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by William Tomkins
Showing the English thought-and the Indian Sign equivalent.
English. (In lower case)
 | INDIAN SIGN. (In capitals) |
1. I like to swim.
| I FOND SWIM. |
2. You like to eat.
| YOU FOND EAT. |
3. We like to walk.
| I ALL FOND WALK. |
4. Fish swim under the water.
| FISH SWIM BELOW WATER. |
5 Beavers swim fast.
| BEAVER SWIM FAST. |
6. Scouts swim at camp.
| SCOUT SWIM CAMP. |
7. Horses eat grass.
| HORSE EAT GRASS. |
8. Dogs like to eat meat.
| DOG FOND MEAT. EAT. |
9. I eat with my father.
| WITH MY FATHER, I EAT. |
10. Two men are walking by the river
| TWO MAN WALK BESIDE RIVER. |
11. Do you like to walk in the woods?
| QUESTION YOU FOND, WALK AMONG TREES. |
12. Five boys are walking to camp.
| FIVE BOY WALK CAMP. |
13. The girl is running.
| GIRL RUN. |
14. The dog is running with the girl.
| DOG RUN WITH GIRL. |
15. Horses can run fast.
| HORSE KNOW RUN FAST. |
16. Do you know how vo swim?
| QUESTI0N YOU KNOW SWIM. |
17. Can they build a fire?
| QUESTION HE ALL KNOW MAKE FIRE. |
18. I can read.
| I UNDERSTAND READ. |
19. Do you understand Indian Sign Language?
| QUESTION YOU KNOW INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE? |
20. I understand a little.
| I KNOW LITTLE, |
21. Have you seen the horse?
| QUESTION YOU SEE HORSE. |
22. I have not seen the horse.
| I HORSE SEE NOT. |
23. Where are you going?
| QUESTION WHERE YOU GO? |
24. I am going to my home.
| I GO MY HOUSE. |
25. Your friend wants to go along.
| YOUR FRIEND WANT GO WITH YOU. |
26. Do you want to eat now?
| QUESTION YOU WANT EAT NOW., |
27. Not now, I am not hungry.
| NOW NOT. I NO HUNGRY. |
28. I want to get a drink of water.
| I WANT WATER. |
29. I want to go to sleep.
| I WANT SLEEP. |
30. Indians drink water from the river.
| INDIAN GO RIVER. DRINK WATER. |
31. They catch fish in the lake.
| THEY TAKE FISH LAKE. |
32. Look, it is raining.
| SEE. RAIN. |
33. Do you see the big dog?
| QUESTION YOU SEE BIG DOG. |
34. A cat sees well at night.
| CAT SEE GOOD TOGETHER NIGHT. |
35. I cannot see to work-now.
| I CANNOT SEE WORK NOW. |
36. We like to work in summer.
| I ALL FOND WORK LONG-GRASS-TIME. |
37. A girl must help her mother.
| GIRL MUST WORK WITH MOTHER. |
38. A good scout likes to help others.
| GOOD SCOUT FOND WORK WITH ALL PEOPLE. |
39. My sister does not want to cook supper.
| MY SISTER WANT NOT MAKE EAT EVENING. |
40. Can you make coffee?
| QUESTION YOU KNOW MAKE COFFEE. |
41. I will cut wood and build a fire.
| I CHOP WOOD. MAKE FIRE. |
42. When do we eat, at noon?
| QUESTION FUTURE-TIME WE EAT. SUN HIGH. |
