--- title: "Cherokee Language Efforts Gain Momentum with Apple's Support" url: https://newscentral.site/cherokee-language-efforts-gain-momentum-with-apple-s-support/ language: en publisher: "News Central Site" section: "Technology" published: 2026-10-12T11:15:00.000Z updated: 2026-10-12T12:47:40.627Z id: c66049f6-2c5a-43e6-aad0-712fe61cb2e4 source: "Wired https://www.wired.com/story/how-apple-puts-indigenous-languages-on-the-iphone-keyboard/" attribution: "Link to https://newscentral.site/cherokee-language-efforts-gain-momentum-with-apple-s-support/ and name News Central Site when you quote or summarize this story." --- # Cherokee Language Efforts Gain Momentum with Apple's Support The Cherokee Nation is working to preserve its rapidly disappearing language by training second-language learners and implementing a baby immersion program. The Cherokee Nation has been working tirelessly to preserve its language, which is rapidly disappearing as the older generation passes away. According to Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., there are approximately 1,500 active speakers left, and most of them are over 70 years old. However, the community is taking steps to ensure the language's survival by training up second-language learners and even implementing a baby immersion program where young children learn Cherokee as their first language. As Chief Hoskin Jr. notes, this effort is crucial in combating the historical foes that have threatened the nation's culture, from colonization to boarding schools. One of the key partners in this endeavor has been Apple, which has collaborated with the Cherokee Nation for years. In 2010, Cherokee was the first Native American language included in iOS, and today Apple's keyboard supports more than 200 languages and variants. Recent updates have added new languages such as Haitian Creole and Nez Perce. The addition of Indigenous languages to the iPhone keyboard is part of a broader effort by Apple to expand its linguistic support. In iOS 27, the company expanded support for Native American languages, including Blackfoot, Comanche, and Northern East Cree, in an attempt to meet young people where they spend most of their time, on phone screens. For indigenous languages to be revitalized and saved, they must become accessible to younger generations. According to experts, this requires more than just translating words into digital format - it's a multi-year endeavor that demands deep research and community involvement. Apple's effort to support Native American languages on the iPhone keyboard is not initiated in Cupertino but rather begins with Unicode, an organization responsible for approving and standardizing new characters and scripts. Unicode CEO Toral Cowieson describes the process as starting with individual characters and scripts, which are then encoded into a recognized character set. The encoding process itself can take anywhere from three to five years, involving several stages including proposing the language, verifying its legitimacy, and adding it to the Unicode Standard. After a script is encoded, platforms like Apple need to provide font support for the new language characters to be displayed on their devices. Language communities often have well-defined rules for writing, known as orthography, but this can be a problem when it comes to digital text. When a language's orthography is not standardized, people may use makeshift substitutions because their devices don't support the unique characters needed. For instance, some languages require distinct symbols for glottal stops, but since many keyboards are limited in what they can display, indigenous cultures have resorted to using workarounds like question marks. To address this issue, Apple works closely with language communities to find a way to accurately represent their sounds in digital text. This involves understanding the specific needs of each community and developing solutions that meet those requirements. By doing so, Apple is able to create keyboard layouts that are tailored to the unique characteristics of individual languages. When a language has an established physical keyboard layout, such as the Osage layout, Apple can adapt it directly for use on its software keyboards. However, not all cultures prefer this approach; some may opt for more familiar QWERTY layouts instead. Other languages require even more customized solutions, reflecting their unique writing systems and conventions. For example, in the Nez Perce language, capital letters are not used at all, so Apple redefined the Shift key to reveal an accented secondary layer of characters rather than toggling traditional uppercase letters. This allows users to access the necessary symbols without having to hold down individual keys, which can slow typing. Similarly, languages like Cherokee employ a syllabary system where each character represents a consonant combined with a vowel sound. To accommodate the unique sound patterns of various languages, Apple's keyboard design has undergone significant changes. For instance, the addition of adaptive vowel keys on the bottom row allows users to easily access vowel combinations when typing consonants. This feature was specifically introduced for the Cherokee language, with Apple collaborating closely with the community to develop a customized keyboard that meets their needs. However, building a keyboard for an indigenous language is not a one-time effort, as it requires ongoing engagement and adaptation. The process of digitizing an indigenous culture's language has not always been without controversy. Scholars such as Genner Llanes-Ortiz have highlighted the risks of exploiting Indigenous languages for commercial gain, citing historical examples of dispossession and exploitation. Llanes-Ortiz notes that Indigenous communities have been vigilant in protecting their linguistic heritage, with many rejecting proposals to sell their language to tech companies. This concern for language sovereignty and data ownership is a pressing issue, according to Llanes-Ortiz. Apple's approach to working with indigenous languages has sought to address these concerns. Chirasree Mandal, an Apple software engineer, emphasizes that the company does not claim ownership of any data generated from its collaborations with Indigenous communities. To support the integration of Indigenous languages into its iPhone keyboard, Apple has been collaborating with various communities to ensure that the keyboards meet their specific needs. However, these collaborations also highlight the complexities and challenges involved in preserving endangered languages. For example, Cherokee speakers have expressed concerns about the potential erosion of their language due to broader political rhetoric in the US that emphasizes a monolithic English-speaking culture. This cultural shift is seen as a threat not only to Indigenous languages but also to their history and identity. The preservation of Indigenous languages remains an ongoing challenge, with time and human fragility being major obstacles. Despite these challenges, efforts continue to be made to promote language revitalization and support the use of endangered languages in digital platforms. --- Source: [Wired](https://www.wired.com/story/how-apple-puts-indigenous-languages-on-the-iphone-keyboard/) Published by News Central Site: https://newscentral.site/cherokee-language-efforts-gain-momentum-with-apple-s-support/