On Mon, 15 Jan 2001 17:57:43 -0500, L.D. Best wrote:
> Not a correction, just an addition.
> As Roger said, the Japanese had not studied the language of the Navaho
> Nation. They couldn't, because it is strictly oral and not written.
It is true that Navajo is a strictly oral language and not written.
The fact that it is not written is not an overwhelming obstacle for
an accomplished linguist. Many of the early Spanish missionaries
in the southwest easily picked up on various native dialects and they
learned to communicate quite fluently in the indigenous languages.
> In
> the last year or two a few of the surviving "code talkers" were finally
> honored for what they had done -- made it possible for the USA to take
> back much of the Pacific that Japan had overrun. But the majority of
> the "code talkers" received little recognition, although they were
> always in the front lines and often the only thing that made victory or
> safe retreat possible. They saved tens of thousands of lives, and most
> didn't even get a pat on the back.
This is true. These points were brought out in a recent special
presentation on the History Channel. This program featured videotaped
interviews with many of the surviving "code talkers".
Sam Heywood
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