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about the idea. He only reminded Johnston about the Choctaws language
being used during WWI and how it didn’t work. Another concern
that they had was that the Germans had figured out that they were trying
to use Indian language before and they had sent people here to try learning
the different languages, so these Germans could share this information
with their allies, the Japanese. The Germans had not been with the
Navajo Indians. The Navajo Indians were such an isolated group that
only about 30 people outside the tribe knew the language. Not only were
they an isolated group of Indians, their language was so complex and not
written that it would be difficult for anyone to learn. The Navajo language
was unlike any other Indian language, in other words, knowing some other
Indian language would not helping in learning the Navajo language.
To help you understand how complex the Navajo language is; here are
the 10 different sounds for vowels
a- short and low in pitch
aa- long and low in pitch
a- a rise in pitch and short
aa- a rise in pitch and long
a- short, high and nasal
a- short and nasal
aa- long, high and nasal
aa- long and nasal
aa- falling tone
aa-falling nasal
Each time you pronounce a word you have to take into
consideration the sound of the vowel. Each one may be similar in
spelling but they mean two different things. One example that we
found in the book was about a minister who didn’t realize there was a difference
in alcoholic and believer, he soon learned that he had welcomed all the
alcoholics to the service and not the believers.
Other examples of the complexity of language
are shown in the following example. The word bito’ means his water
and the word bitoo’ means its juices. Some other words that are similar
to the ones above are: bita-between and bit’a’- its wing. This is
just one example of how complex some words can be.
Johnson also had to argue that his proposal was
different then just using the Navajo language to translate messages.
He was talking about using the Navajo language to code words. The
Navajo language was also ideal because of the fact that the Navajo did
not borrow words, they just invented as needed, or they combine words that
they already have. For example when the Spaniards brought horses, the Navajo’s
simply invented a word for horse. This was not uncommon in the Navajo
language. Johnston also felt that the Navajo’s were an ideal group
because the Majority of Indians were Navajo as opposed to other groups.
Therefore they wouldn’t have as many problems trying to recruit people
for the campaign.
Johnston finally convinced the military to give
it a try. So in March of 1942, Johnston along with four Navajos went
to give a presentation to Major General Clayton B. Vogel and Colonel Wethered
Woodward from Marine headquarters in Washington D.C. The presentation
consisted of two Navajos going to a room while the other two went to another
room. Then they sent a message and translated it. Navajo’s
encoded, transmitted and decoded a three-line message in 20 seconds.
It took the machine 30 minutes to accomplish the exact same task.
They were so impressed with Johnston and the four Navajo Indians that they
approved Johnston’s project. Johnston was then asked to prepare a
proposal for organizing and using Navajo code talkers. Johnston was
only allowed to recruit 30 Navajo for a pilot program. A lot of people
were not sure about turning information about the communication department
over to many untested Navajos. This way if the program didn’t work,
they would not feel as bad.
Many men had tried joining the military, but they
didn’t speak English and many were classified as illiterate. Here is a
good example of how the Navajo didn’t take advantage of the fact that free
schooling would be provided but they choose not to send their kids to school.
So recruiting men wasn’t as easy as they had thought it would be. Many
of the men were more then happy to help but were sent home because of the
language barrier. Of those that did get recruited, some were not
of age or opposite they were too old. No one ever knew this because
of the fact that the Indians did not keep birth certificates. There
are also stories about men that would gain weight to make it in.
The Navajo knew little about what they were getting into. Some thought
they would be working undersea because they had confused the word marine
with submarine.
Many men were not prepared for the task that lay
before them. The Navajo Indians had no concept of competition; it
was a foreign idea. They would have boxing matches and the Navajo
Indians didn’t see the point to many of the competitions that occurred
in boot camp. They were also not use to the idea of discipline, which is
one that is strongly emphasized in the military. The Navajo did learn
to adapt and ended up fitting in just right. The harsh conditions
didn’t effect them in any way. They were used to being in the hot
sun, and using nature to help them. The long runs in the sun didn’t
effect them, they were use to being in the sun and not having shoes.
There are stories of how every man was sent with one canteen and had to
survive with that one canteen. The
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