Joseph W. Murphy
2005-04-18 01:32:34 UTC
Last night on The History Channel I saw "Windtalkers," a horrible movie,
well worth missing, starring Nicholas Cage. It was supposedly based upon
the codetalking Navajo radiomen of World War II. David Kahn, the author of
"The Codebreakers" was on during commercial breaks to comment on the Navajo
code itself and its origins. He didn't really have much to say. Once there
was a flash at the bottom of the screen that said something like "Navajo is
one of the hardest languages in the world to learn!"
Anyway, towards the close of this moving opus, around the time Nicholas Cage
dies while reciting the Hail Mary with his Navajo charge, Ben, there is a
cut-away shot to Navajos speaking over the radio in code to one another. As
they speak, their words are then transliterated into characters on the
screen and amazingly, there among them, are the immortal words -- "Kemo
sabe"
Yes, that's right...I'm not kidding! "Kemo sabe"... the very words that The
Lone Ranger's faithful Indian companion, Tonto, used to say so often and
endearingly when giving advice to his friend, the daring and resourceful
masked rider of the plains! I was amazed! I wondered, is "Kemo Sabe" a
Navajo expression?
Inspired (not so much by Nicholas Cage's moving death, but rather by the
boyhood memories of all those Lone Ranger TV episodes I used to watch on
Saturday mornings), I decided to do a Google search to ascertain the true
meaning of "Kemo sabe". The fruits of my research are now summarized below:
1. A certain Dr. Goddard, of the Smithsonian Institution, has reportedly
speculated that the words "Kemo Sabe" come from Tewa, with "Sabe" meaning
"Apache" and "Kemo" meaning "Friend". So, according to Goddard, the Lone
Ranger was either a friend to the Apaches in Tonto's eyes or, perhaps,
simply, an "Apache friend". Friends to Apaches and Friendly Apaches were
both rare commodities in those thrilling days of yesteryear, so I have
discounted both Dr. Goddard and this theory.
2. Another scholar speculates that Kemo Sabe comes from Yavapai and means
"one who is white". The Yavapai word is supposedly "Kinmasabe". The
thinking is that the "whiteness" of this appellation derives from the fact
that in his early days The Lone Ranger always wore a white shirt and white
trousers. Of course Tonto could also have been referring to The Lone Ranger
as "White Man", but given their long-standing friendship I think it
unlikely. Would Tonto use "Paleface" or "White Eye" as a term of endearment
to a friend? Fat chance! On to the next theory!
3. A grad student in linguistics at Stanford thinks that "Kemo Sabe" may
come from Minnesota Ojibwe. His theory is that it stems from "giimoozaabi"
meaning "he who peeks". Apparently in Ojibwe there are several words with
the prefix "giimooj" meaning "secretly". Thus a "giimozaabi" is "one who
peeks in secret". The grad student, one Rob Malouf, thinks that the word
could be interpreted as meaning "scout". This theory, of course, is
laughable. Giimozaabi is more likely to mean "Peeping Tom" than "Scout".
Besides, Tonto's horse, as you true fans of the show may remember, was named
"Scout". Why then would Tonto refer to his horse, in English, as "Scout"
when he could just as easily, and naturally, have called his horse
"Giimozaabi". I distinctly recall Tonto saying "Get um up, Scout" many
times. Besides, what would a Minnesota Ojibwe be doing in the dusty
Southwest where The Lone Ranger was fighting lawlessness? Next we'll hear
that The Lone Ranger was a Swedish Lutheran. Another theory for the
dustbin!
4. In Navajo, "Kemo Sabe" supposedly means "Soggy Shrub". I can see Tonto
as a Navajo. And I definitely saw and heard the Navajo codetalkers say
"Kemo Sabe" last night in the movie. But why would Tonto be calling The
Lone Ranger "Soggy Shrub"? Why would Navajo codetalkers even be talking
about a "Soggy Shrub" (unless it was some kind of code to further baffle the
Japanese)? This theory perplexes me the most. I'd like to believe that "Kemo
Sabe" is really Navajo. But why would Tonto call The Lone Ranger "Soggy
Shrub"?
5. Some suspect that "Kemo Sabe" is from Mexican Spanish "Quien no sabe"
("The one who knows nothing"). The adherents to this theory see "Tonto"
(the name which The Lone Ranger uses for his faithful Indian companion and
which means "stupid" in Spanish) using "Quien No Sabe" as a pejorative
sobriquet for The Lone Ranger in an apparent act of revenge. No way, José!
6. Jim Jewell, who directed "The Lone Ranger" until 1938 supposedly once
said that he stole the term "Kemo Sabe" from the name of a boy's camp that
was once located at Mullet Lake, just south of Mackinac, Michigan. The camp
was named "Kamp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee". According to Jewell the translation of the
camp's name was "trusty scout".
In this regard, see #3 above and "Giimoozaabi". I refuse to believe this.
First, as we have seen, "Giimoozaabi" doesn't mean "trust scout". It means
"Peeping Tom". Also, I refuse to believe that Jay Silverheels (who played
Tonto on The Lone Ranger TV Show) would mouth the hallowed name of some
Michigan boy's camp as a term of endearment for his dear friend, The Lone
Ranger. It just can't be true!
So, there you have it. There remains no definitive answer to the nagging
and mysterious question of the meaning of "Kemo Sabe". I offer it now to
the linguists of sci.lang as another puzzling area of inquiry -- something
else to ponder along with The Phaistos Disk, The Voynich Manuscript, and
other equally baffling linguistic conundrums.