43. I do not eat much for breakfast.
| I EAT NOT MUCH SUNRISE. |
44. All the smaller birds sleep at night.
| ALL LITTLE BIRD SLEEP NIGHT. |
45. The owl sleeps in the daytime and flies at night.
| OWL SLEEP DAY. FLY NIGHT. |
46. Bears sleep all winter.
| BEAR MAKE BIG SLEEP COLD TIME. |
47. How quietly the baby sleeps in its little bed.
| BABY SLEEP QUIET LITTLE BED. |
48. Last summer we went to the mountains.
| LONG-GRASS-TIME BEYOND WE GO MOUNTAIN. |
49. I like to see it snow in winter.
| I FOND SEE SNOW WINTER. |
50. We have lived here ten years.
| TEN WINTER ME-ALL SIT TEEPEE HERE. |
51. My brother is six years old.
| MY BROTHER HAVE SIX WINTER. |
52. The old Indian chief is very brave.
| OLD INDIAN CHIEF MUCH BRAVE. |
53. The old flag waves over the church.
| OLD FLAG FLY ABOVE GOD-HOUSE. |
54. Come hene and look at the moon.
| COME HERE, SEE MOON. |
55. We see the moon and the stars at night.
| ME ALL SEE MOON WITH MANY STAR NIGHT. |
56. Only the sun shines today.
| ALONE SUN WORK GOOD DAY NOW. |
57. I would rather walk alone.
| I WANT WALK ALONE. |
58. I have only one brother.
| I HAVE ONE ALONE BROTHER. |
59. My only brother is very strong.
| MY ALONE BROTHER MUCH STRONG. |
60. The soldier has only bne son.
| SOLDIER HAVE ONE ALONE SON. |
61. Little girls often laugh.
| LITTLE GIRL LAUGH OFTEN. |
62. We often see the soldiers march.
| WE SEE SOLDIER WALK OFTEN. |
63. Birds sing frequently in the Spring.
| BIRD SING OFTEN SHORT-GRASS-TIME. |
64. Are you an Arapahoe?
| QUESTION YOU ARAPAHOE? |
65. No, I am a Cheyenne chief.
| NO I CHEYENNE CHIEF. |
66. What is your. name?
| QUESTION YOU CALLED. |
67. My name is Big Beaver.
| I CALLED BIG BEAVER. |
68. I would like to know your name.
| I FOND KNOW YOU CALLED. |
69. My name is White Crow.
| I CALLED WHITE CROW. |
70. I am an Arapahoe scout.
| I SCOUT. ARAPAHOE. |
71. Where do you live?
| QUESTION WHERE YOU SIT? |
72. I live across the mountains.
| I SIT ACROSS MOUNTAIN. |
73. What arc you doing here?
| QUESTION YOU WORK HERE? |
74. I am hunting beaver.
| I HUNT BEAVER. |
75. Have you caught any?
| QUESTION YOU TAKE BEAVER? |
76. No, the beavers are all gone.
| NO. BEAVER ALL GONE. |
77. Did you see any white men today?
| QUESTION YOU SEE WHITE MAN DAY NOW? |
78. Yes, on the other side of the mountain.
| YES. ACROSS MOUNTAIN. |
79. How many did you see?
| QUESTION MANY YOU SEE? |
80. I saw one, alone.
| I SEE ONE. ALONE. |
81. Was he a young man?
| QUESTION WHITE MAN FEW WINTER? |
82. No, he was very old.
| NO. WHITE MAN MUCH OLD. |
83. What was he doing?
| QUESTION WHITE MAN DO? |
84. He was leading two horses.
