University of California Berkeley archaeological institute of PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY Dumber A KEY TO THE NAVAHO ORTHOGRAPHY EMPLOYED BY THE FRANCISCAN FATHERS THE NUMERALS "Two" AND "THREE" IN CERTAIN INDIAN LANGUAGES OF THE SOUTHWEST BY JOHN P. HARRINGTON 1911 TKE EM'CFOFT UEFA-FY [Reprinted from the AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Vol. 13, No. i, Jan.-Mar., 1911.] A Key to the Navaho Orthography Employed by the Franciscan Fathers. In glancing through Dr Goddard's recent review 1 of the accurate and important Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language published last year by the Franciscan Fathers of St Michaels, Arizona, 2 1 was disappointed in not finding a key of some sort which would give the equivalents of the peculiar letter-values adopted by the Fathers in more standard phonetic symbolism, that is, in a symbolism which has been adopted by great European phoneticians. The Fathers have nowhere in the Dictionary tabulated or systematized the Navaho sounds, nor have they described their manner of production in scientific language. Linguists and ethnologists are every where feeling the need of a standardizing key to the Fathers' orthog raphy. Although a mere beginner in the study of Navaho, I have been so bold as to work out the accompanying table of equivalents in the hope that until it is superseded by a similar key such as our authority on Athapascan phon etics, Dr Goddard, could prepare, it will be of service to students. I would suggest that those interested cut it out and paste it in their copies of the Ethnologic Dictionary, and that the Fathers examine it and accept such letter-values as they deem good, for use in their future publications, thereby making the orthography of the Navaho language more nearly correspond to that in which the other languages of the Southwest are being recorded. I am merely trying to assist students and to aid the Fathers in their praise worthy work. One will find, given below, all of the symbols employed by the Fathers. Each of these symbols is followed by an English or German word which contains a similar sound or by some other explanation as given by the Fathers, in parenthesis; and each is also accompanied by an equivalent symbol suggested by me, in brackets. i. ORINASAL VOWELS (bat, very short, but orinasal) [#]; e (debt, very short, but orinasal) [$]; i (pm, very short, but orinasal) [J]; a (art, very short, but orinasal) [$]; 6 (d6ne, very short, but orinasal) [p]; # (pull, very short, but orinasal) [j*]; 35 (bad, long, but orinasal) [*']; e (date, long, but orinasal) [e']; i (pique, 1 Pliny Earle Goddard, American Anthropologist, Vol. 12, No. 2, April-June, 1910, pp. 3II-3I5- 2 The Franciscan Fathers, An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language, St. Michaels, Arizona, 1910. 165 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [x. s., 13, 1911 long, but orinasal) [*"]; a (far, long, but orinasal) [g,']\ o (note, long, but orinasal) [0*]; u pool, long, but orinasal) \tt']. 2. ORAL VOWELS (bat, very short) []; e (debt, very short) [e\] I (pin, very short) [*]; a (art, very short) [#]; o (done, very short) [0]; u (pull, very short) [M];