An excellent document of Chinook Jargon use — especially in the underdocumented northern end of its range — from a fella who put real effort into learning it, at a time when the pidgin… Continue reading →

For sheer humour & bizarre, possibly unintentional, homage to some of the Indigenous traditions that were insulted earlier in the same issue of Kamloops Wawa, my favourite advertisement in Chinook Jargon is the following:

Yesterday the priest mocked traditional “wailing like Coyote” in mourning.  Today, ritual bathing comes under fire.

The priest tries to kill the Indian to save the person, or at least their soul…

1813 would be early evidence for extensive Chinook Jargon use.  On this point, I’m in agreement with Robert Francis Jones, the modern editor of “Annals of Astoria: The Headquarters Log of the Pacific… Continue reading →

It’s called “A-B Testing” in modern marketing. Can you spot the differences? Which version got a better response?

I’ll merely excerpt this lengthy early-frontier era Eastern Oregon anecdote from a late-frontier era California newspaper. OREGON WILDS. Lost in a Driving Snowstorm on a Desolate Prairie. BLIND SEARCH FOR A TRAIL. Frightful Fall… Continue reading →

This little new discovery is one of the earliest substantial Chinook Jargon texts ever published. It’s doggerel, self-proclaimed.  The eye-dialect spellings (Costigan’s Irish accent?) in the English parts are a giveaway about that… Continue reading →

(Back to: Part 1.  Part 2.  Part 3.  Part 4.  Part 5.  Part 6.) <Ch. 7. The Magi.> Tlun taii shako nanish ShK. Three chiefs visit Jesus.        <1.> Wik lili pi… Continue reading →

(View & hear Dale McCreery reading parts 1-6 aloud!) (Back to: Part 1.  Part 2.  Part 3.  Part 4.  Part 5.) Wach man kopa lamuto. The guards over the sheep.      … Continue reading →