These papers document William A. Smalley's work and research as an anthropological linguist and missionary, two roles that were often intertwined, through his correspondence, notes, writings, reference materials, photographs, and sound recordings. Smalley's research on Hmong scripts, particularly Pahawh, and the Hmong people make up a significant portion of the collection. Noteworthy are a collection of published and unpublished manuscripts written in Pahawh script and primers and writing samples of other Hmong scripts. Aside from some letters and 1953 conference reports by Smalley and G. Linwood Barney, there is little material from his work in developing Hmong RPA. Other materials relating to RPA include a Hmong-English dictionary by Ernest E. Heimbach and a Hmong-French dictionary by Father Yves Bertrais. Also in the collection are Smalley's research on Khmu' and Thai languages and dialects and several Khmu' primers. As a missionary linguist, Smalley created guides for missionaries learning Khmu' and Vietnamese, as well as a guide to pronouncing Egyptian Arabic, all of which are in the collection. Reprints for a large portion of his articles can also be found in the collection, reflecting his interests in linguistics, anthropology, missionary work, and Southeast Asia. In addition, the collection contains drafts of his unfinished book,
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arranged into 11 series: (1) Correspondence, 1973-1999; (1) Hmong, 1952-1997; (3) Khmu', 1952-1997; (4) Thailand, 1960-1987; (5) Writings, 1949-1997; (6) Talks, 1974-1997; (7) Writings by Others, 1977, 1994-1998; (8) Houghton College, 1943-1945, 1982; (9) Photographs, 1950-1990; (10) Sound Recordings, 1976-1994; (11) Maps, 1977-1978
William A. Smalley was born April 4, 1923, in Jerusalem, Palestine. His parents were American missionaries for the Christian and Missionary Alliance, working among Arabs in Jerusalem and Transjordan. In 1934, Smalley and his family moved back to the United States. In reflecting upon his upbringing, Smalley writes, "My parents were thoroughly, deeply devoted both to Christ and to the Alliance, but they drew their boundaries more widely than many." According to Smalley, "My home was intellectually more open than some Alliance homes; my upbringing was somewhat less doctrinaire." (Smalley 1991)
Smalley attended Houghton College, where he developed an interest in anthropology, which he saw as relevant to missionary work. After graduating from Houghton in 1945 with a degree in English literature, he attended the Missionary Training Institute (1945-1946) and received linguistic training in Bible translation at the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) at the University of Oklahoma (1946-1947). In 1946 he also enrolled in Columbia University's graduate program in anthropology with a concentration in linguistics. According to Smalley, he discovered his "intellectual niche" studying at SIL, while "the anthropological training at Columbia gave linguistics a broader cultural context." "I became absorbed in the challenge to understand my faith in Christ in light of all I was learning about human culture." (Smalley 1991)
In 1950, Smalley was sent to Vietnam by the Christian and Missionary Alliance. There, Smalley worked on language analysis problems in the southern region of the country. The following year, he was sent to Luang Prabang, Laos to analyze the Khmu' language and prepare language lessons for other missionaries to learn the language. While in Laos, Smalley also worked with Reverend G. Linwood Barney and Father Yves Bertrais in developing a writing system for the Hmong people. Together, they developed the Hmong Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), which is the most widely used Hmong writing system today.
With the outbreak of civil war in Laos, Smalley and his wife were forced to return to the United States in 1954. He completed his dissertation on the Khmu' language and was awarded his doctorate in 1956. An abbreviated version of his dissertation was later published in 1961 as
Over the next several years, Smalley worked primarily in Southeast Asia as a translation consultant for the American Bible Society (1954-1969) and as a regional translations coordinator (1969-1972) and translation consultant (1972-1977) with the United Bible Societies. Due to his work, he resided in Thailand from 1962 to 1967 and from 1969 to 1972. (He also lived in Thailand as a Fulbright research fellow in 1985 and 1986.) In 1977, he decided to leave the United Bible Societies after 23 years. Unable to find employment, he worked briefly at a discount toy store.
In 1978, Smalley relocated to St. Paul, Minnesota, to accept a position as professor of linguistics at Bethel University (1978-1987). In Minnesota, he unexpectedly found that thousands of Hmong refugees were also settling in the Twin Cities, which guided his research over the next decade. As an Honorary Fellow (1982-1984) with the University of Minnesota Southeast Asia Refugee Studies Program, he took part in a project studying Hmong adaptation to life in the United States, publishing "Adaptive Language Strategies of the Hmong: From Asian Mountains to American Ghettos" (1985) and "Stages of Hmong Cultural Adaptation" (1986). He also studied the different Hmong scripts that had
developed since RPA, in particular Pahawh Hmong script, which was created in 1959 in Laos by Shong Lue Yang. Smalley published two books on the script and its creator—
In addition to his work on the Hmong, Smalley researched the different languages and dialects of Thailand, publishing
In 1955, Smalley took over editorship of
When he retired from Bethel College in 1987, he was awarded the college's first annual Distinguished Teaching Award. In his retirement, he continued to write extensively and also edited Jacob A. Loewen's book,
In 1997, Smalley died of a heart attack at the age of 74.
