Message from Wiggins Blackfox --Inoli
Apr 11, 2014
Tsali, meaning Charlie in the Cherokee language, is the most mispronounced word in the language. Majority (90%) of people that claim to be Cherokee on the Qualla Boundary say Sa-li. There is no such word pronounced this way. The T is not silent. The word persimmon is spelled this way but is pronounced different. So if you can’t say Tsali, at least say Za-li. Your pronounciation will be close and you will sound better.
One more thing: Os-da Sv-na-le is not a greeting for “Good Morning,” it is a description of how the morning is. Just like we don’t have a word for Good Bye, we don’t have a word for “Good morning.”
We say Ta-li-ne De-na-da-go-hv-yv (We’ll see each other again) instead of Good Bye.
We say O-si-gwo-tsu Go-hi Sv-na-le-i (Are you ok this morning?) instead of Good Morning.