Harry Ritchie

Celebrating Sequoyah and his Cherokee alphabet

The writing system the Native American devised for his people was soon followed by a printing press, a newspaper and a far higher literacy rate than that of their oppressors

Sequoyah with his Cherokee alphabet. [Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images]
  • Comments

  • An Atlas of Endangered Alphabets: A Global Exploration of the Writing Systems on the Verge of Vanishing

    Tim Brookes

    Quercus, pp. 256, £30

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Get a free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label when you subscribe to The Spectator for just £12 in our Black Friday sale

  • Free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, worth £30
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Rod Liddle

I liked John Prescott enormously

There was a time we all looked forward to on the BBC Today programme, back in the early years of Tony Blair’s first term as Prime Minister. Late July, early August. Blair had scooted off to San Gimignano, Mandelson was probably on a yacht with an oligarch, even Campbell was away battling his weird inner demons somewhere.

More on linguistics

Also by Harry Ritchie

Latest

Comments

Black Friday sale: Get 10 weeks for just $1

Unlimited access to the The Spectator, online and via the app

Already a subscriber? Log in