Sources Consulted
Smalley, William. "My Pilgrimage in Mission."
Beckstrom, Maja. "Scholar of Hmong language praised for 'invaluable' work."
Contact repository for terms of use.
Three tape recordings and the associated transcripts of the interviews that Smalley conducted for his research on the Pahawh Hmong script are restricted until 2040.
Access to the William A. Smalley papers requires an appointment.
Processed by Lorain Wang, March 2008
Encoded by Jacqueline Saavedra, June 2012
William A. Smalley papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Jane Smalley.
Smalley's Pahawh Hmong project was funded by the Indochina Studies Center, Social Science Research Council. Upon the completion of the project, the Indochina Studies Center arranged for some of his Pahawh Hmong research materials to be deposited at the Library of Congress as part of the archives of programs that the center has funded. The materials deposited at the Library of Congress include photographs, sound recordings, and a collection of published and unpublished manuscripts written in Pahawh and Sayaboury script. Indices and descriptions of the materials deposited can be found in Series 2: Hmong, Sub-series 2.2 Pahawh, "[Pahawh Hmong Project]." Not all of the materials that were sent to the Library of Congress are present in this collection and vice versa. Among the materials absent from this collection are some of the photographs, four sound recordings, and most of the Sayaboury manuscripts.
This series contains Smalley's Hmong related correspondence, correspondence relating to his publications, and his general professional correspondence. Of special interest is his correspondence with Vietnamese author Le Ly Hayslip.
More of his correspondence can be found throughout the collection intermixed with other materials and filed by subject. Correspondence relating to his book,
This series is arranged in 2 sub-series: (1.1) Hmong, 1982-1997; (1.2) Publications, 1984-1999; (1.3) General, 1973-1978, 1989-1997
Folders are arranged alphabetically by correspondent's last name or subject.
Folders are arranged by article or book title.
Co-author w/Smalley "Another Messianic Script and its Texts"; includes correspondence with Jacques Lemoine and William Bright.
Includes copies of article.
See also Series 2: Hmong, Sub-series 2.3: Other Hmong Scripts, "Sayaboury Script Article".
Includes draft of article.
Book was not published. For article, see Series 3: Khmu', Sub-series 3.1: Khmu', "Phonology of a Southern Khmu' Dialect".
Manual of Articulated Phonetics.
Includes copy of paper.
Folders are arranged alphabetically by correspondent's last name or subject.
Includes draft biographical entry on Smalley.
This series includes materials related to the development of RPA and to Smalley's research on other Hmong scripts, primarily Pahawh.
For other materials relating to the Hmongs, please see Series 1: Correspondence, Series 5: Writings, Series 6: Talks, Series 9: Photographs, and Series 10: Sound Recordings.
This series is arranged in 4 sub-series: (2.1) RPA, 1952-1955, 1966-1967, 1981-1997; (2.2) Pahawh, 1972-1994; (2.3) Other Hmong Scripts, 1956, 1972-1997; (2.4) Hmong People, 1979-1997
In 1951, Reverend G. Linwood Barney solicited Smalley's help in developing a writing system for the Hmong people in order to translate the Bible and other religious documents into their language. At the time, Father Yves Bertrais was also working on a Hmong writing system, and when they learned of each other's work, the three decided to collaborate on a single writing system, now known as Hmong Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), a system based on the Latin alphabet. Smalley, who did not speak Hmong, provided the linguistic expertise to the group. Materials in this series that relate to their work consist of 1953 conference reports by Smalley and Barney and a few letters. According to Smalley, in a letter to Erica C. Garcia (December 1, 1981) filed in "[Khmu correspondence]," the extensive lexicon files that he had collected for the project were lost in a move. Other materials in this sub-series are Smalley's drafts and outlines of the history of the development of RPA for a conference talk; Hmong-French and Hmong-English dictionaries; and materials relating to the subject of standardizing RPA.
Preparation for Fifth National Education Conference, Hmong council in Fresno, CA, December 24, 1991; contains draft write up of history of RPA.
