Author Archive

Reader poll: is “chum” salmon inferior?

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Based on conversations I’ve had with actual Pacific Northwesterners, this Chinook Jargon-related question suggests itself:

Flipping a 180°: máɬx̣wəli ‘from fire’

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Among the words from the Lower Chinookan language that we know in Chinuk Wawa is the adverb máɬx̣wəli ‘away; over away; placed elsewhere; on the other side; inland; over in’. That’s the CW… Continue reading →

1901, Sechelt: I’ll come back and shoot you when I know Chinook

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Humor! Ar! Ar!

Etymologies: the huge family of Lower Chinookan -skan, and the huge value of back-translating

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I’m not here to criticize my academic great-grandfather Franz Boas, I’m here to help folks understand Indigenous languages a bit better, just like him.

Spotted in the wild: Chinuk restaurant in Bellingham, WA

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I don’t really get what’s so “Chinuk” about this place — — but their logo suggests a real PNW treat. Bellingham, Washington’s Chinuk Restaurant, “flavors of the Northwest”. 𛰅𛱁‌𛰃𛱂 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛱄𛰙‌𛰃𛱄𛰙? qʰáta mayka… Continue reading →

“Kaltash wawa” is one of the oldest known Chinook Jargon phrases

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Noted from the early 1810’s at Fort Astoria, kʰə́ltəs wáwa is among the handful of multi-word phrases in Chinuk Wawa that we know from the earliest documents.

Last ‘cow’: Wintu and Chimariko at the farthest southern reach of CJ

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I see one of my favorite college professors documented the farthest southern reach of any Chinook Jargon word!

“Field Recordings”: Quinne Larsen’s 2025 award-nominated short film in Chinuk Wawa

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ɬúsh pus q’wəlán úkuk kʰapa chinúk sháwásh tílixam: 

MYSTERY: what edition of what dictionary is this?

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Hey, Chinook crowd! Can we crowdsource an answer here?

1800s, Clackamas lands: Laughing at missionaries

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Did the phrase “the above chief” precede Chinook Jargon’s sáx̣ali-táyí, and inspire it?