Issue in Chinook Jargon

[Nadja Adolf]

Maybe Jeff is right.

One issue that we are facing is that there is a
widening divide between the GR dialect and the other
forms - and perhaps an even greater divide between the
serious linguists and those who are not involved in
the complex work being done by the linguists.

Reading what Jeff has written has given me more
insight into the issue - I realized that I had
accepted the idea that there was a canonical preferred
form when just maybe there really isn't - since there
really is no formal canon outside that whose access
and usage is restricted to a certain subset of
linguists and other professionals. Perhaps this
restriction is actually an opportunity for those of us
whose background is different.

Maybe when the GR dialect dictionary comes out, this
divide may shrink when more people have a chance to
learn the GR form, but in the meantime, there might be
good reason to develop resources for those who are not
speakers of that form.

I have set up a list for those who don't have access
to GR information, or who do have GR information, but
might want to have fun using the commonly available
dialects and self-teaching materials. This is not a
"serious" academic linguistics list, but a place to
practice what you know and to share information
without embarassment or shame.

To subscribe, send email to:
Chinook-Wawa-subscribe at yahoogroups.com

(Maybe I should have called it "PidginPlace?" B^))