Text I'm removing from CHINOOK list welcome message

[Dave Robertson]

Just to have a permanent record of it, here's some text I'm removing from
the welcome message that automatically goes out to new subscribers to our
list.  Some of you will remember versions of this from a LONG time ago.

Dave R

-----

*LEARNING CHINOOK JARGON / CHINUK WAWA*:
The most common question we get is, "How can I learn Chinook?"

My answer is usually, it's simple but not easy.

If you're a linguist, you can figure out most of the grammar yourself by
simple hard work, especially if you track down Melville Jacobs' 1936
"Chinook Jargon Texts".  (!!)

It ain't easy, because there aren't any "Teach Yourself" books on the market
that attempt to answer all the grammatical questions, or teach the "best"
pronunciation.  However, there are some great resources that will take you a
very long way, with less effort and at low cost.  The short list, in no
particular order, is:

(#1) Jim Holton's recently published book, "Chinook Jargon: Hidden Language
of the Pacific Northwest" (Wawa Press, $20 USA).  Jim tells the story of
Jargon, plus outlines the basics of the grammar, and includes a useful
vocabulary list.  Recommended.  See http://www.adisoft-inc.com/chinookbook/.

(#2) Our almost-annual Chinook Jargon Gathering / Chinuk Wawa Lu'lu.  Held
most summers or early autumns since 1998, this is the event where you'll
actually meet fluent speakers (and readers, and writers) of Jargon.  Every
year we learn more...Watch the CHINOOK list for announcements of the next
Gathering.  (They're held in the Pacific Northwest, so far at Mission, BC;
Grand Ronde, OR; Neah Bay, WA; Portland, OR; and Victoria, BC.)

(#3) The CHINOOK list that you're now joining.  You can post your questions
to our group and expect useful answers from people who know what they're
doing.  There may be another CJ / CW discussion group out there on Yahoo,
but I'm not sure.

(#4) A few websites, including
http://www.grandronde.org/culture/ikanum/
http://chinookjargon.home.att.net/
http://timetemple.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=2
http://www.cayoosh.net/hiyu/

*How to WRITE & READ CJ / CW *:
Several ways have been used to write this
language, from the older spellings used in popular Chinook books of about a
hundred years ago to more precise spellings that reflect how native speakers
have pronounced the language.  REST ASSURED YOU DON'T HAVE TO PRONOUNCE CJ /
CW PERFECTLY, OR USE A PARTICULAR VARIETY OF THIS LANGUAGE!  Various people
have used this language in various ways.  The following guide gives an idea,
though, of what's considered most accurate, pronunciation-wise.

An example of an old-fashioned spelling would be "Alta nika
mamook tzum kopa Chinook Wawa spose mika."  ("Now I'm writing in Chinook Jargon
for you.")  These old spellings were based on the way English is written
and pronounced.

Another way to write this would be in a shorthand alphabet that was unique
to CJ / CW, used in the "Kamloops Wawa" newspaper and by Native writers. 
Transliterating into the English alphabet, you'd get "Alta naika mamuk cim
kopa Chinuk Wawa pus maika."

The same phrase in a more phonetic, newer spelling would be "Alta nayka
mamuk t'sEm khupa Chinuk pus mayka."  In this writing system, each sound is
always written one way, and one way only.  So, you always know how to
pronounce the words...  You just need to know the alphabet!  You may want to
save or print out the following table as a help:

[This way, you can simplify the pronunciations if the 'Indian' sounds are a
difficulty.  Going from the old-fashioned spellings to the 'Indian' ones
would be much harder, though.  That's why I'm presenting the following in
such detail.)
 ===========================================================================
*An email alphabet for CJ*:

a /a/ as in English "ma"

b /b/ as in English

ch /ch/ as in English "chin"
c'h /ch/ plus /7/ simultaneously (see /7/ below!)

d /d/ as in English

e / eh /e/ as in English "bet"
ey /ey/ as in English "they"
E /E/ as in English "fasten", /u/ as in English "sun"

g /g/ as in English

h /h/ as in English

i /i/ as in English "machine"
{I /I/ as in English "pit"}

k /k/ as in English "skid" or the /c/ of French "cacao"
k' /k/ plus /7/ simultaneously
kh /k/ plus a strong puff of air
kw /k/ plus /w/ simultaneously (/k/ with the lips rounded)
k'w /k'/ plus /w/ simultaneously
khw /kh/ plus /w/ simultaneously

l /l/ as in English "Lulu"
lh / L /l/ whispered (a very common sound in Chinuk-wawa!)

m /m/ as in English

n /n/ as in English

o /o/ as in English "so"

p /p/ as in English "spy" or Spanish "papa"
p' /p/ plus /7/ simultaneously
ph /p/ plus a strong puff of air

q like /k/ pronounced in the very back of your mouth
q' /q/ plus /7/ simultaneously
qh /q/ plus a strong puff of air
qw /q/ plus /w/ simultaneously
q'w /q'/ plus /w/ simultaneously
qhw /qh/ plus /w/ simultaneously

r /r/ as in English "red"

s /s/ as in English "so"
sh /sh/ as in English "show"

t /t/ as in English "stow", or Italian "ti"
t' /t/ plus /7/ simultaneously
th /t/ plus a strong puff of air

tl'/tL' /t/ plus /lh/ plus /7/ simultaneously...wait till you hear this sound!

ts      /ts/ in English "cats"
t's     /ts/ plus /7/ simultaneously

u /u/ as in English "Lulu"
{U /U/ as in English "put"}

w /w/ as in English "we"

x like the /j/ in Spanish "jalapen~o", or the soft /ch/ in German
 "ich"
xw /x/ plus /w/ simultaneously

X like the hard /ch/ in German "Bach" or Scottish "loch"; /x/ in the
        back of your mouth
Xw /X/ plus /w/ simultaneously

y /y/ as in English "yard"

7 / ? the catch in your voice in the middle of English "uh-oh!!"  Yes, the
        question mark can be used to write this sound!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
Tony A. Johnson, Language Program of the Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde, Oregon; Dr. Henry B. Zenk, Portland, Oregon; everyone who's
participated in our ongoing attempts to make "Jargon" useful online.  Sounds
enclosed in {curly brackets} above aren't ordinarily distinguished in the
Grand Ronde writing system as of 2004.  (But they can be useful for
specifying a pronunciation.)
 ===========================================================================


*NEW USERS* of L-Soft's LISTSERV format (used by the CHINOOK list) are
encouraged to read the online files LISTSERV REFCARD and LISTSERV
GENINTRO, which can be obtained by sending the following commands in the
body of a mail message to LISTSERV at LISTSERV.NET:

 INFO REFCARD
 INFO GENINTRO

However, these files may be too technical or too vague for some of us.  So...

*QUESTIONS* about the list can always be sent to Dave Robertson, the list
owner / moderator, at <ddr11 at columbia.edu>.  I'll always be happy to help you
with any questions or problems you may have.

Your suggestions about how to make this "welcome" message more useful are also
genuinely appreciated.  Can you take a moment to email me?

Hayash mersi / hiyu mahsie / thank you very much!

Dave

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