“Potlatch” #99 with a bullet!
Probably one of the most visible pop-culture uses of the Chinook Jargon word “Potlatch” was this #99 hit by the Native American band Redbone: (Their drummer was from Neah Bay.) It wasn’t as… Continue reading
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“Kanaka(s)” in old newspapers
It’s often been noted with interest that Chinook Jargon, and 19th-century English in the greater Northwest, both had a word specifically for Pacific Islanders: kanaka. There were plenty of Islanders out here at the… Continue reading
Who talks with whom? Or, there really is a Northwest speech community
This is a typically fascinating question by Robert Krulwich at his blog: Who talks with whom? Go read it. It’s fascinating the data that support the observation that folks in a given region… Continue reading
Potlatch Club ball invitation
The Daily Morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) Tuesday, March 27, 1888, column 3. I invite your interpretations of this text! Most of it’s quite clear. Some is new to me. — Dave Potlatch Club Ball.… Continue reading
Chaku-Kəmdəks Chinuk Wawa
Another website that’s great for us Chinook Jargon learners and preservers is Eric Michael Bernando’s blog “Chaku-Kəmdəks Chinuk Wawa“. As the URL for Eric’s site tells, it’s a place to “learn Chinook Jargon”.… Continue reading
VOVA!
Among the few (but increasing number of) websites where you can practice your Chinook Jargon, is VOVA. That’s the Vocal & Verbal Arts Archives. They’re a nonprofit working for language documentation and revitalization;… Continue reading
Northwest nerdery: Soccer + Chinook Jargon
Northwest nerdery: soccer + Chinook Jargon… Portland Timbers fans holding up banners during the national anthem before a match: “TIMBERS HIAS SKOOKUM” (it’s a chant, too) “WHITECAPS HIAS CULTUS” “SOUNDERS HIAS MESACHIE” “TIMBERS… Continue reading
Chinook Waw-Waw revitalization (100 years ago)
Chinook Waw-Waw clubs are being formed for its study with a view to its perpetuation. –from a book review of Laura Belle Downey-Bartlett’s “Chinook-English Songs”, in the Spokane Spokesman-Review, Sunday morning, March 7, 1915,… Continue reading
Cruisings in the Cascades
Looking through an antiquarian bookseller’s website, I spied a neat-sounding book that was new to me. They wanted a shocking price, but Google Books had it as a free ebook 🙂 Turns out… Continue reading
Sex! Or, why is the “M-word” taboo?
In Chinook Jargon dialects, the word “moosum” (“sleep”) is more or less tabooed. In some, which I associate with the Coast and which I tend to perceive as older, there’s a phrase “tenas moosum”.… Continue reading