Let’s tally up all the existing Bible bits in Chinook!
This proposal will underwhelm and disgust some folks!
Random found image from Youtube
Nonetheless, in order to counteract the really persistent rumour that there’s a Chinook Jargon translation of the Bible, here’s the strongest possible counterargument:
Let’s tally up all the existing Bible bits in Chinook!
This is a fine project for crowdsourcing.
What will emerge is a checklist of:
- Quite short snippets of chapter & verse actually translated; more often than that, paraphrased only.
- Plus a bunch of summaries of what’s in this book or that.
- Also, an obsessively detailed list of the lifespans of The Patriarchs.
- And a not-that-wonderful Book of Mark.
The way to start is with a list of the bible’s books and chapters, in their traditional order.
Then, to gather up and carefully look through:
- All issues of the Kamloops Wawa newspaper (I have them)
- The Chinook Book of Devotions
- The Chinook Manual
- St Marks Kloosh Yiem
- The Chinook Bible History
- The Chinook Jargon play Joseph and His Brethren
- The Passion Play narrative
- Maybe a few stray things said spontaneously by Christian Settlers
- A not very skillful version of the book of John that someone put out
- …and so on…
Let the tallying begin!
Having then shown how little of the Bible has been actually translated, and being able to make use of those initial efforts, some up-and-coming scholar(s) can then publish their analysis showing how scant an amount of by-the-book Christianity was ever put across to Indigenous people in Chinook — Chinook being the main language used for it across our region.
And, the rest of the Good Book could then put into Chinuk Wawa. Pick your dialect.
A competent community-oriented linguist, such as myself (HIRE A LINGUIST!), would welcome the gig.
HIRE A LINGUIST!
𛰅𛱁𛰃𛱂 𛰙𛱁𛱆𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛱄𛰙𛰃𛱄𛰙? qʰáta mayka tə́mtəm?
kata maika tumtum? Qu’en penses-tu?
What do you think?
And can you say it in Chinuk Wawa?
Hey! Teach Yourself northern-dialect Chinook Jargon!
And join free Zoom sessions…
Contact me for the Zoom link.

