Chinook Jargon Phrasebook

Kamloops Wawa Word List:

The original version of this list as it appeared in Kamloops Wawa included renderings of the words given in the Duployan shorthand script developed for the Jargon by Fr. Lejeune; there were apparently at one time over 2000 people fluent in reading the Jargon in this shorthand, and many copies of the Kamloops Wawa are nearly entirely in the shorthand alone.  The texts in yellow are my own additions, consisting of the usual (or alternate) spellings of the Jargon words noted, plus comments about their usual meanings and possible contexts; when necessary I have added links to appropriate pages elsewhere in this site that are pertinent to the word cited.  At the bottom of the word list there is some editorializing concerning the Jargon and the Duployan shorthand that was included in the same issue of the Kamloops Wawa as the word list, and for your convenience in studying the Duployan script glyphs of each word, the table of forms and associated phonemes may be viewed by clicking here (144kb).  A later revision of this page will attempt to align the glyphs according to the baseline used in the original, which is too large of a GIF to be viewed here in any legible format; many of the angle-lines shown here are below this baseline.

NB:  concerning prononciation, the final "-e" and "-ale" on most words should be understood to be a pronounced syllable, rather than a modifier of the preceding vowel as it is in English.  e.g. the word poolale here is usually given in other Jargon lexicons as pollalie.

Current alphabetization is based on the spellings as transliterated by LeJeune.  Later improvements to these pages will cross-reference the Kamloops Wawa spellings with the more common Gibbs/Shaw system, and perhaps the new phonologically-strict orthography of the Grand Ronde Creole.  Note that some words are placed alphabetically; e.g. "ice" is under 'A" because of the opening vowel, unlike other i-words which have "ih" at the start.  Similarly, whip and wheat are in 'h" because LeJeune transcribed them with the whispered-h pronuncation once proper in English..

Aiak - Fast   hyak, hayak
Aias - Big   hyas   also means mighty, important, etc.
Aioo - Plenty   hiyu   also means several, many, a group, a gathering
Alta - Now   the present
Alke  - By & by   alki   the future; used to form the future tense
Ankate - Long ago   ahnkuttie   the past; used to form the past tense
Ice 

Y

Yawa - There   yahwa
Yaka - He   she, it  also the accusative or genitive/possessive of any of these pronouns (i.e. him, his)
Yakwa - Here   yukwa

E

Ehe - Laugh  hee-hee, heehee   can also mean fun, games, laughter, games, etc. and in the combination mamook hee-hee means to play
Ehpooi - Shut   ikpooie   also means closed, locked
Elo - Not   halo   with wake, a generic negative, also used to mean nothing, etc.
Elehe - Earth   illahee, illahe, illahie   also means soil, land, country, terrain, field, farm etc.
Eskom - Take   iskum   also means to have, to hold, to possess, etc.; can mean to believe, as in iskum tumtum - to have thought, to have a feeling
Enatai - Across   enati
Eight The older Jargon numeral was stotekin; the adoption of this English numeral may have been specific to the B.C. Interior.

I

  Iht - One   ikt, ixt   can also mean alone, only, etc.  In the form ikt.....ikt means one or the other or either...or
Ipsoot - To hide   also means hidden, concealed, a secret, etc.
Itlooil - Flesh   itlwillie   can also mean meat, muscle tissue, etc.
Ikta? - What?
Iktas - Goods   can also mean possessions, clothes, etc.
Ilaiten - Slave   elite   another word, mitschimass, was also used for the condition of enslavement

Ilep - First   elip   also means before, in front of, the elder brother, etc.
Issik - Paddle   isick

U

Utle - Glad   youtl
Ulkat - Long    youtlkut   long as in physical dimension, not as in time

H

Haha - Awful   I have not seen this in other lexicons; it may only be a regional usage
Halak - Open   hahlakl  i.e. wide open; can also mean unlocked, exposed, etc.
Hum - Smell   humm   a bad odour, not "to smell"
Heloima - Other   huloima   also means another, different, strange, the other one, a foreigner, etc.
Whip  Note that the prononciation here is in the British/colonial fashion, with a pronounced 'h' before the 'w'.
Wheat  Note that the prononciation here is in the British/colonial fashion, with a pronounced 'h' before the 'w'.
Hammer
house
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Re:  Words borrowed from English