Chinook Jargon origins for ethnonyms used in 20th c. Tlingit.

[David Lewis]

Klahowya,
This seems a very 'male-centric'  discussion. How would the word for woman/
wife, ie klootchman and its various other spellings, fit into this
etymology?  Differences in the way women are  described in Chinook Jargon
would seem to have some piece in this discussion, since klootchman is a
closer sounding word.

Also, the way wives were chosen among people of Northwest Indigenous
Cultures may play a part here as well. Manytimes, wives would come from
other tribes than your own. Therefore wives would possibly have a different
first language and be from outside of their husband's cultural context.
This was a common occurrence, common enough for linguistic theorists to
place some weight on the the way children would speak the woman's language
until they came of age, where they would then speak the language of their
father, or husband, whatever their situation. (I don't have references to
this theory discussion but I have seen it in paper's from South American
tribal subjects.)  Therefore, tribal people would grow up naturally bi- or
multi-lingual. This theory has an effect on other theories of language
shift, language migration and the like. (sorry to not know all of the
correct terms but my area is cultural anthropology and not linguistics)

So part of the issue could have to do with the manner in which outsiders
are labelled in jargon. Is it possible that kingoochwaan is actually closer
to the word klootchman?

David Lewis