Contains conference reports by Smalley and G. Linwood Barney on Meo.
Hmong conference at University of Minnesota; standardization of RPA.
Correspondence and copy of Kawm Ntawv Moob, a Hmong RPA primer, for which Smalley wrote a preface.
Draft copy; introduction by Smalley with his revisions.
Smalley obtained grants to study the Pahwah script and co-authored with Chia Koua Vang and Gnia Yee Yang
Grants for Pahawh Hmong Project (
RESTRICTED for preservation reasons.
3.50 inch floppy disk containing files for
Binder containing materials for project - daily journals, drafts of mss, log of published and unpublished manuscripts, log of sound recordings of interviews and meetings, and log of photographs.
Translation of Jacque Lemoine's articles.
Collection of published and unpublished manuscripts written in Pahawh, see "[Pahawh Hmong Project]" for guide to manuscripts.
Collection of published and unpublished manuscripts written in Pahawh, see "[Pahawh Hmong Project]" for guide to manuscripts.
Collection of published and unpublished manuscripts written in Pahawh, see "[Pahawh Hmong Project]" for guide to manuscripts.
Collection of published and unpublished manuscripts written in Pahawh, see "[Pahawh Hmong Project]" for guide to manuscripts.
Collection of published and unpublished manuscripts written in Pahawh, see "[Pahawh Hmong Project]" for guide to manuscripts.
Collection of published and unpublished manuscripts written in Pahawh, see "[Pahawh Hmong Project]" for guide to manuscripts.
This sub-series includes primers and samples of Hmong scripts other than RPA and Pahwah.
Includes correspondence with Her Ga Va and William Bright.
See also Series 1: Correspondence, Sub-series 1.2: Publications, "Nina Wimuttikosol".
Photocopy of Sayaboury script primer #1 (with a few pages translated) and photocopy of alphabet book.
Clean copy of Sayaboury script alphabet book.
Smalley's notes and symposium and colloquium papers on the different Hmong scripts.
Handouts and articles; rough draft of paper on "Orthography and Identity: The Case of the Hmong."
Undated photocopy of article published in 1912.
Photocopy of unidentified script, possibly Sayaboury.
This sub-series reflects the expansion of Smalley's research interests to Hmong culture and refugees when he moved to Minneapolis in 1974, where a large number of Hmong refugees were settling. His wife, Jane, became involved in helping Hmongs adapt to life in Minnesota. Some of her papers can be found mixed in with materials that Smalley collected on Hmong refugees.
Info about Hmong people and refugees; includes materials from Jane Smalley's class teaching Hmong immigrants English and other materials she collected on Hmong immigrants.
Letters and clippings on Hmongs in the US.
Letter and articles.
Articles by Tapp.
Transparencies.
Smalley was sent to Laos to study the Khmu' language in 1951. The language was the subject of his dissertation, which was later published as
More of Smalley's Khmu' related writings can be found in Series 5: Writings.
This series is arranged in 2 sub-series: (3.1) Khmu', 1958-1997; (3.2) Other Mon-Khmer Languages, 1952-1986
Language notes and notes about Ciang.
"Lessons in the Khmu' Language" by Smalley.
By Smalley; includes draft and letters.
Article for
Khmu' stories?
Articles on Khmu'; includes mss by Smalley.
Khmu' Language Series.
Mon-Khmer articles and bibliography.
This series is composed of a list of Smalley's contacts in Thailand and reference materials for his research on language diversity and national unity in Thailand. The reference materials consist of reprints, notes, and pamphlets.
Correspondence for his book
Reference materials on Thai culture (reprints, notes, pamphlets, etc.).
Articles by various authors on Thai language.
Smalley was a prolific writer, who wrote extensively on linguistics, applied anthropology, Bible translation, Southeast Asia, and missionary work. A large number of reprints of his articles and reviews that he wrote are present in this series. In addition to his publications, this series contains drafts and research for his writing projects and reviews of his books.
Correspondence relating to his publications is in Series 1: Correspondence. His earlier writings as a college student are located in Series 8: Houghton College.
This series is arranged in 3 sub-series: (5.1) Drafts, 1963-1995; (5.2) Publications, 1949-1997; (5.3) Reviews of Smalley's Books, 1990-1996
Arranged alphabetically.
3.50 inch floppy disk, contents unknown due to error reading disk.
RESTRICTED for preservation reasons.
For Toronto Institute of Linguistics; draft written with Shirin Milika.
Chapters for book.
Maps of Southeast Asia for Linguistic Diversity and National Unity.
Arranged alphabetically.
