Code Talkers In World War Ii

The Codetalkers in World War II

In World War II America used Navajos that could speak both English and Navajo fluently to send messages in battle using their native language.

     About the Language and Code     Using Native American languages to send messages was not new. The Cherokee and Choctaw languages were used in World War I, but the Japanese sent people to America to learn these languages.   The Navajo language, however, was not learned.  The Navajo language has no alphabet or symbols, and only about thirty non-Navajos could speak the language.   A man named Philip Johnson got the idea of using the Navajos as Code Talkers.  Philip was the son of a white trader and he knew "Trader Navajo", something that the traders spoke when the Navajos came to the local trading post.  Philip had a few Navajo friends and he took them to the local Marine Corps station in San Diego, to show how the language could be used.  They granted his request and let him train Navajos in various camps.

                    The Code     The Navajo code worked like this:  the speaker would say a word in Navajo like Wolichai = Ant.  That would be the word for the letter A.  It is hard to understand at first, but you'll get it.   Here is a another example.                        be-la-sana :  apple                         tsah: needle                         d-ah: tea     Look at the first letters of the English words.  The first letters put together spell Ant.  That is how the code work.  You can view the Navajo dictionary at http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-4.htm.