Short lesson in CJ from "Kamloops Wawa"

[David D. Robertson]

Dec. 1894, no. 123, page 200...

TRANSCRIBED from shorthand:
<18o.  Clinton.>  Shoni Pitirs kopa Klinton iaka mamuk-hilp kanawi iaka
tilikom kopa Chinuk pipa.  Tayi Shoni, pi Kaptin Dinis[,] klaska olman pi
klaska mamuk kopa Chinuk pipa.

LITERALLY (word-for-word):
<18o.  Clinton.>  Johnny Peters in Clinton he make-help all his people on
Chinook paper.  Chief Johnny, and Captain Dennis, they old and they work on
Chinook paper.

TRANSLATED into good English:
<18o.  Clinton.>  Johnny Peters in Clinton [B.C.] is helping all of his
people with the Chinook paper ["Kamloops Wawa"].  Chief Johnny, and Captain
Dennis, are elders and they are working on the Chinook paper.

A COUPLE OF NOTES:
* Notice the 2 or 3 different meanings of <kopa> here?
* <hilp> looks like it's basically a noun, or a sort of intransitive
(stative?) verb meaning "to be helped"...By putting <mamuk-> before it, as
a causative prefix, we make a compound verb meaning literally "to make
[someone] be helped", that is "to help someone".
* <olman> comes from English "old man", but it means anything that is
old...in this case, can you see why it probably means "elders"?
* Notice the 2 different meanings of <mamuk> here?
* This variety of Chinook Jargon doesn't have a separate form of the verb
corresponding to English "-ing" (on ongoing action).  Grand Ronde Chinook
Jargon does have such a form, but since it's lacking in this variety, a
verb form like <iaka mamuk-hilp> could also mean "he helps".  Can you see,
though, why "he is helping" is the better way to translate this phrase in
the passage we're looking at?