"Bible Translation in Our New Age"; "Cian : Khmu' Culture Hero"; "Codification by Means of Foreign Systems"; [Commentary on President Lundquist's report "The Best of the Past as a Gift to the Future"]; [Concise Dictionary of the Christian World Mission entries]; "A Cultural Setting of a Literature Program"; "Culture Shock, Language Shock, and the Shock of Self-Discovery"; "The Cultures of Man and the Communication of the Gospel"; "Dialect and Orthography in Kipende"; [Dictionary of Christian Ethics articles]; ["Discourse Analysis and Bible Translation"]; "Doctoral Dissertations on Mission: Ten-Year Update, 1982-1991"; "Finding Out How Close Related Dialects Are"; ["Formulae for Comanche Stem and Word Formation"]; ["The Hmong 'Mother of writing': A Messianic Figure"]; "How Shall I Write this Language?"; and "How to Learn a Hill Tribes Language."
Introducing Animism, with Eugene A. Nida; "Language and Culture in the Development of Bible Society Translation Theory and Practice"; "Language and Power: Evolution of Thailand's Multilingualism"; "Language Preparation and the Communication of the Gospel"; "Laos: Crossroads of Cultures"; "(How We Created) the Latin Writing for the Hmong Language in Laos"; and "Learning About Language."
"Missionary Language Learning in a World Hierarchy of Languages"; "Missions and the Population Explosion"; "Multilingualism in the Northern Khmer Population of Thailand"; "My Favorite Translator"; "My Pilgrimage in Mission"; "Native Creation of Writing Systems"; ["Notes on Discourse Structures in Amos"]; "Notes on Kraisri's and Bernatzik's Word Lists"; "Orthography Conference for French West Africa"; and Outline of Khmu' Structure.
"Phillips and the New English Bible: Some Comments on Style"; "Phonemic Rhythm in Comanche"; "The Place of Linguistics in Bible Translation"; "Preparation and Translation of Section Headings"; "A Problem in Orthography Preparation" "A Problem in Phoneme Identification Without Differential Meaning"; "Problems in Writing Thailand Minority Languages in Thai Script"; "A Program for the Study of French in Paris"; "A Programme for Missionary Language Learning"; "Questions to be Answered Before We Translate"; "Recursion Patterns and the Sectioning of Amos"; "Report of Dr. William A. Smalley on Conferences Concerning Missionary Language Learning in India"; [Response to Gary Yia Lee's letter in Southeast Asian Refugee Studies Newsletter]; "Restructuring Translations of the Psalms as Poetry"; Selected and Annotated Bibliography of Anthropology for Missionaries; "Selected and Annotated Bibliography of Anthropology for Missionaries (Revised Edition)"; and "Sentimental Journey Back to Old Southeast Asian Haunts (and More)."
"Some Characteristics of Thailand's Hill Tribes Languages"; "Some Principles of Literary Translation"; "Srê Phonemes and Syllables"; "Starter Bibliography on Discourse Analysis"; ["Suggestions for an Order of Translation"]; "Teaching Thai in Hill Tribes Schools"; "Thailand's Hierarchy of Multilingualism"; "Translating Luke's Passion Story from the Tev"; "Translating the Poetry of the Old Testament"; ["Translating 'Thus Says the Lord'"]; "The Use of Non-Roman Script for New Languages"; "What About Race Prejudice"; "What Should We be Doing about Missionary Language Learning?"; "What Translations Should the Bible Societies Support?"; and "Where are the Meek."
Book 1 - 2 sections
Book 2
Book 3 - 2 sections
Arranged chronologically.
This series contains materials relating to talks Smalley gave on linguistics, the Hmong, and Bible translation. Also in this series are his church sermons and materials for a short course he taught on the foundations of language. The collection does not contain any of his lecture materials as a professor at Bethel College.
Materials relating to his talks on Hmong scripts can be found in Series 2: Hmong.
Plenary Session Lecture at MinneTESOL Conference.
CD-ROM for Thai Studies 6th International conference at Chiang Mai, 1996. Possibly contains papers presented at conference. Unable to play cd.
RESTRICTED for preservation reasons.
This series contains drafts and correspondence for Jacob Loewen's book
This series is arranged in 2 sub-series: (7.1) Loewen, 1994-1998; (7.2) Mundhenk, 1977
Correspondence, articles, and preliminary draft by Loewen.
