4-language mix in JMR Le Jeune’s notes to self
If you like puzzles, read on.
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1890: Washington state’s “coat of arms” coulda been a contender
The Washington Territorial seal (not coat of arms) (image credit: State Symbols USA) A helpful editorial suggestion for a new, improved (because humorous) use of Chinuk Wawa in official symbols of the new state… Continue reading
“Naika tilicum” and Native ways of talking about your relatives
One page after declaring the fur trade extinct on the coast, Geo. Gibbs (1877) tries to explain why nayka tilixam is such a common expression among Native people, and by extension among all Chinuk… Continue reading
So many Métis words in interior PNW languages (part 8: Nɬeʔkepmxcín / Thompson River Salish)
There are tremendous numbers of loanwords into Nɬeʔkepmxcín (“Thompson River Salish”)… (Image credit: Wikipedia) (Here’s a link to all previous installments in this mini-series.) Many came from the neighbouring tribal languages Halq’eméylem to… Continue reading
1862: You Saby — blending Chinese Pidgin English and Chinuk Wawa in Oregon
Way back in the “frontier” era, when Oregon was a young state, you could publish an entire newspaper article in Chinook Jargon blended with the West Coast variety of Chinese Pidgin English.
Early 1860s: Chinuk Wawa’s distribution in Idaho
A book that collects early pioneer memories tells us something noteworthy about the development of Chinuk Wawa.
1901: Telegrams “in unknown tongue” (Chinuk Wawa and Cree)
I betcha the Cree one is more or less pidginized…
So many Métis words in interior PNW languages (part 7: Nsilxcən / Okanagan-Colville Salish)
As we’re finding to be frequent among the modern Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest interior, Nsilxcən Salish carries many, many indications of a substantial contact history with Métis people’s speech. (All installments… Continue reading
1875: “Legend of Chemeketa”, an epic doggerel poem
Among the most famed “pioneers” was Captain Oliver Cromwell Applegate Sr. (1845-1938).
1864 + 1883: Chinuk Wawa cussin’ in a California newspaper or two
Truly rough “frontier” humor wasn’t rare in print at one time…