Initial Introduction Uniskript Chickasaw

By Sherrie Begay and Marcia Suzuki

Uniskript Chickasaw is a phonetic alphabet which uses symbols to indicate how to produce the required sound. They were developed through a totally phonic and intuitive linguistic technology, developed by educational linguists at the University of the Nations in Hawaii. These innovative alphabets are being used successfully for educational and language revitalization in a number of indigenous languages in different parts of the world.
Uniskript alphabets allow a person to become technically literate in a very short period of time, paving the way for deep and sustainable literacy in the heritage language, increasing self-esteem and strengthening ethnic identity, in a playful and efficient way.
The authors; Sherrie Begay and Marcia Suzuki, have written this body of work in simple terms, for the purpose of training teachers and volunteers. They have provided a brief introduction on the mechanisms of speech sound production, followed by details of the specific phonemes of the Chickasaw language. Photographs and explanations of each symbol are included, along with an explanation of the cultural symbology.
After reviewing this introduction, the next step for the practitioners, will be to test the alphabet and develop literacy materials based on this technology, with the goal of enabling new generations of speakers to acquire an accurate pronunciation of the language, and help communicate and preserve the traditional values and the aesthetics of the Chickasaw culture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sherrie Begay
• Release date: Jan 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005503710

Sherrie Begay

Sherrie Begay is a tribal member of the Chickasaw Nation, which is a native American tribe, located in Oklahoma, U.S.A. She first heard the sounds of Chickasaw spoken to her by her father as she grew up, and she has had a lifelong passion for the study of the language. Sherrie is a Certified Chickasaw Language Instructor, and teaches live online classes to students from all across the United States, produces live and recorded videos for the Chickasaw Classes YouTube channel and We Speak Chickasaw Language Learning Facebook group, as well as continually working on teaching and student materials. She is co-author of the first children's board book in the Chickasaw Language.Among other things, Sherrie is also a commercial photographer, writer, public speaker, singer and traditional weaver, but pursues many forms of artistic creations.Sherrie and her husband Ned are the proud parents of 5 children and 7 grandchildren.

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