Earliest, best evidence of the Alaskan phrase “skookum paper”
A phrase I learned from doing research in Alaska is “skookum paper”.
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1857 West Coast Chinese Pidgin English: Dr. Lola of Sutterville
On the subject of Americans’ familiarity with Chinese Pidgin English, I was struck that the following newspaper piece only bothers to explain one word.
Kamloops hymns “testify” to English loans
The most recent English-language loans into BC Chinook Jargon, as odd and casual as they may sound to ear that are used to traditional (southern-dialect) CJ, are the normal way to express things… Continue reading
1788: Meares in the Nootka zone, and the limitations of proto-Nootka Jargon
A hat tip to Dr. Peter Bakker for nudging me to more fully explore British maritime fur-trader John Meares’ journals…
Elma, WA: Preacher could speak in tongues, not in Chinook!
This anecdote puts me in mind of the skeptic who tested a psychic by giving him questions in Chinook đ
Is pchiĚxĚŁ ‘green’ related to tipsu ‘leaf’?
This is the first article idea that ever came to me in a dream…
WJ Samarin “Chinook Jargon and Pidgin Historiography”
There’s a 1986 scholarly article that I recommend more highly than any other…
19th c.: THE BRITISH COLONIST (Part 2: the Howse case)
A Settler who went on to advertise in Chinook in the Kamloops Wawa was accused of murdering a Native man, Billy Harper…
Colville French MeĚtis who spoke Chinook Jargon but not “Indian”
There are US MeĚtis people, too, of course.
Strychnine again! “His Wits Saved His Life”
After Alex Code’s recent find of strychnine being discussed in Chinook Jargon (as lamachiĚn ‘medicine!), this frontiersy anecdote sure caught my eye…