Houghton College is a Christian liberal arts college located in Western New York. Smalley attended the college from 1941 to 1945. This series consists mostly of clippings from the school paper,
The photographs consist of 35mm slides and some prints and negatives. A large portion of the photos are of Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam) in addition to images of Hong Kong, Africa, Haiti, and New Guinea. Most of the photographs were taken by Smalley in his travels as a missionary worker; the later photos of Thailand were taken by Smalley when he was in the country as a Fulbright fellow. Also in this series are photos for
The series is arranged in 3 sub-series: (9.1) 35mm Slides, 1950-1987; (9.2) Prints, circa 1952, 1967-1969, 1980-1990, undated; (9.3) Negatives, undated
Arranged by location, with slides of the Hmong in the United States and slides from Smalley's Pahawh research project at the end of the sub-series. Unless otherwise noted, the slides were retained in their original order.
Slides found loose in box; no apparent order.
Slides found loose in box; no apparent order.
Slides found loose in box; no apparent order.
Slides found loose in box; no apparent order.
Prints do not exist for all of the negatives.
This series is composed mostly of taped interviews by Smalley for his Pahawh Hmong project and his research on Thailand. Also in this series are recordings related to his research on Hmong immigrants in the United States and other Hmong scripts. Additional items are tapes of Khmu' and Karen music, Thai language tapes, and a recording of his mother's memorial service. On several of the recordings made by Smalley, it is difficult to hear parts of the interviews due to a loud humming sound on the tracks.
This series is arranged in 6 sub-series: (10.1) Pahawh Hmong Project, 1983-1987; (10.2) Hmong, 1984, 1994, undated; (10.3) Thailand Interviews, 1985-1986; (10.4) Keillor; Thailand, 1974-1976, undated; (10.5) Khmu', undated; (10.6) Personal, 1986
Notes separated from sound recordings.
The set of Pahawh recordings in this collection is incomplete. The four missing tapes can be found at the Library of Congress, where Smalley had deposited some of his Pahawh research materials when he completed his project. (see Series 2: Hmong, Sub-series 2.1: Pahawh, "[Pahawh Hmong Project]" for more information.) The Library of Congress, however, does not have eight of the Pahawh recordings that are present in this series. Three of the tapes are restricted until 2040 while the other tapes are recordings of project discussions, two of which have playback problems. Descriptions of the contents of all the tapes can be found in Series 2: Hmong, "[Pahawh Hmong Project]."
Unable to play tape.
No sound.
RESTRICTED UNTIL 2040.
RESTRICTED UNTIL 2040.
RESTRICTED UNTIL 2040.
Permission to use not granted.
Recording of Her Ga Va in Lao/Thai and Hmong addressing Nina Wimuttikosol and Jacque Lemoine; contents of tape described in Series 2: Hmong, Sub-series 2.3: Other Hmong Scripts, "Sayaboury Script article".
Recording (made at Smalley's request) of Xao Ying Xiong reading from the pages of his alphabet document that Gayle Morrison sent to Smalley; also on the tape is Xao Ying's son Wang Nhia reading the page and row numbers.
See also Series 2: Hmong, Sub-series 2.3: Other Hmong Scripts, "Xao Ying Xiong (Mong Leng) Writing System - Gayle Morrison" for more information about the recording.
Interview in English about Hmongs in the United States.
"Theatre Unlimited - 2315 Chicago Ave. So. Minneapolis, MN 55404 (612) 331-4657". Recording of Hmong folktales in English and Hmong; created to teach Hmongs English.
The interviews in this sub-series were conducted by Smalley.
Tape off hub.
The recordings of informants in this sub-series seem to have been recorded by someone else. The title of this sub-series is Smalley's original description of the set of tapes.
"Tape 1; Toby's Relatives: 6-74; Side A; 000-054 Chitchýa story 1; 054-085; Chitchýa story 2; 085-114 (Chit. Cont.); 115-163 Manager's story; 164-209 Sotry by male mem. of nob., ed. 30's; Side B; 000-089 woman speaker"
"Tape 2; Stories by D. Mainhood's Friends; Side A women --unable to reference; 000-088; 089-122; 122-153; 153-254; 255-371; Side B; empty; check footage"
"Tape 3; George P. &, AEW, Mrs. Jit; Side A; 000-082 English Story; 082-153 Thai Story 1; 153-183 Thai Story 2; 183-200 Conversation; 265-481; Side B; 155 Mrs. Jit; check footage"
"Tape 4; Lamun & Mai's Father; Side A; Side B -empty"
"Tape 5; Interview with Lamun 4-29-76; Side A; Side B; music --English opera"
Produced by Kmhmu' Culture project, Vientiane.
"Mrs. Smalley Memorial Services, July 19, 1986".
Tribal Research Centre, Chiang Mai.
Royal Thai Survey Department.
Photocopy.