A Key into the Language of America
 | |
| Author | Roger Williams |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Gregory Dexter |
Publication date | 1643 |
A Key into the Language of America or An help to the Language of the Natives in that part of America called New England is a book written by Roger Williams in 1643 describing the Native American languages in New England in the 17th century, largely Narragansett, an Algonquian language.[1] The book is the first published colonial study of a Native American language in English.
History
Author Roger Williams was a
Wampanoag
tribes as a missionary, friend, and trader. He extolled some elements of Indian culture as superior to European culture, and he wrote a complementary poem at the end of each chapter within the book.
According to J. Patrick Cesarini, Williams also published the book to rebut Massachusetts' distorted claims in London, England, and the publication brought Williams much public attention.[3]
Notable words
The book helped to popularize and introduce numerous American Indian
including:See also
References
- ^ Williams, Roger (1827). A key into the language of America. Providence: John Miller. p. 110. Retrieved 2008-12-11. Reprint of a book first published in 1643.
- ^ "The Ambivalent Uses of Roger Williams's 'A Key into the Language of America'" by J. Patrick Cesarini, Early American Literature Vol. 38, No. 3, (© 2003 University of North Carolina Press), pp. 469-494 (accessed July 9, 2009 on JSTOR)
- ^ O'Brien, Francis; Jennings, Julianne (2001). Introduction to the Narragansett Language: A Study of Roger Williams' A Key Into the Language of America. Aquidneck Indian Council.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8061-3246-4.
- ^ Science, Volume 18, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Nov. 6, 1891, (Moses King, 1891) pg. 261 books.google.com
- ^ John Pickering, A vocabulary or collection of words and phrases which have been supposed to be peculiar to the United States of America, "Squaw" (Pub. by Cummings and Hilliard, No. 1 Cornhill, 1816) pg. 180 books.google.com
- ^ Allan A. Metcalf, The world in so many words: a country-by-country tour of words that have shaped our language (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1999)[1]
External links
- A key into the language of America by Roger Williams (Providence, 1936)
- "Narragansett Grammar"
- A Key into the Language of America – digitization of a first edition copy held at the John Carter Brown Library