Joe Murphy
Boy Linguist (Hi-Yo Silver, Away!)
well worth missing, starring Nicholas Cage. It was supposedly based upon
the codetalking Navajo radiomen of World War II. David Kahn, the author of
"The Codebreakers" was on during commercial breaks to comment on the Navajo
code itself and its origins. He didn't really have much to say. Once there
was a flash at the bottom of the screen that said something like "Navajo is
one of the hardest languages in the world to learn!"
Anyway, towards the close of this moving opus, around the time Nicholas Cage
dies while reciting the Hail Mary with his Navajo charge, Ben, there is a
cut-away shot to Navajos speaking over the radio in code to one another. As
they speak, their words are then transliterated into characters on the
screen and amazingly, there among them, are the immortal words -- "Kemo
sabe"
Yes, that's right...I'm not kidding! "Kemo sabe"... the very words that The
Lone Ranger's faithful Indian companion, Tonto, used to say so often and
endearingly when giving advice to his friend, the daring and resourceful
masked rider of the plains! I was amazed! I wondered, is "Kemo Sabe" a
Navajo expression?
Inspired (not so much by Nicholas Cage's moving death, but rather by the
boyhood memories of all those Lone Ranger TV episodes I used to watch on
Saturday mornings), I decided to do a Google search to ascertain the true
meaning of "Kemo sabe". The fruits of my research are now summarized below:
1. A certain Dr. Goddard, of the Smithsonian Institution, has reportedly
speculated that the words "Kemo Sabe" come from Tewa, with "Sabe" meaning
"Apache" and "Kemo" meaning "Friend". So, according to Goddard, the Lone
Ranger was either a friend to the Apaches in Tonto's eyes or, perhaps,
simply, an "Apache friend". Friends to Apaches and Friendly Apaches were
both rare commodities in those thrilling days of yesteryear, so I have
discounted both Dr. Goddard and this theory.
2. Another scholar speculates that Kemo Sabe comes from Yavapai and means
"one who is white". The Yavapai word is supposedly "Kinmasabe". The
thinking is that the "whiteness" of this appellation derives from the fact
that in his early days The Lone Ranger always wore a white shirt and white
trousers. Of course Tonto could also have been referring to The Lone Ranger
as "White Man", but given their long-standing friendship I think it
unlikely. Would Tonto use "Paleface" or "White Eye" as a term of endearment
to a friend? Fat chance! On to the next theory!
3. A grad student in linguistics at Stanford thinks that "Kemo Sabe" may
come from Minnesota Ojibwe. His theory is that it stems from "giimoozaabi"
meaning "he who peeks". Apparently in Ojibwe there are several words with
the prefix "giimooj" meaning "secretly". Thus a "giimozaabi" is "one who
peeks in secret". The grad student, one Rob Malouf, thinks that the word
could be interpreted as meaning "scout". This theory, of course, is
laughable. Giimozaabi is more likely to mean "Peeping Tom" than "Scout".
Besides, Tonto's horse, as you true fans of the show may remember, was named
"Scout". Why then would Tonto refer to his horse, in English, as "Scout"
when he could just as easily, and naturally, have called his horse
"Giimozaabi". I distinctly recall Tonto saying "Get um up, Scout" many
times. Besides, what would a Minnesota Ojibwe be doing in the dusty
Southwest where The Lone Ranger was fighting lawlessness? Next we'll hear
that The Lone Ranger was a Swedish Lutheran. Another theory for the
dustbin!
4. In Navajo, "Kemo Sabe" supposedly means "Soggy Shrub". I can see Tonto
as a Navajo. And I definitely saw and heard the Navajo codetalkers say
"Kemo Sabe" last night in the movie. But why would Tonto be calling The
Lone Ranger "Soggy Shrub"? Why would Navajo codetalkers even be talking
about a "Soggy Shrub" (unless it was some kind of code to further baffle the
Japanese)? This theory perplexes me the most. I'd like to believe that "Kemo
Sabe" is really Navajo. But why would Tonto call The Lone Ranger "Soggy
Shrub"?
5. Some suspect that "Kemo Sabe" is from Mexican Spanish "Quien no sabe"
("The one who knows nothing"). The adherents to this theory see "Tonto"
(the name which The Lone Ranger uses for his faithful Indian companion and
which means "stupid" in Spanish) using "Quien No Sabe" as a pejorative
sobriquet for The Lone Ranger in an apparent act of revenge. No way, José!
6. Jim Jewell, who directed "The Lone Ranger" until 1938 supposedly once
said that he stole the term "Kemo Sabe" from the name of a boy's camp that
was once located at Mullet Lake, just south of Mackinac, Michigan. The camp
was named "Kamp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee". According to Jewell the translation of the
camp's name was "trusty scout".
In this regard, see #3 above and "Giimoozaabi". I refuse to believe this.
First, as we have seen, "Giimoozaabi" doesn't mean "trust scout". It means
"Peeping Tom". Also, I refuse to believe that Jay Silverheels (who played
Tonto on The Lone Ranger TV Show) would mouth the hallowed name of some
Michigan boy's camp as a term of endearment for his dear friend, The Lone
Ranger. It just can't be true!
So, there you have it. There remains no definitive answer to the nagging
and mysterious question of the meaning of "Kemo Sabe". I offer it now to
the linguists of sci.lang as another puzzling area of inquiry -- something
else to ponder along with The Phaistos Disk, The Voynich Manuscript, and
other equally baffling linguistic conundrums.
Joe Murphy
Boy Linguist (Hi-Yo Silver, Away!)