Hul’qumi’num’s Jargon traces

A language that carries a serious inheritance from Chinuk Wawa is Hul’qumi’num Salish (a.k.a. Cowichan, Island Halkomelem, et al.) of southeast Vancouver Island, BC, Canada.

There’s a quite good community learners’ dictionary of Hul’qumi’num online, freely available.

Reading through it, I’ve tallied a pretty remarkable list of words we can trace to Chinook Jargon influence. The two languages would seem to have had an intense history of contact.

In the writing system you’ll see below, “U” is a schwa sound like “uh”, “OO” is as in English “too”, “T’H” is a rare popped sequence of “t” plus “th” as in English “thin”. A colon ( : ) indicates that a vowel is to pronounced long.

Before we get started, I’m just going to point out mi[-]m̓unkí ‘little monkey’ because it’s striking to me that so many coast languages north of Puget Sound have words for monkeys. What gives?!

Okay, now here’s our list…

poos / pish (the latter is Nanaimo & Nanoose dialect) ‘cat’ — compare Chinuk Wawa p(‘)ús; tul̓tuluw̓ poos (literally wild cat) ‘bobcat; wild cat’ — compare Kamloops Chinuk Wawa < wail kat / wail pus >

moosmus ‘cow; beef’ — cp. músmus; swuy̓qe’ moosmus (man cow) ‘bull’ — cp. mán-músmus; moosmus[-]állh (cow-child) ‘calf’ — cp.< tenass moos-moos >

pool ‘bull’ — cp. Kamloops CW < bul > 

mawuch ‘deer’ — cp. máwich 

kwushóo ‘pig; bacon’ — cp. kúshu 

lumutóo ‘sheep’ — cp. limotó; tul̓tuluw̓ lumutóo (wild sheep) ‘mountain sheep, wild sheep’ — implies CW * < wail ship > 

chukun / chukuns ‘chicken, chickens’ — cp. Kamloops CW < chikin(s) > 

suplil[-]éw̓txw ‘bakery’ — implies, as does the Haida word, CW *saplél-háws

telu ‘money’ — cp. dála, teléw̓txw ‘bank’ — cp. dála-háws

luplá:sh ‘board’ — cp. laplásh

q̓uléx̣[-]uctun ‘fence’ (possibly native Hul’qumi’num) — cp. q’əláx̣

q̓aq̓iy[-]éw̓txw (sick house) ‘hospital’ — cp. sík-háws

‘itut[-]éw̓txw (sleep house) ‘hotel’ — cp. músum-háws

kwookw[-]éw̓txw (cook house) ‘kitchen’ — implies CW *kúk-háws

lem̓[-]éw̓txw (liquor house) ‘liquor store’ — implies CW *lám-háws

q̓wuls[-]éw̓txw ‘cannery’ — I’m unsure of the first element’s meaning (maybe it’s related to Klallam Salish q’ʷə́yəs ‘to roast, barbecue, etc.’), but perhaps compare the known north coast BC Jargon “fish house”

t̓iw̓i’ulh[-]éw̓txw (prayer house) ‘church’ — cp. Kamloops CW < styuil haws >

moosmus[-]’éw̓txw (cow house) ‘cowshed’ — cp. músmus-háws

moolu ‘mill’ — cp. lemulá

‘ulhtun̓[-]éw̓txw (eating house) ‘restaurant’ — cp. Kamloops CW < makmak haws > 

skwool ‘school’ — cp. skúl 

sil̓[-]éw̓txw ‘tent’ (cloth-house) — cp. síl-háws

sax̣wəl[-]éw̓txw (grass-house) ‘barn’ — cp. Kamloops CW < tipso haws > ‘hay sheds’

‘ipun ‘apron’ — cp. Kamloops CW < ipron > 

kumpóoc ‘boots’ — this borrowing of English gumboots is widespread in the coastal languages, perhaps implying it was local Chinuk Wawa

wech ‘watch, clock’ — cp. wách

kapóo ‘coat’ — cp. kapú 

chuymun[-]úlwut (Chinese.person-clothing) ‘denim jeans’ (cf. Haida cháalamaan k’úunaay) — maybe implies a regional CW expression

flench ‘French person’ — the fact that this recent English loan is present suggests Hul’qumin’num speakers weren’t in much contact with French-speakers during the (previous) local heyday of Jargon; had they been, we’d expect to find a version of CW pasáyuks

s[-]t̓lp[-]ít̓he’ ‘slip, petticoat’ (~the-under-clothing) — cp. kíkwəli-kʰút

lushá:n ‘shawl’ — cp. lishól 

sh[-]tul[-]álus ‘glasses’ (the-dollar-eyes) — cp. Father St. Onge’s 1892 manuscsript: < tala-siah^ost > ‘spectacles’

