Baird, Dennis W. (ed.) "faithful to their Tribe & friends: Samuel Black's 1829 Fort Nez Perces Report"

[phil cash cash]

The Black reference about a "Patois" having been spoken and influences
"creeping" into their speech, i think, indicates a pattern of language
shift.  Not long after, say circa 1850's, the original Cayuse language
and its speakers shifted to Nez Perce due to intermariage and a
political alliance with the Nez Perce.  Only a few original Cayuse words
are spoken today by the Cayuse.

There may be Cayuse correspondances with CJ.  For example:

[tufetens], [tuftens] v. 'to sew with a needle' (see Black)

now compare this with:

[tup'shin] n. 'needle' (see Thomas)

Note the presence of labiodental [f]!  If indeed, as Black suggests, a
language shift was underway, it may be possible to find evidence of this
in gender-based vocabulary, (i.e. underlings?).  It would certainly be
interesting if this were true, much like Sarah Thomason's reference to a
slave vocabulary among the Nez Perce.

Note as well, that the [tu-], [cuu-] morpheme, is perhaps an ancient PNW
root often associated with 'awl, needle' and pointed objects.

Cayuse is a mystery and i too have joined the bandwagon of researchers.
There is a general impression that the Cayuse were very secretive and of
a fierce character.  I don't see evidence of Cayuse as being a contact
variety.  Its isolate status is warranted, but indications are present
that it is definitely Penutian (if ever such a thing existed).

phil cash cash
cayuse/nez perce

> (Moscow:  University of Idaho Library, 2000)
>
> No, the title does not have initial capitalization.
>
> Page 83:  "The Waylet or Cayouse have altogeather a different
Language,
> but there appears many Words borrowed from the other language (Willa
Walla
> &c) or the Willa Walla &c from them; creeping into their Dialects
> imperceptibly; by the by I have to remark that we are not sure of
having
> the real Cayouse Language, they perhaps have _Patois_, they
communicate,
> besides what we do, pickup is often from underlings about their Camps,
not
> wishing to trouble themselves too much...from the Dalls to the Sea its
> Chinook they Talk."
>
> The 'Chinook' mentioned here would seem to mean the Chinookan
languages,
> and not Jargon; the geographical and linguistic description stands at
the
> end of a pretty complete cataloging of peoples, territories and
languages
> of the Inland NW as well as the 'Shasty' or 'Streaked Faces' on the
> Klamath River.  [All spellings sic.]
>
> The note on a possible non-native-directed (not 'real') variety of the
> Cayuse language reflects real astuteness on the part of this British
> observer, who mentions in the same passage his acquaintance with both
Cree
> [Algonquian] and 'Chipewean' [Athabaskan], and includes in his report
a
> quite extensive trilingual vocabulary, of 'Willa Walla' and 'Nez
Perces'
> [both Sahaptian] and 'Cayouse', the latter affiliated perhaps with
Molale-
> -has this question or the larger Penutian family idea been worked out
> satisfactorily?
>
> Aren't there other mentions in early records of the Cayuse people's
> reluctance to make their language known to outsiders?  What, I wonder,
is
> known or surmised of the variety that was recorded at that time?
Might it
> have been a contact variety?
>
> Here's more material you can view on the web:
> http://www.umatilla.nsn.us/aoki.html
>
> Dave
> --
> "Asking a linguist how many languages she knows is like asking a
doctor
> how many diseases he has!" -- anonymous
>
>
>
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