Kata nsaika mamuk ukuk pipa?

[David Robertson]

Here's an intersting explanation in Chinook of the change Father Le Jeune
made from mimeographing to a superior-quality technology (would you call it
offset?).  He said lots of people were starting to ask him how he managed
to write such clear shorthand so small.

This Chinook version is drastically different--containing many more
interesting details!--from the English and French versions that accompany
it on the same page; you'll find that this is the rule, once you begin
reading the Chinook shorthand.  For example, Le Jeune refers to the East
as "Canada", as opposed to BC, even though BC was already part of the
Confederation by 1896.  This wording suggests a connection with the old
label "Lower Canada" for Quebec, which French-speakers like Le Jeune may
have still had the habit of using.  Another example: Now that 108 years
have passed, a lot of us are unfamiliar with the printing processes that
were used to create Kamloops Wawa, so this clear description has value
beyond just linguistic information.

You've got to keep your eyes peeled when you look through KW...there's a
ton of information in Chinook shorthand that you'd miss if you only looked
at the French and English headlines above the articles.

>From Kamloops Wawa, front page of issue 125 (vol. IV no. 2, February 1896),
as reproduced in Jim Holton's new book:

"Kata nsaika mamuk ukuk pipa?
(How do we create this paper?)

Nsaika iskom ikta nsaika tiki mash
(We gather what we want to put)

kopa ukuk pipa, nsaika mamuk cim
(into this paper, and we write)

ukuk kopa iht aias pipa, iht
(this on a large paper, one)

fut lon pi 7 inch waid.  Ukuk ink
(foot long and 7 inches wide.  That ink)

mitlait kopa makuk haws iaka aias kaltash
(that's in the store is quite useless)

pus mamuk ukuk cim; kakwa nsaika iskom
(to do this writing; so we get)

hloima ink, drit tlil; ukuk ink kakwa pint[,]
(a different ink, very black; this ink is like paint[,])

ayu glis, kakwa wik kata pus aiak
(very thick, so it's impossible to quickly)

cim.  Pus iaka kopit, ukuk cim klatwa
(write.  When it's finished, this writing goes)

kopa Kanada, iawa iht man iskom ukuk
(to [Eastern] Canada, and there a man takes this)

cim pi iaka mamuk piktyur, kakwa iaka mamuk
(writing and takes a picture of it, the way he takes)

piktyur tilikom klaska siahus.  Iaka
(pictures of people's faces.  He)

mamuk ukuk piktyur iaka nim fotograf kopa chikmin[,]
(takes this picture, called a photograph, on metal[,])

stil plit, kakwa stamp, pi ukuk stamp
(a steel plate, like a stamp, and this stamp)

iaka tlus pus mamuk ayu tawsin pipa.
(is good for making many thousands of papers.)

Pi aias makuk ukuk stamps, ilip kopa
(But these stamps are expensive, over)

mokst tala iht pich.  Ukuk 20 pich
(two dollars each page.  These 20 pages)

ilip kopa 40 tala."
(are more than 40 dollars.)

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