Sywash Derogatory?

[Ray Sayah Jr.]

Dear Peter,

Anyone who criticizes the ignorant (ignorant townspeople or
locals) in such a way as this letter writer did - should be
sure to include references to qualify what he/she is
writing. Otherwise the person loses credibility and may also
make the Indian community look "over-sensitive."

This said, let me share my analysis on the word "si'-wash."
I studied french for 5 years so I have a clue here. The word
siwash is a mispronunciation of the french word "sauvage."
(Also according to George Gibbs)(The "y" that the small
community uses would cause a further mispronunciation.)

But the French word, "sauvage" is not necessarily the same
as the English word, "savage" as the letter writer alleges.
Sauvage is a word used for any aboriginal group. One
translation in the Larousse French dictionary is "indigene"
which means "indiginous."

One of my knowledgeable sources tells me that Indians he
spoke to in the past few decades may have considered this
word derogatory but that they still used to to mean "indian"
and that they referred to themselves as such.

The English language in America has failed to find a
universally acceptable name for the continent's earliest
residents, how can we expect the French explorers of the
19th century to have found a perfectly inoffensive name?

Perhaps the word for Indian should be "tilikum" (or other
spelling thereof) which people would the Chinook people have
been speaking of?

-Ray Sayah Jr.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Chinook List
> [mailto:CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG]On
> Behalf Of Peter Cawley
> Sent: Monday, January 08, 2001 7:59 PM
> To: CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
> Subject: Sywash Derogatory?
>
>
> Living in Lantzville on central Vancouver Island,
> I have noticed the
> occasional Chinook Jargon place name. Two of the
> foothills that overlook
> the village of Lantzville are named Hyas Ridge
> and Sywash Ridge. A road
> called Sywash Ridge Crescent runs across the ridge.
>
> In the January issue of  "The Lantzville Log:
> Lantzville's Community
> Monthly", a letter writer took issue with the use
> of the word "Sywash" as a
> street name. She wrote:
> "Sywash is a Chinook Jargon Trade word meaning
> savage, a derogatory name
> refering to the indigenous people of Canada and
> in the same category a
> "nigger, kike,  wop, kraut or chink". I cannot
> imagine anyone in Lantzville
> including these offensive words in their
> vocabulary, never mind using them
> in street names. I can only conclude the citizens
> of Lantzville do not know
> the meaning of the word Siwash and therefore do
> not realize the racist slur
> and gross insult incorporated into their
> community plan. I can only hope
> that, with the benefit of knowledge, the street
> name wil be changed on that
> lovely ridge to something truly reflective of its
> beauty and location".
>
> Any comments?
>
> Peter Cawley
> pcawley at island.net
>
> Peter Cawley
> pcawley at island.net
>