These plaques run along the south side of King Street, between the Caltrain station and AT&T Park. There are 104 of them embedded in the sidewalk. On them are engraved all of the known words of a language called Rammaytush.
The Rammaytush language is one of the eight Ohlone languages, historically spoken by the Ramaytush people, indigenous people of California. Historically, the Rammaytush inhabited the San Francisco Peninsula between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in the area which is now San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. Ramaytush is a dialect or language within the Costanoan branch of the Utian family. The term Rammaytush was first applied to them during the 1970s.
There is very little documentation of the Rammaytush language. It consists of twenty-six worlds recorded by Father Vicente Santa Maria, chaplain of a Spanish naval ship anchored in San Francisco in 1775, a collection of words collected by an Indian agent by the name of Adam Johnston in the 1850s, and a list of twenty words and two phrases obtained in 1912 from an elderly man living in San Louis Obispo, making for a total of 104 Ramaytush words that we are aware of.
The words are:
red|chitkote • yes|hee’e • what|hintro • good|horshe • dead|hurwishte • nose|huus • hill|huyyah • daughter|kaanaymin • sky|karax • four|katwash • seven|keneetish • speak|kiisha • foot|koloo • white|laskainin • snake|liishuinsha • ye|makkam • coyote|mayyan • heart|miini • five|mishahur • fly|mumura • this|nee • daughter|kaanaymin• that|nuhhu • how|panuuka • blood|payyan • dog|puuku • day|puuhi • ice|puutru • sky|rinnimi • six|shakkent • tree bark|shimmi • fire|shoktowan • pipe|shukkum • water|sii • older brother|takka • bone|trayyi • ear|tukshush • fingernail|tuurt • tule raft|walli • mouth|wepper • bird|wiinahmin • to dance|yishsha • no|’akwe • mother|’anaa • turtle|’awnishmin • morning star|’awweh • rock|’enni • son|’innish • alive|’ishsha • to go|’iye • eight|’oshaatish • two|’utrhin • evening|’uykani • to drink|’uuwetto • hair|’uli • duck|’occey • arm|’ishshu • stone|’irek • | • chest|’etrtre • bad|’ektree • bay|’awwash • father|’apaa • to eat|’amma • friend|’achcho • lightning|wilkawarep • chief|wetresh • earth|warep • body |waara • nine|tulaw • knife|trippey • finger|tonokra • tooth|siit • to give|shuumite • black|sholkote • boy|shimmiishmin • speak|shalli • house|ruwwa • meat|riish • leg|puumi • to kill|mim’i • deer|poote • arrow|pawwish • grassland|paatrak • they|nikkam • night|muur • star|muchmuchmish • thunder|pura • you|meene • husband|makko • who|maatro • tongue|lasseh • neck|lannay • miin|kohney • all|kette • cold|kawwi • girl|katrtra • three|kaphan • I|kaana • chaparral|huyyah • tomorrow|hushshish • old man|huntrach • sun|hishmen • eye|hiin • wife|hawwa • salmon|cheerih
The plaques are part of the San Francisco Barbary Coast Trail.