estimate(s) of numbers of CJ speakers?

[Scott Tyler]

LaXayam tlaas! Hi Ya'll
I want to weigh in too! Or put in my tsikamin!
Growing up in the late 60s in Neah Bay,
We did use a few Chinook words which were part of the local lexicon: words 
such as skookum, skookum chuck, humm, oopooch and a short list of words 
incorporated into Makah that went through an M to B shift along with 
Makah---libeetoo (sheep), boos boos (cow), etc.  Also, there was Chinook 
Jargon in some of our slahaal songs and kweekwaatlhla songs which were fun 
to sing.
The inspired me to learn more about Jargon and perhaps understand more about 
the native poetry in those songs.
When I attended college at the UW in Seattle in the 70s I met a student from 
the Skagit Tribe who spoke a few words to me that he learned growing up. 
"klahowya, ikta mika mamook?" This of course
was a moment of intertribal bonding and made the remedial English class I 
was taking more tolerable.
Years later I spent more time to learn more Chinook, enjoyed reading 'Tenas 
Wawa' and surfing the net for wawa, and creating my own poetry in WaWa.
I would like to be considered a second hand speaker (like a second hand 
smoker).
Scott



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Duane Pasco" <dpasco at EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG>
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:21 PM
Subject: Re: estimate(s) of numbers of CJ speakers?


> Sally......
> Do you mean speakers, or someone who learned from a book?
> Duane Pasco
> P.S. That sounds arrogant, doesn't it. Sorry, I didn't mean it that  way. 
> It's just that there is a difference.
> When I wrote my dictionary in the late 80's I couldn't find but two 
> persons beside myself who learned it as a child in the pre-war years  and 
> could actually speak it.
> A few folks seem to be able to get pretty good with it by reading  Tenas 
> Wawa, which is full of conversation. They learn to think in  Jargon 
> instead of trying to put sentences together by looking at the  dictionary.
> Anyway, to answer your question, I guess it comes down to qualifying  what 
> is meant by "speaking." I think there may be more in the States  than in 
> Canada, but I don't have a clue.
>
> On Aug 4, 2009, at 7:37 PM, Sally Thomason wrote:
>
>> Dear Chinook Listers,
>>
>> A student of mine is writing a paper on Chinook Jargon
>> and wondering how many speakers of the language there
>> are currently.  A 1990 census report he saw says 17
>> (but that might've been just US speakers, and I assume
>> there are more in Canada).  That number seems awfully
>> low, given the vigorous revitalization efforts that have
>> now been under way for some time.
>>
>> So...does anyone have an educated guess as to how many
>> speakers there are now, in Canada + the US?
>>
>>    - Sally
>>
>> To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'.  To respond  privately 
>> to the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'.  Hayu masi!
>
> To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'.  To respond privately 
> to the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'.  Hayu masi! 

To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'.  To respond privately to the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'.  Hayu masi!