Author Archive

Could ‘lamprey eel’ be Proto-Salish in origin?

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Chinook Jargon’s skákʰwəl ‘lamprey eel’ is a weird-looking word, for having come from Chinookan languages.

BC: Misfiled: “new” Chinook hymns + the earliest Stó:lō manuscript

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An item at the Royal BC Museum filed as “Journal, Southern BC” ought in fairness to be described better.

Great little snapshot of how iskum ≠ tl’ap

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When I was a younger learner of Chinuk Wawa, you can bet I had a heck of a time getting ‘get’.

Mrs Ada Markishtum’s marked-up copy of a Chinook Jargon dictionary (Makah Tribe)

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A Makah woman contributed this treasure to posterity!

2026 Chinook Jargon Gathering last weekend: Y’all come back now, hear?

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This photo from our gathering in Port Coquitlam, BC on Friday and Saturday sends the message: k’ilapai / k’ilapay “Come back” next time! It was wonderful as always to be in the same… Continue reading →

See you (by Zoom?) at the 2026 Chinook Jargon Gathering! Friday + Saturday

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I’m putting up this post as I hit the road for Port Coquitlam, BC, where we’ll have the 2026 Chinook Jargon Gathering — Here’s how we can see each other there.

-s ‘possessive of pronouns’ in Wakashan languages explains a BC Coast regionalism in Chinook Jargon

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Okey-doke, I guess I’ve put the whole story into the headline up there!

What do you make this mean?

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From the 1902 “Chinook Book of Devotions throughout the Year“, page 74: Drit nsaika sik pi kikuli tomtom What do you make this mean? I’m curious for a reason. Leave a comment with… Continue reading →

Another vocative formation in Northern Chinook Jargon

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To catch someone’s attention using their name, all dialects of Chinuk Wawa allow just hollering “Tony!” or “Paisley!” or whatever.

Talking about lahal songs (including Chinook Jargon ones) in Tla-o-qui-aht

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I feel lucky.