CJ Loans

[Henry Kammler]

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I got this interesting msg. from Dell Hymes and it was probably
meant for the
whole list
re: loans Nootka > CJ / Chinook proper > CJ
Henry
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In regard to Nootka and Chinook as sources, influences,
prestigeful.
I don't know enough about Nootka to say, but there seem to be at
least
three words in Chinookan languages proper (not CJ) shared with
Nootka, and
which probably came from Nootka to Chinookan.  One is a word
associated
with spirit power (ts'a:yiq), another the likelihood that
Chinookan 'otter,
'-nana-m-uks includes the Nootkan and Kwakitul stem for 'girzzly
bear',
nana- (ssee my 'Commentary' in Valdman and Highfield (eds.),
Theoretical
Orientations in Creole Lingusiatics (NY: Acadmeic Press, 1980),
p. 410-1).
The other two appear to be names of items that would have been
traded in
some form, such as furs. But here Kwakitul 'young seal', wule:'xu
seems
borrowed from Chinookan, wa-lxaiu, where wa- is a nominal
prefix.  And
Kwakiutl Ts'o:noqoa, 'an ogress reprsened on masks and house
posts, seems
likely to come from Chinookan -t'u-naqu, which is analyzable in
Chinookan
(t'u- good, powerful)
          I would have suspetced that the Nootka and Kwakwala had
higher
prestige, and would be the source generally. Perhaps further
study will
show that to be linguistically the case.  Not that  Chinookans
would admit
that anyone else was better than themselves.
        But this is only a small part of a puzzle.  One would
need to trace
trade and loan words among the Salishan languages along the way
as well.
My impression as to the state of published information is that
that would
be difficult.
                Dell Hymes