| WHITE MAN LEAD TWO HORSE. |
85. Where did he go?
| QUESTION WHERE HE GO? |
86. He went up the river.
| WHITE MAN GO UP RIVER. |
87. We are holding a council tonight.
| WE SIT COUNCIL NIGHT NOW. |
88. Good, can I sit in?
| GOOD. QUESTION I SIT WITH YOU? |
89. Yes, all chiefs are welcome us.
| YES. WE FOND ALL CHIEF SIT WITH. |
90. Where does your council meet?
| QUESTION WHERE YOU SIT COUNCIL? |
91. Among the trees.
| AMONG TREES. |
92. Where are the trees?
| QUESTION WHERE TREES. |
93. Over the river, beside the mountain.
| ACROSS RIVER, BESIDE MOUNTAIN. |
94. Are you hungry?
| QUESTION YOU HUNGRY? |
95. Yes, I had no breakfast.
| YES. I NO EAT SUNRISE. |
96. I have plenty of food.
| I HAVE PLENTY FOOD. |
97. Good, where is it?
| GOOD. QUESTION WHERE? |
98. At my teepee.
| MY TEEPEE. |
99. All right, let's go.
| GOOD, WE GO. |
100. You are my good friend.
| YOU GOOD FRIEND. |
101. Before the white man came, many buffalo roamed the plains.
| TIME-PAST MANY BUFFALO WALK ACROSS PRAIRIE; TIME-FUTURE WHITEMAN COME. |
102. After the white man came, the buffalo disappeared.
| TIME-PAST WHITEMAN COME, TIME-FUTURE BUFFALO ALL GONE. |
103. Now cattle feed where once the buffalo roamed.
| NOW SPOTTED BUFFALO EAT WHERE TIME-PAST BUFFALO WALK. |
104. Don't wait for me, I'll come pretty soon.
| WAIT ME NOT. I COME SHORT-TIME FUTURE. |
105. I will sit here and read until he finishes his work.
| I SIT, READ. FUTURE-TIME HE FINISH WORK. |
106. I should like to see a beaver when it starts to cut down a tree.
| I WANT SEE BEAVER TIME-FUTURE BEGIN CUT TREE. |
107. May the Great Spirit permit your moccasins to make tracks in many snows.
| GREAT MYSTERY HELP YOUR MOCCASIN MAKE TRACK ABOARD SNOW LONG-TIME. |
108. May the Great Scoutmaser of all good scouts be with us all now and forever.
| GREAT MYSTERY ALL GOOD SCOUT SIT WITH YOU--ALL NOW AND FOREVER. |
109. When dowe go on our overnight hike to, scout camp?
| QUESTION FUTURE-TIME WE WALK SCOUT CAMP? STAY. SLEEP CAMP. |
110. The Pawnees had a chief whose name was Spotted Bull.
| TIME-PAST PAWNEE HAVE CHIEF CALLED SPOTTED-MALE-BUFFALO. |
111. Spotted Bull aroused the Pawnees to make war on the Sioux.
| SPOTTED-MALE-BUFFALO MAKE BIG TALK. SAY PAWNEE MUST MAKE WAR SIOUX. |
112. The Pawnees had many good warriors, also horses and rifles.
| PAWNEE HAVE MANY BRAVE WARRIOR WITH MANY HORSE MANY GUN. |
113. The Pawnees built up their own courage by villifying the Sioux.
| PAWNEE MAKE OWN HEART STRONG. ABUSE SIOUX. |
114. The Pawnees said that the Sioux men were squaws and didn't know how to fight, and that the Sioux made weak medicine.
