wawa kopa lamah / sign languages

[phil cash cash]

i would venture a reply in relation to "mahsh lemah wawa (throw hand speech?)"
or as i have commonly heard my elders call it, "throwing signs".  in nez
perce we call the indigenous sign language, "sepúupke'ykse," or literally
"causing the hand to be waved."

it has been suggested, and i believe so, that indigenous sign language has
been an important source for language contact and diffussion, however, few
have ever sought to confirm this unique phenomena.   

for example, in nez perce, our name for Whiteman is "sooyáapoo".  it is
said that this word is derived from the Chinook Jargon "syapó" or "seahpo"
which is the term for "hat".  further, this CJ form is from the French
expression "chapeau".  so why hat?

in the indigenous sign language, the term used for whites is glossed, "the
people with hats or caps" (ref: Clark, The Indian Sign Language).  his sign
description is given as:

--hold right hand, back up and to right, in front of, close to, and a
little to left of face, index finger extended pointing to left, others and
thumbs closed; draw the hand to right, index finger passing horizontally in
front, close to, and opposite eyes (p.402).

it is an interesting puzzle on the source of the term.  one of my elders
has speculated on this and other potential semantic sources for nez perce
words.  anyway, i just wanted to venture a response although i am not at
all familiar with american sign language.

phil cash cash
cayuse/nez perce


At 09:52 PM 5/20/99 -0700, you wrote:
>Ikt man, klonas klaksta, klonas kumtux:
>Someone, whoever, perhaps knows:
>
>Siwash wawa kopa lamah, yaka mitlite tenas kahkwa Boston lemah wawa?
>Native sign language(s), is it at all like American sign language?
>
>Nowitka, Boston lemah wawa mitlite elip hiyu kahkwa King Chauch wawa.
>Of course, American sign language has much in common with English.
>
>Mahsie,
>Andy Nousen
>Corvallis, OR
>
>