Category Archive: Uncategorized

On the question of the earliest alíkʰuchik in Chinook Jargon

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The 2012 Grand Ronde Tribes dictionary of Chinuk Wawa uses anthropologist Albert Gatschet’s 1877 field notes of Tualatin K’alapuya language for evidence that alíkʰuchik, in the English translation of one word, “argues for… Continue reading

“The Survey of Vancouver English”: Part 4, oolichan

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Our final installment in this series looks at a really interesting Pacific NW coast word; do you know it?

What to make of apparent Verb+X compounds?

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My ongoing work on Louis-Napoléon St Onge’s manuscript dictionary of the Central Dialect, undated but maybe from the 1890s and using earlier data, has me trying to analyze instances of the Verb kuli (‘run’)… Continue reading

Polynesians in Chinuk Wawa

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A fine single source on the words for Polynesians in Chinuk Wawa is Louis-Napoléon St Onge’s manuscript dictionary of the Central Dialect.

“Doings of ye Trincomalee”, and an early item in the “Columbian Line”

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Naika wawa masi kopa… (I thank Pir Lio), who brought a previously under-the-radar historical document to my attention: “Doings of ye Trincomalee“ Image credit: National Museum of the Royal Navy This is the… Continue reading

Learn a BC language — free!

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Thanks to Maxwell, who is the first person so far to learn the language from our free Teach Yourself lessons! Scan! Share it everywhere online! Yes, Chinook Jargon is a BC language of Indigenous heritage:… Continue reading

Chinook Jargon in the wild: Elep Avenue

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I was talking with an older lady who lives in Colville, Washington, who told me of an “Amish” street name there…

Why are there handwritten marks and notes in St Onge’s copy of Demers and Blanchet (and St Onge) 1871?

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This online copy of “Chinook Dictionary, Catechism, Prayers and Hymns” belonged to its editor, Louis-Napoléon St Onge.

Cousins and siblings in Central Dialect

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It’s not easy to find one word for a ‘cousin’ in Chinook Jargon.

The etymology of mitás ‘leggings’

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I thought I had pointed this out previously in this space.