Cherokee language goes digital

The Cherokee language has gone digital.

The language of the Oklahoma-based tribe is now available for download on more than 20 Android devices, making the language more accessible to millions of Google smartphone and tablet users. The Cherokee language is also available on Apple and Microsoft products.

The Cherokee Nation’s Language Program department spent almost two years working with Google to translate more than 50,000 technology terms into Cherokee. The team developed a font to use on Android, Samsung Galaxy S6, Motorola Moto X and Google Nexus 6, and other devices.

Google Internationalization software engineer Craig Cornelius says the effort is part of Google’s plan to support world languages, including Cherokee, as fonts on electronic devices so Cherokee speakers can use their language in email, searches and texts.