Language

The Chinookan linguistic system is a fascinating one as most of the tribe spoke two separate languages; Chinookan and Penutian. Both of which were utilized by tribal members in different areas of the Northwestern areas of contemporary U.S.

In an article written by Henry B. Zenk, Yvonne Hajda and Robert Boyd for Portland State University, they conclude that many of the Chinookan dialects along the Columbia River changed with each and every village, as they had their own form lingo or slang. The Chinookan dialect was widely spoken throughout the Columbia Basin, but was structured in clusters as many current researchers and anthropologists categorize the dialects by area: upper, middle and lower Chinookan. Now, because of the lack of documentation of the village dialects in the region, there's no way to be one hundred percent certain that these dialects were all that different, or all that similar.

Penutian however, encompassed a large amount of languages spoken throughout the Pacific Northwest, while Chinookan had a very specific dialect that seemingly only the nation of Chinook spoke, which ultimately made it harder for other nations to understand. The Chinook decided that they needed to establish a new and universal language that helped with the business of trade.

"Chinook Jargon" is what we would later come to know the language as.

According to the Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon or, Trade Language of Oregon, much of the new language derived from several sources, some of which were English. In the late 1700's, during a trip down south for a group of Vancouver officers, much to their surprise, they understood some of the trade language of the natives.

Chinook Jargon became a large tool for the Chinook during their trade days as it helped enable swift communication between tribes and peoples, creating a large foundation for their trade route.

Unfortunately, a majority of its fluent speakers have died and nearly all forms of the Chinookan language are extinct as of the time of this posting.

In a article written by Abigail Pecore for Portland State University, while the language is not yet extinct, there have been successful attempts to revitalize it. Pecore argues that its absolutely critical to keep a language in use in order to understand a indigenous population's history.

Revitalizing endangered or extinct languages is definitely a good way to keep a past nation or population of people alive, as we can always use the language as a tool to understand the mentality behind what those people did for survival purposes. Pecore makes an excellent argument in her article, as this is vital to understanding the culture and society of the Chinookan people.


References:

Zenk, Henry, Yvonne Hajda, and Robert Boyd. "Chinookan Villages of the Lower Columbia." Oregon Historical Quarterly117, no. 1 (2016): 6. doi:10.5403/oregonhistq.117.1.0006.

GIBBS, GEORGE. DICTIONARY OF THE CHINOOK JARGON, OR TRADE LANGUAGE OF OREGON. S.l.: HANSEBOOKS, 2017.

Pecore, Abigail. "Motivation in the Portland Chinuk Wawa Language Community." 2000. doi:10.15760/etd.806.








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome!