Cherokee Supplement facts for kids

The Cherokee Supplement is a special section of computer code called a Unicode block. It holds the unique characters, or symbols, used to write the Cherokee language. These characters are part of the Cherokee syllabary, which means each symbol stands for a whole syllable, not just a single letter.

When the Cherokee language was first added to Unicode (in version 3.0), it was treated as a "unicase" alphabet. This means it only had one form for each character, much like how numbers don't have uppercase or lowercase. However, in a later update (version 8.0), Cherokee was changed to be a "bicameral script." This means it now has both uppercase (capital) and lowercase (small) forms for its characters, similar to how English has 'A' and 'a'.

The Cherokee Supplement block specifically contains only the lowercase letters of the Cherokee syllabary. The main Cherokee block, on the other hand, contains all the uppercase letters, along with six lowercase letters. For older computer programs to still work correctly, there's a special computer rule called "case folding." This rule usually changes all letters to lowercase. But for Cherokee, this rule works differently: it changes Cherokee characters to their uppercase form instead.

What is Unicode?

Unicode is like a giant digital library for all the characters and symbols used in every language around the world. It gives a unique number to each character. This helps computers and phones show text correctly, no matter what language it is. Without Unicode, different computers might not understand each other's text.

Why are there two Cherokee blocks?

Having two separate blocks, the main Cherokee block and the Cherokee Supplement block, helps organize the characters. The main block was created first. Later, when the Cherokee script was updated to have both uppercase and lowercase forms, the new lowercase characters were added to the Supplement block. This keeps everything clear and helps computers manage the different forms of the characters.

Uppercase and Lowercase in Cherokee

Just like in English, where you have 'A' and 'a', the Cherokee language now has both uppercase and lowercase forms for its written characters. This change makes the written language more flexible. It also helps with things like starting sentences with a capital letter or using all caps for emphasis, similar to how we use them in English.