Whiskey jack, the bird, and high muck

[Jeffrey Kopp]

On Tue, 9 Jul 2002 20:57:14 -0400, "David D. Robertson" <ddr11 at COLUMBIA.EDU> wrote:

>Klahowyam,
>
>WARNING:  High muck.  The farther down you delve, the murkier this post may
>become.  Hit DELETE now.

I think you meant "hyas humm," but who's to quibble.

>A cite from a vocabulary of Alaskan English recently stirred my interest.

In Olympia yesterday I met a pair of young women working together as waitresses (in the "famous Spar Cafe") who grew up on Kodiak.  I asked one if she had heard any Jargon terms up there besides "cheechako," and recited a few examples, but she replied she had only encountered them used for place names around Olympia (she mentioned "Skookumchuck Creek").  And one of her parents grew up in Alaska.  Well, they were kids, and Alaska's changed a lot since 1970. She was maybe 22, which would make her Alaskan parent (I forgot which) possibly only in their early forties.

OTOH, my aunt (who grew up in Aberdeen in the 1930s) has just finished proofreading Shaw for me, and said upon seeing them in print she recognized a number of Jargon  terms she heard used regularly there then.  This will most likely be of interest to Jim, who is tracking 20th century Jargon usage and locations.  I'll put them in touch.

Regards,

Jeff