The Navajo Code Talkers

by Jessica Cinco

The Audio Lingual Approach was a direct result of American involvement in World War II.
The United States Army developed the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), or
more informally, “The Army Method" to help American soldiers quickly learn the
languages of allies and enemies alike so that they could effectively communicate when
sent to the European front. This method laid the groundwork for the Audio Lingual
Approach by focusing on aural/oral skills, especially pronunciation, pattern drills and
practiced conversations (Brown, 2007).

The Second World War also caused the American military to take a closer look at some of
the nation’s native languages. One goal of the Army Method was the make soldiers
proficient in the enemies’ languages to intercept communications. However, the American
military needed to keep its own communications out of enemy hands, especially after the
attack on Pearl Harbor. The solution for this need for secrecy came in a very interesting
package, proposed by Philip Johnston, a civil engineer in Los Angeles. Johnston was the
son of missionary parents, who grew up on a Navajo reservation. As a result, he spent his
youth totally embedded in this Native American language and culture. His idea, of using
the Navajo language to communicate top secret messages, led to the development of the
Navajo Code Talkers (Adkins, 1997).

Originally, 29 Navajo young men were recruited for this communications assignment.
Later, because of the success of the Code Talkers, an additional 400 Navajo men enlisted
to continue this project. These young men were sent to the Pacific Islands where the
American military was fighting. The Navajo Code Talkers successfully sent and received
classified messages from the U.S. to the Pacific Islands, which ended up saving hundreds
of American lives (Mosbacker, 2015).

Here are a few examples of Navajo Code Translation that Mosbacker (2015) include in her
article:

Organizations Navajo Word Translation

Corps Din-neh-ih Clan
Division Ashih-hi Salt
Regiment Tabaha Edge Water
Battalion Tacheene Red Soil
Officers Navajo Word Translation
Commanding General Bih-keh-he War Chief
Major General So-na-kih Two Star
Colonel Atsah-besh-le-gai Silver Eagle
 Major Che-chil-be-tah-ola Gold Oak Leaf
Captain Besh-legai-nah-ki Two Silver Bars
Lieutenant Besh-legai-a-la-ih One Silver Bar
The officers' Navajo literal translations are actually descriptions of the officers' insignia
worn on their uniforms. Even with such simple, literal translations, since the enemies
weren't familiar with Navajo, or any Native American language for that matter, the Navajo
Code was never decoded by America's enemies.

This is just one example of how linguistics played a vital role in World War II. Take a
moment to reflect on how language, either your own or another, has been used as a
method for secret communication.

References:

Adkins, Adam (1997). Secret War: The Navajo Code Talkers in World War II. New Mexico
Historical Review. Retrieved November 16, 2015 from
https://ejournals.unm.edu/index.php/nmhr/article/viewFile/2171/1983

Brown, H. Douglas (2007). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language

Pedagogy.

Mosbacker, Krista (2015). Navajo Code Talkers. Intersections: A Journal of Interdisciplinary

Thought. Retrieved November 16, 2015 from
http://www.uvu.edu/is/intersections/intersections/volume12.pdf#page=20