I’ve just read linguist Derek Bickerton’s fun memoir, “Bastard Tongues”, which inadvertently gave me an idea about Chinook Jargon.

Chako pi wawa kanamokwst nesaika! ‘Come talk with us!’ And be part of keeping Chinuk Wawa back alive.

I’m delighted to share with you another Chinook Jargon song from more than a century ago!

For making me aware of today’s item, thanks to Lucas Damer, who I ran into in Chilliwack, BC this week at the 60th anniversary of the ICSNL (International Conference on Salish and Neighbouring… Continue reading →

From the Grand Ronde Tribes 2012 dictionary of Chinuk Wawa, you can learn a word for ‘turtle’, íɬaqwá. 

I remember folks, years ago, asking me if there was information about BC’s old residential schools for Indigenous kids in the Kamloops Wawa newspaper, and telling them “nope”. 

I just put up a post here about the “Ave Maria” (Hail Mary) prayer as preserved in H-T Lempfrit’s notebook, and it included an odd use of mank-.

My specialized book report on “Edward Ermatinger’s York Factory Express Journal: Being a Record of Journeys Made Between Fort Vancouver and Hudson Bay in the Years 1827-1828″ (published by the Royal Society of… Continue reading →

I’ve just been in Chilliwack, BC, at the 60th ICSNL (International Conference on Salish and Neighbouring Languages), which led to my becoming aware of a new study that discusses Chinook Jargon.

I try to read what’s said about Chinook Jargon in the scholarly literature — so you don’t have to!