Category Archive: Chinuk Wawa

So two chiefs and a Catholic priest travel to Europe… (part 1)

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[Edited December 1, 2014 by Dave — Dale McCreery has requested that I add a guide to the probable pronunciation of this Chinook Wawa, so for an illustration of that, I’m adding it… Continue reading →

Magnificat in lingua Chinook

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Dave’s note: This post accidentally went public before I was done with it. Sorry for the confusion, and enjoy this valuable Jargon document now that it’s finished! An unusual find is this Chinuk Wawa… Continue reading →

“Houn’ Dawg” song originated in Oregon

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Today’s post was one of my favorites to write.  It started with finding a Chinook song I hadn’t known before (always a thrill!), and it only got better as I followed the historical… Continue reading →

Jimmy’s Kill, a Tsimshian tsall tsale

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J.H. McGregor, “Jimmy’s Kill“.  BC Mining Record.  Christmas Supplement, 1900, pages 68-72. A narrative seemingly based on the writer’s actual experiences in far northwestern British Columbia, “Jimmy’s Kill” has dialogue that rings true… Continue reading →

Mr. Bunker will employ good men at $3 a day, but no cultus men at any price

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A nice bit of Chinook creeping into local English in the Kootenays: The Nelson (BC) Miner of Saturday, July 19th, 1890 run an article at the top of the middle of three columns on page… Continue reading →

“A slave jargon exists among the Nez Percé Indians”

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William Wallace Beach (ed.).  1877.  The Indian miscellany: Containing papers on the history, antiquities, arts…  Albany: J. Munsell. In Albert S. Gatschet’s article here, “Indian languages of the Pacific states and territories”, page 444  brings… Continue reading →

As long as it is not a black eye it will be all right

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The very first issue of the Chinook Wawa newspaper, Kamloops Wawa, came out on May 2 of 1891.  From the very start, its editor Father Le Jeune’s sense of humor shows.  (Read on.)  … Continue reading →

Jargon Chinook sitkum-san-tali

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“Tɨmnákni tímat (writing from the heart): Sahaptin discourse and text in the speaker writing of Xílux̣in”: An excellent MA thesis by a longtime Chinuk Wawa friend, Phil Cash Cash, who some of you will remember… Continue reading →

Having a hopping time: Chinookie and more

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I have no more to say than that some of us would find the combination of Chinook Jargon and a Northwest craft beer to make a perfect day. Better, even, if Chinook hops… Continue reading →

Some reminiscences of old Victoria

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Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria, by Edgar Fawcett.  Toronto: William Briggs.  1912. A nicely told personal memoir by Fawcett (1847-1923, immigrated to Victoria 1859).  I read his words as accurately detailed, and they… Continue reading →