Key to the Language of the Houyhnhnms in Gulliver’s Travels

F OR more than two centuries scholars have pondered the question of significant satire in the names Houyhnhnm and Yahoo in Swift’s ‘A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms’. At last it seems possible that the question may be answered. The key appears to be phonetic and it may be applied to all the Houyhnhnm words in the fourth book of Gulliver . The first section of the paper will set forth a brief explanation of the key’s basic form. The second will offer supporting evidence proving that the key is valid, and finally the study will demonstrate the detailed working of the key in the text of ‘A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms’.