The international impact of Sequoyah’s Cherokee syllabary

Abstract

Many are familiar with Sequoyah’s creation of the Cherokee syllabary. But few are aware of the international impact of his script. Specialists have noted that his work led to the creation of additional scripts on three continents, but none have calculated the overall impact of Sequoyah’s influence. This article is the first to calculate the breadth of Sequoyah’s influence around the world, documenting his influence in the creation of 21 scripts for over 65 languages.