CHAPTER V. 
Vocabularies of North American Languages.* 
Or the vocabularies of North American aboriginal languages, which here follow, those of the 
Cuchan and Diegeno were collected by Mr. Whipple, in an expedition made from San Diego to 
the Colorado in the year 1849. Those of the Pinal Leño, Pima, and Coco-Maricopa were 
obtained while engaged in the Mexican Boundary Expedition, in the years 1851-53; and the 
remainder during the survey for a Railway route to the Pacific ocean, made in the years 1853 
and 1854. 
Of these vocabularies the five just mentioned—viz. the Cuchan, Diegeno, Pinal Leño, Pima, 
and Coco-Maricopa—are imperfect, and very irregular in the choice of words, excepting the 
Cuchan, which is pretty full. These irregularities and imperfections were owing partly to the 
want of a standard selection of words to be asked for, and partly to the fact that the Indians 
frequently tire of being questioned, and of having their minds directed into so unusual a channel; 
in which case, they will communicate only such words as strike their fancy, and with these the 
collector must be content. 
The greater part of them, however, were obtained in the course of the Pacific Railroad Survey ; 
in making which the War Department very properly directed that attention should be given to 
‘the location, character, habits, traditions, and languages of the Indian tribes.’’ In order to 
carry out properly this last branch of his instructions, Mr. Whipple provided himself with 
blanks, containing lists of about two hundred words in English and Spanish, prepared by the 
American Ethnological Society, and printed at the expense of the Smithsonian Institution; and 
these were adhered to as far as was found practicable. Some irregularities, however, are here 
also observed: occasionally certain words, owing to the imperfect medium of communication, 
could not be obtained, or want of time would not allow the tedious operation to be completed of 
filling out the list; and sometimes a few extra words were procured. 
Many of these vocabularies will be found of especial interest and value to the ethnographer, 
from the fact that they are the first ever published of their respective languages. 
In the five vocabularies first obtained, the words were taken down in the rude fashion usual 
with those to whom the irregular orthography of the English language has been familiar from 
childhood. Mr. Whipple thus describes the powers given to the vowel characters : 
a is sounded as in ah. 
e as in me; ¿asin met; ¿as a in fate. 
i as in pine; ï as in pin. 
0 as in note; 6 as in not. 
u as in flute. 
In the orthography adopted for the later vocabularies (scil., those of the Pacific Railroad 
Survey) greater precision was attempted, in accordance with the suggestions prefixed to the 
blanks alluded to. The system is thus described : 
a is sounded as in father; ^ gas in fat. 
e is sounded like a in face; ¿asin met. 
iis sounded as in marine; ¡asin pin. 
o is sounded as in go; 6 as in got. 
u is sounded like oo in food; ÿ as in but. 
* Collected by A. W. Wuurrts ; classified, with accompanying remarks, by Wm. W. TURNER. 
