Seems like it was always in the post-frontier era, after Jargon declined from daily use, that Settlers started naming things in it.

You can express irony in a pidgin language!

Unnamed immigrants from China had something to say about devastating floods in California’s capital in the frontier era.

No vaccine deniers in this bunch!

TLDR answer: Métis people!

(Here’s a link to Volume 1.) One of our really good resources on BC Chinuk Wawa — which is far and away the best-documented variety of the language — is the jottings of… Continue reading →

Various derogatory or incorrect place names have been officially replaced, in the most recent meeting of the Washington State Committee on Geographic Names.

Are we to understand that “Frank”, “John”, and the girls are Grand Ronde Indians talking Chinuk Wawa?

Another ray of sunshine in the news for us Chinuk Wawa lovers!

Unusually for Laura Belle Downey-Bartlett’s collected Chinook Jargon songs, this one’s an original, not a translation of a hit.