝ ᎡᎵᏱᏂᎦᎢ ᎠᏅᏓᏗᏍᏙ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏱᎸᏍᏗ ᎯᎠ ᎤᏁᏤᎸᎩ.
Use consistent terminology and language style in localized error messages. Do not just translate them as they appear in the US product.
Use the least complex statements to localize error messages.
Cannot …, Could not … -> ᏰᎵ ᏂᎨᏒᎾ…, Ꮭ ᏰᎵᏇ…
Cannot find …, Could not find …, Unable to find …, Unable to locate … -> Ꮭ ᏲᏥᏥᏩᏓ… (covers all examples)
Not enough memory, Insufficient memory, There is not enough memory, There is not enough memory available -> ᎥᏝ ᎡᎵᏱᏂᎦᎢ ᎠᏅᏓᏗᏍᏙ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏱᎸᏍᏗ ᎯᎠ ᎤᏁᏤᎸᎩ. (covers all examples)
... is not available, ... is unavailable -> …Ꮭ ᏱᏄᏍᏗ
Cannot copy item -> Ꮭ ᏗᎬᏟᎶᏍᏙᏗ ᏱᎩ ᏑᏓᎴᎩ ᎪᏪᎸ
We Couldn't Rename the File -> Ꮭ ᏰᎵ ᏄᏓᎴ ᏗᎦᏲᎪᏍᏗ ᏱᎨᏎ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ
Cannot find the data you're searching for. -> Ꮭ ᏱᎦᎯᏳᏔ ᎦᏟᏌᏅᎯ ᏥᏣᏲᎭ
Could not find the files needed -> ᎬᏩᏩᏛᏗ ᏱᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ ᏚᏂᎬᎬᎢ
Unable to find a playable file. -> Ꮭ ᎬᏩᏩᏛᏗ ᏱᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎬᏩᏁᎶᏙᏗ ᎠᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗ
There is not enough memory to complete this operation. -> ᎾᎿᎢ ᏝᎡᎵ ᏱᏂᎦᎢ ᎠᏅᏓᏗᏍᏙᏗ ᎠᏍᏆᏗᏍᏗᎢ ᎯᎠ ᎠᎢᏒᎢ
There is insufficient memory to save this webpage. -> ᏞᎵ ᎢᏂᎦ ᎢᏂᎦᎠ ᎠᏅᏓᏗᏍᏙ ᎯᎠ ᎠᏏᎳᏕᏫᏒ ᎤᎦᏅᏓᏛᎢ
%s is unavailable. -> %s Ꮭ ᏱᎬᏙᏗ ᏱᎩ.
Find out what will replace a placeholder so the sentence is grammatically correct. Placeholder letters carry meaning: %d, %ld, %u, %lu mean <number>; %c means <letter>; %s means <string>.
"Checking Web %1!d! of %2!d!" means "Checking Web <number> of <number>."
"INI file "%1!-.200s!" section" means "INI file "<string>" section."

Keys¶

References to key names, like arrow keys, function keys, and numeric keys, appear in normal text, not small caps. Cherokee follows these guidelines.

Keyboard shortcuts¶

Underlined or highlighted letters in menu options, commands, and dialog boxes are keyboard shortcuts.
Slim characters such as I, l, t, r, f: allowed.
Characters with downstrokes such as g, j, y, p, q: allowed.
Extended characters: allowed.
An additional letter in brackets after the item name: allowed.
A number in brackets after the item name: allowed.
A punctuation sign in brackets after the item name: allowed.
Duplicate keyboard shortcuts when no other character is available: allowed.
No keyboard shortcut assigned when no more characters are available (minor options only): allowed.
access key: a subtype of keyboard shortcut. A letter or number the user types to access UI controls with text labels. Assigned to top-level controls so the user can move through the UI quickly with the keyboard. Example F in Alt+F. In UI localization: H&ome. Most access keys are used with Alt.
key tip: the letter or number that appears in the ribbon when Alt is pressed. In UI localization it is the last character after the ` character. Example: the string HomeHhas key tipH`.
shortcut key: a subtype of keyboard shortcut. A key the user types to perform a common action without going through the UI. Not available for every command. Examples Ctrl+N, Ctrl+V. Most shortcut keys are used with Ctrl. Ctrl+letter combinations and function keys F1 through F12 are usually the best choices.

Tone¶

Use a tone matching the target audience. More informal, playful, inspiring for most products and games. Formal, informative, factual in technical texts.

English pronunciation¶

Pronounce unlocalized English terms and product names the English way.
If Cherokee has an established pronunciation for a common term, such as server, use the local pronunciation.
Pronunciation may be adapted to the Cherokee phonetic system if the original sounds very awkward.
SecurID: [sı'kjuər aı di:]. Same as in English.
.NET: [dot net]. Same as in English.
Cherokee uses a syllabic writing system, so acronyms are not used with Cherokee syllabary. English acronyms stay in English with English pronunciation.
RADIUS, RAS, ISA, LAN, WAN, WAP, MAPI, POP, URL: same as in English.
Other abbreviations are pronounced letter by letter.
ICMP, IP, TCP/IP, XML, HTML, OWA, SQL, XP: same as in English.
URLs: leave out http:// and read the rest entirely.
Pronounce www as www, as in English.
Omit the dot, or read it out. If read out, pronounce it the English way, as dot.
Most punctuation marks (? ! : ; ,) are implied by the sound of voice.
En dashes – emphasize an isolated element. Pronounce an en dash as a comma, a short pause.
Pronounce special characters such as / \ ˘ < > + - using the approved Cherokee translations.