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[Dave Robertson]

In the TALK tab of the WikiTravel article on British Columbia
(http://wikitravel.org/en/British_Columbia), people have written about CJ:

"Chinook Jargon stuff seems suspicious

I've lived in BC all my life (in the interior, the lower mainland, and on
the island), and I've never heard of Chinook Jargon, and the only allegedly
"common" slang word from that list I've heard is "skookum" -- and from
someone from Manitoba, not BC. Even the referenced article only says
"oldtimers may dimly remember it". Also, it seems doubtful that a "language"
with only a few hundred words would ever have been seriously considered for
the official language of a place -- is there any kind of documentation of that?

    Well, there is a Wikipedia link there with a fairly lengthy article
behind it. Question in my mind as to whether knowledge of this mostly
historical language serves the traveller at all. OldPine 18:11, 3 September
2006 (EDT) 

    I am also born and bred in BC, and yes the chinook jargon is real (no
need to be suspicious). However, I also question its value in this article,
as it is little more than an amusement for those locals that do know a few
words. I still bust out a 'skookum' every once in a while, but I think it's
safe to say that a typical tourist will never run into it. bulliver 15:07, 4
September 2006 (EDT)"

My two cents: Living in Victoria recently, I heard spontaneous "skookums"
and of course mentions of Tillicum Mall.  But almost no other CJ except from
older people who would phone with remembered isolated words and short
phrases when my name was mentioned in some news article on the Jargon.  And
in my southern Interior research, it's only a few older folks who have been
able to tell me eyewitness accounts of CJ usage.  

I've heard more CJ words in the casual English of Alaskans (1960s onward)
than I ever have in BC.  

What do you think?  --Dave R

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