Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, or, Trade Language of OregonGibbs, George
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Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, or, Trade Language of Oregon
Gibbs, George
Chinook jargon -- Glossaries, vocabularies, etc.
In the nouns derived from the French, the definite article _le_, _la_, has
almost in every instance been incorporated into the word, and the same has
in one or two instances been prefixed to nouns not of French origin.
Besides the words created by direct onomatopoeia, there are quite a number
which are really Indian, but have their origin in the similarity of sound
to sense.
Dr. Scouler's analogy between the Nootkan and "Columbian," or Chinook, was
founded on the following words:
_English._ _Tlaoquatch and Nutka._ _Columbian._
plenty, *aya, *haya.
no, *wik, *wake.
water, tchaak, chuck.
good, *hooleish, *closh.
bad, *peishakeis, *peshak.
man, *tchuckoop, tillicham.
woman, *tlootsemin, *clootchamen.
child, *tanassis, *tanass.
now, tlahowieh, clahowiah.
come, *tchooqua, *sacko.
slave, mischemas, *mischemas.
what are you doing *akoots-ka-*mamook, ekta-*mammok.
what are you saying *au-kaak-*wawa, ekta-*wawa.
let me see, *nannanitch, *nannanitch.
sun, *opeth, ootlach.
sky, *sieya, *saya.
fruit, *chamas, *camas.
to sell, *makok, *makok.
understand, *commatax, *commatax.
But of these, none marked with an asterisk belong to the Chinook or any of
its dialects. The greater part of them are undoubtedly Nootkan, though
there are errors in the spelling and, in some instances, in the meaning.
Of the rest, the Nootkan _tchaak_ and the Chinook _tl'tsuk_ alone presents
an analogy. _Klahowiah_ does not mean "now," nor do I believe it is
Nootkan, in any sense. It is, as explained in the dictionary, the Chinook
salutation, "How do you," "Good-bye," and is supposed to be derived from
the word for _poor_, _miserable_. _Mischemas_ is not Chinook, and is
probably not Nootkan. With the exception of Franchere, whose short
vocabulary was published by Mr. Gallatin, and Mr. Hale, all the writers
mentioned by Ludwig who have given specimens of the Chinook language, have
presented it in its Jargon form, more or less mixed with the neighboring
ones, and with corruptions of French and English words. Mr. Swan, among
others, has been led into this error. The place of his residence,
Shoalwater Bay, is common ground of the Chinook and Chihalis Indians, and
the degraded remnants of the two tribes are closely intermarried, and use
both languages almost indifferently.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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