English
Category: Holidays, Languages, Translation
On Veterans Day last week, US citizens remembered all those who served for their country – including the translators. And some of the most celebrated military translators were responsible for Navajo translation: the code talkers of World War II.
Navajo code talkers reported for duty at the beginning of the war in 1942, sending military messages over radio using a system based on Navajo translation. Their work helped lead US troops to victory in the Pacific.
Although the work of the Navajo code talkers was classified for years as military information, the translators were honored in 2001 with the Congressional Gold Medal. Work also has begun on a a museum dedicated to Navajo translation work during the war.
Other languages have served as the basis for US military codes, including Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche and Basque. But Navajo translation served as one of the most successful efforts: Code talkers were able to send 800 messages in the span of a few hours during key battles.
Development of the Code
Philip Johnston, a veteran of WWI who was raised on a Navajo reservation, came up with the modified Navajo translation that served as the basis for the military code.
Navajo made a effective code because of its complex syntactic and tonal elements, as well as its isolation within the Navajo community. At the time, fewer than 30 non-Navajos knew the language. Only members of the tribe could practice Navajo translation.
The code was a modified form of the Navajo language that used specific nouns to stand for letters in the English alphabet. Code talkers could repeat a string of nouns to spell out an English message letter by letter. Trained Navajo code talkers could translate the code in 20 seconds, when machines took 30 minutes to do the same task.
The US military used the code until the beginning of the Vietnam War, and new words were continually added. Code talkers began to use certain short-cut code words for common military terms, rather than spelling them out. The Navajo translation of “potato” meant “hand grenade,” “tortoise” meant “tank,” and a “chicken hawk” was a “dive-bomber.”
Characteristics of the Navajo Language
Navajo (also spelled Navaho) is spoken by the Navajo people of the American southwest. With over 140,000 speakers today, the language is the most widely spoken Native American language north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Navajo is a tonal language, relying heavily on pitch to distinguish between similar words. Its system of verbs is also complex–verbs make up the majority of words, replacing all adjectives, and each verb requires a prefix. This system is part of what makes Navajo translation so difficult.
Want to be a code talker? Here are some words to start you off with your Navajo translation:
- Sun: Shá
- Sing: Hashtaał
- Water: Tó
- Beautiful: Nizhoni
Although the majority of Navajo speakers are bilingual in English, the language is one of the few Native American languages still spoken in day-to-day life. Many families use it as their primary language in the home.
Teaching of Navajo, however, is on the decline, with more children speaking only English and fewer experts in Navajo translation.
Related posts:
Call Toll Free: 1-800-322-0284
