an informal posting

[Theresa Kishkan]

I'm not a linguist and mostly just lurk in the background listening to the interesting conversation that has evolved over the years but I wanted to tell you about a recent encounter I had with an elderly friend who is nearly 90 and who grew up in the Fraser Valley. The topic of the Jargon came up and he brightened and said that his father, a butcher, was fluent and used it frequently in his business in the Valley. He mentioned a number of words he remembered and then said that he thought his father had been familiar with the Jargon before coming to B.C. from Ottawa! I don't have a date for this but if Frank is 90 and was born in Sumas, then his father must have come to B.C. in either the late days of the 19th c. or the early days of the 20th. My friend also observed that when he was in Seychelle Islands, he heard lots of stuff that sounded uncannily like Chinook to him!

Best to you all,

Theresa Kishkan
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