| PAWNEE SAY SIOUX MAN EQUAL WOMAN, UNDERSTAND FIGHTING. MAKE STRONG MEDICINE NO. |
115. Spotted Bull, the Pawnee Chief, stole many horses and took them across the little Snake River.
| SPOTTED M A L E BUFFALO. CHIEF PAWNEE, STEAL MANY HORSE. MAKE HORSE GO ACROSS LITTLE SNAKE RIVER. |
116. The Sioux saw the trail, followed it for many days and put up a big fight.
| SIOUX SEE TRAIL, FOLLOW TRAIL MANY SLEEP, MAKE BIG FIGHT. |
117. They killed nine Pawnees, took all the Sioux and Pawnee horses, and went back to the Sioux camp.
| THEY KILL NINE PAWNEE, TAKE ALL SIOUX HORSE, ALL PAWNEE HORSE, GO CAMP SIOUX. |
118. The Pawnees were ready to quit.
| PAWNEE WANT STOP FIGHT. |
119. They called a council with the Sioux and made peace.
| THEY SIT COUNCIL WITH SIOUX. ALL MAKE PEACE. |
120. It looks like rain today, we'll start our deer hunt tomorrow.
| PERHAPS RAIN DAY NOW, WE GO TOMORROW HUNT DEER. |
121. If the snow is deep the birds cannot find food to eat.
| PERHAPS, SNOW MUCH, BIRD CANNOT SEE TAKE EAT. |
122. If you want to go with us, you must be ready at noon.
| PERHAPS YOU WANT GO WITH US, YOU MUST GO NOON. |
123. Did you speak to me? Yes, I told you to follow me.
| QUESTION YOU SPEAK ME? YES I SAY YOU FOLLOW ME. |
124. Wait a moment. You cannot speak while everyone is chattering.
| WAIT LITTLE. YOU CANNOT ALL PEOPLE LITTLE TALK |
125. Be quiet, listen to the speaker.
| QUIET: LISTEN: MAN TALK |
126. Tell your secrets only to your friends.
| ALONE WITH FRIEND TALK |
127. Very many Sioux Indians are good singers and dancers.
| MANY SIOUX SING DANCE |
128. The bird builds its nest in a tree.
| BIRD MAKE HOUSE ABOARD |
129. The black bear grows very big.
| BEAR COLOR BLACK GROW |
130. For many days the forest fire burned fiercely.
| FOREST FIRE BURN LONG TIME. |
131. The man is poor and blind.
| MAN HAVE MONEY NOT, EYE WIPED OUT. |
132. A bad man stole my fine horse today.
| MAN, HEART BAD, STEAL HORSE DAY NOW. |
133. The Indian ran all the way home, and when he reached home was very tired.
| INDIAN RUN HOUSE, ARRIVE MUCH TIRED. |
134. White men labor hard to make money.
| WHITE MAN WORK MUCH GET MONEY. |
135. When the wind blows hard, the fire burns brightly.
| WIND GO FAST. FIRE BURN |
136. What did the dog eat last evening?
| QUESTION DOG EAT YESTERDAY SUN SET? |
137. The old woman went to the farmer to get some corn.
| WOMAN OLD GO FARM-MAN. CORN. |
138. Today I saw a large flock of blackbirds roosting in a tree.
| DAY NOW I SEE MANY LITTLE BIRD COLOR BLACK SIT TREE |
139. Children love to sing and dance and laugh.
| LITTLE BOY LITTLE GIRL FOND SING DANCE LAUGH. |
140. The Dakota Chief, Crazy Horse, was a fearless man and lived in the Sioux country on Cheyenne River.
| DAKOTA CHIEF CALLED CRAZY HORSE SIT SIOUX SIDE GOOD RIVER. |
| For a long time I have been wanting to get a place for a mountain camp. Last summer I found a place that thought would do very well. It was all wooded; it had a creek running through it; and there was a beautiful spot for a camp. The owner wanted $500.00, and I bought it on the spot. | LONG-TIME-PAST I WANT BUY LITTLE LAND MOUNTAIN MAKE CAMP. LONG-GRASS-TIME BEYOND I SEE LITTLE LAND I THINK GOOD. LITTLE-LAND POSSESS MANY TREES, P0SSESS RIVER-LITTLE MAKE BEAUTIFUL CAMP. MAN WANT SELL LITTLE-LAND FIVE HUNDRED MONEY. I BUY LITTLE-LAND. |
| Two months ago I took two friends with me and went up to start the camp. The day we got there we caught some fish for supper. We were too tired when night came to put up our tents, and we didn't think it would rain anyway. We made up our beds near the fire and lay down to sleep. | TWO MOON BEYOND I WITH FRIEND GO MAKE-RISE CAMP ARRIVE LITTLE-LAND; TRACK DEER, BEAR; WE TAKE FISH EAT SUNSET. EVENING WE TIRED. WE WANT NOT MAKE RISE TENT; WE THINK RAIN NO. WE MAKE BED NEAR FIRE, SLEEP. |
| In the middle of the night it began to rain. Before daylight we were soaking wet. One of my friends got sick, and there was no doctor any where near. Much to our disgust, we had to break camp and come back home. | MIDDLE NIGHT BEGIN RAIN. MORNING COME, WE ALL MUCH WATER. ONE FRIEND ARRIVE AT SICK. WHITE-CHIEF-MEDICINE NEAR NO. HEART MUCH TIRED WE MUST STOP SIT CAMP, COME HOME. |
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