Object Details
- Local Numbers
- Accession #1976-95
- Creator
- Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
- Names
- Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology
- Chaucer, Geoffrey, -1400
- Churchill, Winston, Sir, 1874-1965
- Columbus, Christopher
- Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869-1948
- Collection Creator
- Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
- Topic
- Language and languages -- Documentation
- Language and languages
- Linguistics
- Indians of North America -- Languages
- Creator
- Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
- Culture
- Indians of North America
- See more items in
- John Peabody Harrington papers
- John Peabody Harrington papers / Series 8: Notes and Writings on Special Linguistic Studies
- Extent
- 10 Boxes
- Date
- 1911-1959, bulk 1945-1949
- Archival Repository
- National Anthropological Archives
- Identifier
- NAA.1976-95, Subseries 8.18
- Type
- Archival materials
- Notes
- Manuscripts
- Writings
- Collection Citation
- John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
- The preferred citation for the Harrington Papers will reference the actual location within the collection, i.e. Box 172, Alaska/Northwest Coast, Papers of John Peabody Harrington, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. However, as the NAA understands the need to cite phrases or vocabulary on specific pages, a citation referencing the microfilmed papers is acceptable. Please note that the page numbering of the PDF version of the Harrington microfilm does not directly correlate to the analog microfilm frame numbers. If it is necessary to cite the microfilmed papers, please refer to the specific page number of the PDF version, as in: Papers of John Peabody Harrington, Microfilm: MF 7, R34 page 42.
- Rights
- Contact the repository for terms of use.
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Microfilm and digital surrogates of microfilm are available. See Volume 8, reels 24-28, which also contains materials from other subseries. Only original documents created by Harrington, his collaborators and field assistants, or notes given to him were microfilmed.
- Genre/Form
- Notes
- Manuscripts
- Writings
- Scope and Contents
- This subseries of the Notes and writings on special linguistic studies series represents John P. Harrington's miscellaneous writings on a variety of linguistic topics. The subseries is divided into three subsections. The first and largest contains a mixture of preliminary notes, rough drafts, and final drafts for approximately 120 proposed announcements, articles, and papers. The second section contains contributions to the works of others in the form of rough drafts, introductions, and translations, while the third consists of reviews of a number of books and papers, mostly written by friends and colleagues. Within each section papers have been arranged alphabetically. The papers are based largely on research in secondary sources and cover a broad spectrum of anthropological topics. Some, such as those on binomial nomenclature, captioning, and various inventions, reflect Harrington's interest in scientific method and the technical aspects of the linguistic field. Others deal with the history of linguistic study and, in particular, the contributions of the Bureau of American Ethnology. One common theme throughout many of the articles is the genetic relationship of the American Indian languages. These papers illustrate Harrington's belief that "language sheds more light on the early history of the American Indian than archeology." Another focus in many of the writings is the importance and uniqueness of the American Indian, especially from the point of view of sign language. Articles on non-American languages and on the etymologies of certain words reveal his constant sense of curiosity and the numerous sidelines he pursued, as do a set of papers on such historical figures as Chaucer, Columbus, Churchill, and Ghandi. Still other papers ("Counting," for example) were written as part of the "war effort." Harrington authored all but two of the papers-"New Russian Alphabet Praised by Ethnologist" and "[Translation of the Lord's Prayer]." These items are filed here because they are either based largely on notes from Harrington or contain many quotes from him. A number of the papers were coauthored by associates.
- Restrictions
- No restrictions on access.
- Record ID
- ebl-1626971434170-1626971435125-3
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