‘ikchum ‘handkerchief’ — cp. hikchəm

stekun ‘stocking, sock’ — cp. stákin

lukwín ‘cross’ — cp. BC Jargon < la qhuen > from Rev. John B. Good 1880

ciculh si’ém̓ (above chief)’God, Heavenly Father’  — cp. sáx̣ali táyi

sh[-]muk̓w[-]élu (the-dead-container/place) ‘graveyard’ — cp. míməlus-ílihi

ciculh tumuxw (above place)’heaven’ — cp. sáx̣ali ilihi

shusukli ‘Jesus Christ’ — cp. sesukʰli

liyám ‘the devil’ — cp. liyób

s[-]mulyí[-]tul ‘marriage, married’ — cp. malyí

sh[-]nenuc ‘price, cost’ — this is another word whose parts I’m not sure I understand, but it looks like it could be a version of the Hul’qumi’num for ‘name’, and if so, it might support my claim that Quinaul Salish (Washington coast) nim ‘price, cost’

luplít ‘priest’ — cp. liprét

x̣e’x̣e’ ‘sacred, holy’ — cp. Kamloops CW < haha >

shikus ‘Shaker, Shakers’ — cp. Upriver Halkomelem Shéykes

hulí ‘to be alive’ — cp. Kamloops CW < ili >, s-hulí ‘soul’ — cp. Kamloops CW < sili >

skwati / skati ‘crazy’ — cp. the distinctively BC Coast Chinook Jargon < scotty >

kapi ‘coffee’ — cp. kʰopʰi

xw[-]netulh[-]qun (morning food) ‘breakfast’ — cp . Kamloops CW < tanas-son makmak>

xw[-]taxw[-]skwéyul[-]qun (mid-day food) ‘lunch’ — cp. Kamloops CW < sitkom-son makmak >

xw[-]ne’unt[-]qun / xw[-]nen̓ut[-]qun (evening food) ‘supper’ — cp. Kamloops CW < mimlus-son makmak>

tih ‘tea’ — cp. tʰi

‘i:ks ‘egg, eggs’ — cp. Kamloops CW < igs >

shookwu ‘sugar’ — cp. shúka

xwi:t ‘wheat’ — cp. Kamloops CW < hwit >

s[-]luhél̓ ‘lahal, stick game, bone game’ — cp. (s)lahál

t̓umóol̓uch / t̓umol̓uch ‘barrel, washtub’ — cp. t’ámúlch — this is one of those noteworthy words that show you Indigenous people far from the old Chinuk Wawa homeland precisely maintaining the “Indian” sounds of a CW word, supporting the idea that Native people largely taught each other the Jargon

pookw ‘book’ — cp. búk

tushoo ‘canvas’ — cp. letʰosho ‘rag’

sil ‘cloth’ — cp. sil 

lupát ‘cup’ — cp. lepʰot

mit ‘dime’ — cp. bít, lhsuq̓[-]mít ‘nickel’ — cp. *sítkum-bít, implied by the parallel construction in many coastal languages

lukli ‘key’ — cp. lakʰlí

pipu ‘paper, form’ — cp. pípa 

sens ‘penny’ — cp. Kamloops CW < sints > 

kwatu ‘quarter’ — cp. kʰwáta

lisék ‘sack, bag’ — cp. lisák

soop ‘soap’ — cp. súp

stoo:p / stoo:f ‘stove’ — cp. stúv

hulí ‘to be alive’ — cp. Kamloops CW < ili >

lutém ‘table’ — cp. latám 

‘ulhqi’ ‘snake (any species of snake)’ — possibly native Hul’qumi’num, but cp. úlq’

kool / kwool ‘gold’ — cp. gúl 

tawsun ‘one thousand’ — cp. Kamloops CW < tawsan >

cheymun ‘Chinese person’ — cp. Kamloops CW < shaina man >

takta ‘doctor’ — cp. dákta 

sista ‘nun’ — cp. Kamloops CW < sistirs >

chulchus / solchus ‘soldier, soldiers’ — cp. shúlchast 

tawun ‘town’ — cp. tʰáwn

pestun ‘United States, American’ — cp. bástən 

mutóoliyu’ ‘Victoria’ — cp. < Biktoli > etc. in old songs

luwén ‘oats’ — cp. lawén

t̓lux̣wt̓lux̣w ‘oyster’ — cp. t’łə́x̣wt’łəx̣w

tintin ‘bell or bells, o’clock’ — cp. tíntin

sux̣ulhnét / sx̣ux̣ulhnét ‘week; Sunday’ — a native Hul’qumi’num word but embodying the exactly same metaphor as in CW

sil̓ánum ‘year’ — cp. Kamloops CW < shilalam >

humun ‘hammer’ — cp. Kamloops CW < hammer >

shet ‘lead, shot, bullet’ — cp. shát

lupyóos ‘hoe’ — cp. lapʰəyúsh

chikmun ‘iron, steel, knitting needle’ — cp. chíkʰəmin

lupén ‘hoe, shovel’ — cp. lapʰél 

shapul ‘shovel’ — cp. sapil

poot ‘boat’ — cp. bút 

chikmun shelh (iron road) ‘railroad, railroad tracks’ — cp. the following entry, plus CW-influenced Haida léelwaad k’yuuwáay ‘railroad track’ (railroad the.path/door), CW *páya-t’síkt’sik úyx̣at, and Kamloops Chinuk Wawa < stim kar oihat >, using different words for ‘train’ but parallel phrasing

lilóo:t ‘railroad train’ — cp. Kamloops CW < rilrod >, lilóo:t shelh ‘railroad’ — cp. the preceding entry

ka: ‘car’ — cp. Kamloops CW < kar > 

wekun ‘wagon’ — cp. Kamloops CW < wagin > 

t̓hikt̓huk ‘baby carriage, wagon, stage coach, buggy…This word imitates the noise of the clacking wheels’ [a widespread bit of folklore about the Jargon word] — cp. t’síkt’sik

xw[-]chapaní[-]qun ‘to speak Japanese’ — cp. cháp as well as cháyni ‘Chinese’

What do you think?