Revised CHINOOK welcome msg; comments wanted

[Dave Robertson]

LhaXayEm!

I've just done some work on revising the "welcome" message that gets sent
out to each new suscriber.  Can you take a moment to read this, and give
your reactions?

Thanks -- Dave
=================================================================
=================================================================

Welcome to CHINOOK, the list for people interested in Chinuk-wawa (Chinook
Jargon).  Discussions of Northwest languages, history, cultures and
cultural contact are welcomed, as is communication in this language.  We
encourage all efforts to learn, research, and share Chinuk-wawa.  We also
warmly welcome speakers, students, and scholars of other pidgin and creole
languages.  We hope you'll find much of interest here!

Uk man ya t'u7wEn ukuk list / okoke list yaka tyee / your list owner &
moderator
is
 Dave Robertson (ddr11 at columbia.edu).

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(Revised 4/29/01)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

CHINOOK -- Chinook Jargon and related languages, cultures, and history.

*Volume*:  You can expect an average of 2 or 3 messages a day from this
list.

*To post*:  Email your postings to chinook at listserv.linguistlist.org.
They'll
automatically be sent out to all the members of this list.

*Etiquette*:  Our Chinuk-wawa circle welcomes everyone.  You can expect us
to be civil and respectful toward you, and you should expect the same from
us.  No question or posting is inappropriate, if you are comfortable with
it yourself.  Newcomers might consider "lurking" (just reading for a
while) in order to become familiar with our discussions.  Another
excellent option is to look at the...

*Archives*:  Every posting to CHINOOK is stored in our publicly accessible
archives on the Web.  The archives are updated weekly, and are located at
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/chinook.html.  You can learn a
great deal by browsing the archives; it's a great research tool!  For the
convenience of researchers, the archives are equipped with "full-text"
search
capability, so you can hunt for any keyword you wish.

*How to write & read Chinuk-wawa*:  Several ways have been used to write
this
language, from the older spellings used in popular Chinook books of about a
hundred years ago to more precise spellings that reflect how native speakers
have pronounced the language.

An example of an old-fashioned spelling would be "Alta nika
mamook tzum kopa Chinook Wawa spose mika."  ("Now I'm writing in Chinook
Jargon
for you.")  These old spellings were based on the way English is written
and pronounced.

The same phrase in the more precise, newer spelling would be "Alta nayka
mamuk t'sEm khapa Chinuk pus mayka."  In this writing system, each sound is
always written one way, and one way only.  So, you always know how to
pronounce the words...You just need to know the alphabet.  You may want to
save or print out the following table:

 ===========================================================================
*Chinuk-wawa email alphabet*:

a /a/ as in English "ma"

b /b/ as in English

ch /ch/ as in English "chin"
c'h /ch/ plus /7/ simultaneously (see /7/ below!)

d /d/ as in English

e / eh /e/ as in English "bet"
ey /ey/ as in English "they"
E /E/ as in English "fasten", /u/ as in English "sun"

g /g/ as in English

h /h/ as in English

i /i/ as in English "machine"
{I /I/ as in English "pit"}

k /k/ as in English "skid" or the /c/ of French "cacao"
k' /k/ plus /7/ simultaneously
kh /k/ plus a strong puff of air
kw /k/ plus /w/ simultaneously (/k/ with the lips rounded)
k'w /k'/ plus /w/ simultaneously
khw /kh/ plus /w/ simultaneously

l /l/ as in English "Lulu"
lh / L /l/ whispered (a very common sound in Chinuk-wawa!)

m /m/ as in English

n /n/ as in English

o /o/ as in English "so"

p /p/ as in English "spy" or Spanish "papa"
p' /p/ plus /7/ simultaneously
ph /p/ plus a strong puff of air

q like /k/ pronounced in the very back of your mouth
q' /q/ plus /7/ simultaneously
qh /q/ plus a strong puff of air
qw /q/ plus /w/ simultaneously
q'w /q'/ plus /w/ simultaneously
qhw /qh/ plus /w/ simultaneously

r /r/ as in English "red"

s /s/ as in English "so"
sh /sh/ as in English "show"

t /t/ as in English "stow", or Italian "ti"
t' /t/ plus /7/ simultaneously
th /t/ plus a strong puff of air

tl'/tL' /t/ plus /lh/ plus /7/ simultaneously...wait till you hear this
sound!

ts      /ts/ in English "cats"
t's     /ts/ plus /7/ simultaneously

u /u/ as in English "Lulu"
{U /U/ as in English "put"}

w /w/ as in English "we"

x like the /j/ in Spanish "jalapen~o", or the soft /ch/ in German
 "ich"
xw /x/ plus /w/ simultaneously

X like the hard /ch/ in German "Bach" or Scottish "loch"; /x/ in the
        back of your mouth
Xw /X/ plus /w/ simultaneously

y /y/ as in English "yard"

7 / ? the catch in your voice in the middle of English "uh-oh!!"  Yes, the
        question mark can be used to write this sound!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acknowledgments:  Tony A. Johnson, Language Program of the Confederated
Tribes
of Grand Ronde, Oregon; Dr. Henry B. Zenk, Portland, Oregon.  Sounds
enclosed in
{curly brackets} above aren't ordinarily distinguished in the Grand Ronde
writing
system, as of 2000.
 ===========================================================================


*New users* of L-Soft's LISTSERV format (used by the CHINOOK list) are
encouraged to read the online files LISTSERV REFCARD and LISTSERV
GENINTRO, which can be obtained by sending the following commands in the
body of a mail message to LISTSERV at LISTSERV.NET:

 INFO REFCARD
 INFO GENINTRO

However, these files may be too technical or too vague for some of us.
So...

*Questions* about the list can always be sent to Dave Robertson, the list
owner / moderator, at <ddr11 at columbia.edu>.  I'll always be happy to help
you
with any questions or problems you may have.

Your suggestions about how to make this "welcome" message more useful are
also
genuinely appreciated.  Can you take a moment to email me?

Hayash mersi / hiyu mahsie / thank you very much!