Featured

Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, or Indian Trade Language, of the North Pacific Coast — A Closer Reading

(0 User reviews) 1436

In Category - Language Study

Authors: T.N. Hibben & Co. [Publisher] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2011 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Chinook jargon -- Glossaries, vocabularies, etc.; Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America -- Languages Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 11,324

Reading time 50 min

Text sections 2

Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, or Indian Trade Language, of the North Pacific Coast — A Closer Reading can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 11,324 words, 50 min estimated reading time, and 2 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 9.1 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Chinook jargon -- Glossaries, vocabularies, etc.,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #35492

This editorial note examines the lexical choices, phonetic spelling, and structural organization of an 1889 Chinook Jargon dictionary, highlighting how the compilers captured a trade pidgin through English-based orthography and part-of-speech labeling.

Editorial Edition Score 4.4/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg35492

Read the Text

Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (with thanks to 1st-hand-history.org)

{ Transcriber's Notes:

Punctuations and capitalization have been adjusted from the original text for consistency and readability.

Some instances of inconsistent spellings were adjusted when found corrected in an alternate edition of this book. Other inconsistent spellings that did not have a clear resolution remain as found in the original text. }

DICTIONARY OF THE CHINOOK JARGON, OR INDIAN TRADE LANGUAGE, OF THE NORTH PACIFIC COAST.

VICTORIA, B. C. T. N. HIBBEN CO., Publishers. Government Street, 1889.

Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year 1877, by T. N. HIBBEN, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture.

JAS. A. COHEN, Book and Job Printer, Victoria, B. C.

PART I.--CHINOOK--ENGLISH.

Ahn-kut-te, or Ahn-kot-tie. Formerly; before now. With the accent prolonged on the first syllable, a long time ago. Ex. Ahnkutte lakit sun, four days ago; tenas ahnkutte, a little while since.

Al-ah. Expression of surprise. Ex. Alah mika chahko! ah, you've come!

Al-kie. Presently; in a little while; hold on; not so fast.

Al-ta. Now; at the present time.

A-mo-te. The strawberry.

An-ah, _interj._ An exclamation denoting pain, displeasure or depreciation. Ex. Anah nawitka mika halo shem; ah, indeed you are without shame.

Ats, _n._ A sister younger than the speaker.

A-yah-whul, _v._ To lend; borrow.

Be-be. A word used toward children; a kiss; to kiss.

Bloom, _n._ A broom. Mamook bloom, to sweep.

Boat. A boat, as distinguished from a canoe.

Bos-ton, _n._, _adj._ An American. Boston illahie, the United States.

Bur-dash. An hermaphrodite.

Cal-li-peen, _n._ A rifle.

Ca-nim, _n._ A canoe. Canim stick, the cedar, or wood from which canoes are usually made.

Chah-ko. To come; to become. Ex. Kanish mika chahko? when did you come? Chahko kloshe, to get well.

Chack-chack. The bald eagle.

Chee. Lately; just now; new. Chee nika ko, I have just arrived. Hyas chee, entirely new.

Chet-lo or Jet-lo, _n._ An oyster.

Chet-woot. A black bear.

Chick-a-min, _n._, _adj._ Iron; metal; metallic. T'kope chikamin, silver; pil chickamin, gold or copper. Chickamin lope, wire; a chain.

Chik-chik. A wagon or cart.

Chitsh, _n._ A grandmother.

Chope, _n._ A grandfather.

Cho-tub, _n._ A flea.

Chuck, _n._ Water; a river or stream. Salt chuck, the sea. Skookum chuck, a rapid. Solleks chuck, a rough sea. Chuck chahko or kalipi, the tide rises or falls; saghilli and keekwillie chuck, high and low tide.

Cole, _adj._ Cold. Cole illahie, winter. Icht cole, a year. Cole sick waum sick, the fever and ague.

Comb. A comb. Mamook comb, to comb. Mamook comb illahie, to harrow.

Coo-ley. To run. Cooley kiuatan, a race-horse. Yahka hyas kumtuks cooley, he can _i.e._ knows how to run well.

Coop-coop, _n._ Shell money. See Hykwa.

Co-sho, _n._ A hog; pork. Siwash cosho, a seal.

Cultus, _adj._ Worthless; good for nothing; without purpose. Ex. Cultus man, a worthless fellow; cultus potlatch, a present or free gift; cultus heehee, a jest; merely laughing; cultus nannitsh, to look around; cultus mitlite, to sit idle; cultus klatawa, to stroll. _Ques._ What do you want? _Ans._ Cultus, _i.e._ nothing.

De-late. Straight; direct. Ex. Klatawa delate, go straight; delate wauwau, tell the truth.

Dely. Dry. Chahko dely, to become dry; mamook dely, to dry.

Dol-la. A dollar; money. Chikamin dolla, silver; pil dolla, gold; dolla siaghost, spectacles.

Eh-kah-nam, _n._ A tale or story.

Eh-ko-li, _n._ A whale.

Ee-na, _n._ A beaver. Eena stick (literally beaver wood), the willow.

Ee-na-poo or In-a-poo. A louse. Sopen inapoo, a flea.

Ek-keh. A brother-in-law.

E-la-han. Aid; assistance; alms. Mamook elahan, to help.

E-lip. First; before. Elip lolo chuck, in the first place carry water; elip kloshe, best; elip tilikum, the first people.

E-salt'h. Indian corn or maize.

Get-up. To get up; rise.

Glease. Grease. Hyiu glease, very fat; too-toosh glease, butter.

Hah-lakl. Wide, open. Ex. Mamook hahlakl la pote, open the door.

Haht-haht, _n._ The mallard duck.

Hak-at-shum, _n._ Handkerchief.

Halo. None; absent. _Q._ Halo salmon mika? have you no fish? _A._ Halo, none. _Q._ Kah mika papa? where is your father? _A._ Halo, he is out. Halo wind, breathless; dead. Halo glease, lean. Halo iktas, poor; destitute.

Haul, _v._ To haul or pull.

Hee-hee, _n._ Laughter; amusement. Cultus hee-hee, fun; mamook hee-hee, to amuse; hee-hee house, any place of amusement, as a tavern, bowling alley, etc.

Hoh-hoh, _n._, _v._ To cough.

Hool-hool, _n._ A mouse. Hyas hool-hool, a rat.

House, _n._ A house. Mahkook house, a store.

Howh. Turn to; hurry.

How-kwutl. Inability. Ex. Howkwutl nika klatawa? how could I go?

Hul-lel, _v._, _n._ To shake.

Hul-o-i-ma. Other; another; different. Ex. Huloima tillikum, a different tribe or people; hyas huloima, very different.

Humm, _n._, _v._ A stink or smell, to stink. Humm opootsh, a skunk.

Hunl-kik. Curled or curly; knotted; crooked.

Continue Reading →

The 1889 Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, published by T.N. Hibben & Co. in Victoria, B.C., presents a trade language used along the North Pacific Coast through a compact bilingual lexicon. The compilers made deliberate decisions about which words to include and how to represent them, shaping the reader’s understanding of this pidgin. The dictionary’s two-part structure—Chinook-to-English followed by English-to-Chinook—reflects a practical aim: to serve both English speakers encountering the jargon and those needing to translate from it.

Beyond simple word lists, the entries reveal the compilers’ attention to pronunciation, usage, and cultural context. The phonetic spellings, part-of-speech labels, and occasional example phrases offer clues about how the language was spoken and understood in the late 19th century.

Phonetic Spelling and Pronunciation Cues

The dictionary’s orthography is notably English-based, with hyphenated syllables meant to guide pronunciation. For instance, ahn-kut-te (formerly) includes a note that accent on the first syllable indicates “a long time ago.” Such diacritic-like instructions are rare in the text, making this entry an exception. More commonly, the compilers rely on familiar English letter combinations: chah-ko (to come), skookum (strong), tumtum (heart). The choice of ch for the /tʃ/ sound and sh for /ʃ/ follows English conventions, while tl in tl'kope (to cut) represents a lateral affricate unfamiliar to English speakers. The hyphenation likely served as a pronunciation aid for traders and settlers who were not linguists.

Part-of-Speech Labels and Grammatical Sparsity

Each entry includes a part-of-speech label—n., v., adj., adv., interj.—but the grammar of Chinook Jargon is not described. The labels are applied inconsistently: ah-ha is labeled adv. (yes), while al-ah is labeled as an expression of surprise without a part of speech. Some verbs appear only in imperative or infinitive forms, such as mamook (to do, make) used as a prefix in mamook bloom (to sweep). The dictionary does not explain how tense, mood, or plurality are expressed, leaving the reader to infer from example phrases. This lack of grammatical explanation suggests the compilers assumed users already knew the language’s basic structure or would learn it through use.

Cultural and Regional Specificity in Vocabulary

The wordlist reflects the material culture and environment of the North Pacific Coast. Entries include canim (canoe), canim stick (cedar), salt chuck (sea), skookum chuck (rapid), and tumwater (cascade). Trade goods appear: chickamin (iron, metal), t'kope chikamin (silver), pil chickamin (gold or copper). Animals like chet-woot (black bear), siam (grizzly bear), and moosmoos (buffalo, cattle) show adaptation to local fauna. The inclusion of Boston illahie (United States) and King George (Englishman) reveals the political context of the fur trade era. The compilers also recorded interjections like anah (displeasure) and al-ah (surprise), capturing affective speech.

Orthographic Inconsistencies and Editorial Choices

The transcriber’s note acknowledges that “some instances of inconsistent spellings were adjusted when found corrected in an alternate edition,” while others remain as in the original. For example, tsil tsil and chil-chil both appear for “buttons,” and olillie and olallie for “berries.” The entry for “clam” lists three variants: ona, lukutchee, and lakwitchee, with a separate entry for smetocks (large clams). Such variation may reflect dialectal differences or the compilers’ reliance on multiple informants. The dictionary does not standardize these forms, leaving the reader to navigate the fluidity of a spoken pidgin. The decision to preserve variant spellings, rather than enforce uniformity, suggests a documentary rather than prescriptive approach.

Readers approaching this dictionary should treat it as a historical artifact of a contact language, not a complete grammar. The compilers’ choices in spelling, labeling, and selection offer a window into how English speakers perceived and recorded Chinook Jargon. To use the dictionary effectively, cross-reference entries between the two parts and note variant forms. The example phrases, though sparse, provide the most direct evidence of usage. This work is best understood alongside ethnographic and historical accounts of the fur trade era.

That rainy afternoon, I kept returning to the tribal glossary’s patient, quirky recording of a vanished shared tongue—each entry a palimpsest of encounter. The work felt like a registry of human striving, part commerce, part misunderstanding. Later, nearly by chance, my hand found another index, Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Sir Winston Spencer Churchill — Story, Setting & Ideas, and that same sense of catalogued momentum returned, though the words were louder.