A Key Into the Language of America

A Key Into the Language of America was written aboard a ship bound for England from Rhode Island, in 1643, by Roger Williams. First and foremost, it is a study of the language and customs of seventeenth century Narragansetts and Wampanoags, Algonquin speaking people whose ancestors had occupied the land surrounding Narragansett Bay for thousands of years. Although the format of the book suggests a dictionary with its extensive vocabulary lists, Williams, himself, described the book as an "implicit dialogue". One detects the meaning of his description in the focus on more universal questions such as ethics, morality and human character while recording the most mundane details of ordinary words and customs of everyday life. Thus it provides a unique and penetrating picture of pre-contact Native Americans, as well as a true key to unlock the secrets of the many forms, meanings and nuances of a forgotten age.