Skip to main content

Search

My Visit
Donate
Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Maps and Brochures
    • Dine and Shop
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Group Visits
      • Group Sales
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current
      • Upcoming
      • Past
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
  • Explore
    • - Art & Design
    • - History & Culture
    • - Science & Nature
    • Collections
      • Open Access
    • Research Resources
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Asian Art Museum Archives
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries' Special Collections
    • Podcasts
    • Stories
  • Learn
    • For Caregivers
    • For Educators
      • Art & Design Resources
      • Science & Nature Resources
      • Social Studies & Civics Resources
      • Professional Development
      • Events for Educators
      • Field Trips
    • For Students
    • For Academics
    • For Lifelong Learners
  • Support Us
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Membership
    • Make a Gift
    • Volunteer
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Ambassador Program
      • Museum Information Desk
      • Docent Programs
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Participatory Science
  • About
    • Our Organization
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
        • Contact
      • Museums and Zoo
      • Research Centers
      • Cultural Centers
      • Education Centers
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Office of Human Resources
        • Employee Benefits
        • How to Apply
        • Job Opportunities
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • SI Civil Program
        • Contact Us
      • EEO & Small Business
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Small Business Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Contracting Opportunities
          • Additional Resources
        • Special Emphasis Program
      • Sponsored Projects
        • Policies
          • Combating Trafficking in Persons
          • Animal Care and Use
          • Human Research
        • Reports
        • Internships
    • Our Leadership
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

Major Writings on Linguistics

National Museum of Natural History

Object Details

Local Numbers
Accession #1976-95
Creator
Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
Siebert, Frank T. (Frank Thomas), 1912-1998
Michelson, Truman, 1879-1938
Names
Pike, Kenneth L. (Kenneth Lee), 1912-2000
Voegelin, C. F. (Charles Frederick), 1906-1986
Collection Creator
Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
Topic
Indians of North America -- Languages
Language and languages
Language and languages -- Documentation
Linguistics
Grammar, Comparative and general
Phonetics
Creator
Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
Siebert, Frank T. (Frank Thomas), 1912-1998
Michelson, Truman, 1879-1938
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
14 Boxes
Date
circa 1907-circa 1957
Archival Repository
National Anthropological Archives
Identifier
NAA.1976-95, Subseries 8.19
Type
Archival materials
Notes
Writings
Manuscripts
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 29-35. Only original documents created by Harrington, his collaborators and field assistants, or notes given to him were microfilmed.
Genre/Form
Notes
Writings
Manuscripts
Scope and Contents
This subseries of the Notes and writings on special linguistic studies series contains materials that represent John P. Harrington's work preparing a major work on linguistics. The results of his efforts were four separate manuscripts that not published. The first manuscript is untitled. Related materials consist of handwritten notes and fragmentary rough drafts. There are extracts from a number of published sources which include linguistic data for Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Chinese, Turkish, Korean, and English as well as a number of American Indian languages. Also included here is material relating to grammatical terminology. There are extracts from a variety of dictionaries, copies of incoming and outgoing letters, and records of interviews. Files for a manuscript titled "Linguistics" consist of extensive notes, a rough draft, a final draft, illustrations, and a draft of a review of the manuscript. The notes contain a mixture of reading notes, records of interviews, summaries of letters, and newspaper clippings. There are also references to a number of brief discussions which Harrington had at the two linguistic conferences he attended in 1940. At the meeting of the Linguistic Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he learned about the work of Della Brunsteter on Cherokee and made records of a conversation with C. F. Voegelin and his Ojibwa informant, Gregor McGregor. At the Summer Institute of Linguistics at Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, he obtained details on Tule phonetics from a San BIas informant and spoke with Eunice Pike (the sister of Kenneth Pike) and Florence Hansen who were preparing a primer of the Mazatec language. There is also Navajo linguistic information from speaker Howard Gorman, some obtained directly from him and the remainder enclosed in correspondence from Robert W. Young. In addition there is a discrete file of notes which Harrington compiled from and about Kenneth L. Pike. Interspersed with his rough draft are notes reflecting his attempt to devise a personal phonetic system. The draft of a review of his manuscripts was written by Harrington, evidently to serve as a model for a review which would appear under the signature of a colleague. The third manuscript in this subseries is a revised version of the previous manuscript. The files contain material that Harrington accumulated after submitting the original manuscript to Smithsonian Secretary Charles Abbott in 1941. These include notes recorded from Joseph White and a note from Truman Michelson, several bibliographies, illustrations, and scattered notes reflecting Harrington's attempt to develop a personal system of phonetics. Data from many languages are represented, although there is slightly more emphasis on the North American Indian languages than in the previous manuscript; extracts from Harrington's own field notes are included. The fourth manuscript is titled "Language" and is represented by a mostly handwritten draft. The draft is basically a sequence of random ideas grouped loosely in outline fashion under the major headings "Phonetics," "Morphology," and "Writing." The final file in this series contains copies of correspondence which were interfiled with Harrington's notes and writings on linguistics. The letters, which span the dates 1936 to 1951, have been arranged chronologically; three undated items have been placed at the end. Both incoming and outgoing letters are included. The most noteworthy item is a letter from Frank T. Siebert, Jr., dated July 23, 1944. It contains numerous suggestions for improving a chapter which Harrington wrote on phonology.
Restrictions
No restrictions on access.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1626971434170-1626971435151-5
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw317d78732-1439-4eb8-b5f5-386e49ff32b2

Related Content

  • John Peabody Harrington papers

Major Writings on Linguistics
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Get Involved
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Accessibility
  • EEO & Small Business
  • Shop Online
  • Host Your Event
  • Press Room
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Get the latest news from the Smithsonian

Sign up for Smithsonian e-news

Get the latest news from the Smithsonian

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Back to Top