<kuc>: Boas "Chinook Indian Language" question

Tue Sep 21 21:44:44 UTC 2004

Interesting.  It is difficult to determine sometimes when various words
became known and eventually or quickly became a part of the jargon.  My
tribe (Makah) traded up and down the coast as well; Jewitt (1803-5) mentions
Makah (he calls us kla-asatX which is how the muwachatX / nuuchanulth refer
to us as people who live on the outside, i.e., living on the coast as
opposed to inland).  We also traded with the Chinooks, and also had arranged
marriages with the surrounding tribes including Chinooks -  arranged
marriage was the coastal Indian custom of the earlier time periods.  There
is a Makah woman listed on the Chinook roles who was such a bride.
According to oral history, there were people here who knew several
languages, so I think it must have been common to know at least two
languages.  I can see how various words and phrases were probably shared by
the tribes before the Jargon developed into its expanded use with European
languages.
Maria

-----Original Message-----
From: The Chinook List [mailto:CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG]On Behalf
Of Leanne Riding
Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2004 8:21 PM
To: CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
Subject: Re: <kuc>: Boas "Chinook Indian Language" question

I would say that <kuc> came first, because the closest, earliest
analogy I can find in CJ is from Franchere's list, as part of that
word which we talked about earlier, Ste Kech, je t'aime (I love
you).

I've been interested in Franchere because he's a very important
figure in the development of CJ. He felt that this was a "chinook"
word, but he could have been mistaken.

We know that the Nuu-chah-nulth were among the first on the
northern coast regularly visited for trade by British, American,
and Spanish ships, as well as ships serving the Russians in present
day Alaska. We have a list of words from James Cook's visit (1778)
that includes many words which ended up in CJ. We also know that
both English and Spanish used these words to communicate with the
Nuu-chah-nulth. For instance, ten years later in 1789 when Callicum
exclaimed that commander Martinez was "pisce" and "capsil,"
(rendered "peshak" and "capsualla" in English) Callicum was shot to
death.

Here are a few familiar-sounding words that were gathered up for
English use on Cook's voyage, by King (1778):
Tanass, or tanas, A man.
Wook, or Wik, No. (The word recorded for Yes was Ai, or aio.)
Wik ait, None, not any.
Macook, To Barter.
Seekemaile, Iron or metal of any sort.
Chauk, Water.
Pacheetl, or pachatl, To give.
Tseeapoox, A conic cap made of mat, worn on the head.

As for the more southerly parts, there is evidence that the
inhabitants of the Columbia River didn't understand the
Nuu-chah-nulth words that the traders tried on them. Perhaps they
simply didn't recognize the English form of words that they knew
quite well, or perhaps the words had not arrived yet. However, it
would not take long. Contemporary witnesses noted that the
Nuu-chah-nulth's busy trade network included deliveries of prepared
Camas root from the south. Thirty years after Cook went by, John R.
Jewett (c.1803-1806) recorded seemingly endless comings and goings
of boats, bringing news and goods to Maquinna, many from very far
away. The traffic of indigenous boats he described travelling the
outer coast outdid the european boats in their number, and since
1789, it was quite common for these boats to be equipped with
sails. So, there is still a likelihood that some form of shared
dialogue existed before the formation of CJ, although it may not
have been the same one that the traders preferred to use, or would
have been able to pronounce if they had known about it.

 From Jewett, about thirty years later:
Klootz-mah, Woman.
Tanassis, Child.
Cha-hak, Fresh water.
Wik, No.
Moo-watch, Bear.
Sick-a-minny, Iron.
Cham-mass, Fruit.
Cham-mas-sish, Sweet or pleasant to the taste.
Pook shit-tle, To blow.
Ma-mook su mah, To go to fish.
Iy ah-ish, Much.
Ko-mme-tak, I understand.

About forty years after Cook's visit, trade ships were frequent,
scouring the coast for otter pelts and provisions, and there were a
few native people with European ancestors around by that time.
However, all posts that were built in the lower reaches of the
Columbia, including those put up by Lewis and Clarke, were quickly
abandoned -- that is, until 1811 when the Pacific Fur Company and
Astoria came along. Gabriele Franchere (1811-1814), was one of the
few at Astoria who could speak anything resembling the chinook
language. This made him so valuable that his bosses at first tried
pay him, and then to trick him, into staying longer. Even after he
had crossed the Rockies on his way home, he was asked to go back to
the Pacific. Franchere also left a list of words which he seemed to
feel were genuine "Tchinouke". Although this frenchman probably was
the greatest contributor to Chinook Jargon as we know it, Franchere
himself never went to Nootka Sound and only knew about it from
heresay. Chinook Jargon did not yet officially exist, but clear
crossovers in the list can be seen from other languages.

Here is a sampling of words from Franchere:
Tilikum, les hommes (people).
Papische' aiyouks, Europe'ens (Europeans).
Koutane, cheval (horse).
Kamoux, chien (dog).
Moulak, chevreuil (deer).
Equannet, saumon (salmon).
Elaighte', esclave (slave).
Tanasse, enfant (child).
Olik, fille (girl).
Ilekai, la terre (the land).
Icanneue, piroque (canoe).
Patlatch, un pre'sent (gift).
Passischque, couverte (blanket).
Passische' drap (sheet).
Kainoulk, tabac (tobacco).
Sakquallal, fusil (gun).
Tane tse koulama, montre-moi ta pipe (Show me your pipe/calumet).
Nix, quatiasse moulak thlousk, Non, donne mois de la viande (No,
give me the meat).

Plenty of grist for the mill!

-- Leanne (http://timetemple.com)

On Sunday, September 19, 2004, at 02:31 , David Robertson wrote:
>

> We know "kloosh" came from Nootka, now also called Nuu-chah-nulth,
> a third
> unrelated language which is a member of the Wakashan family on
> Vancouver
> Island, BC.  "Kloosh" is how English-speakers in the late 1700s
> pronounced
> the Nootka word that's approximately /tlulh/.
>
> How likely is it that <kuc> existed before "cloosh" came on the
> scene, and
> that this word & the coincidentally similar CJ word influenced
> each other's
> pronunciation around the mouth of the Columbia?
>
> Or alternatively, how likely is that <kuc> came into use only
> after "cloosh" came along?
>
> --Dave R
>
> To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'.  To respond
> privately to the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'.  Hayu masi!
>
>

To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'.  To respond privately to
the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'.  Hayu masi!

To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'.  To respond privately to the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'.  Hayu masi!