Chinook Jargon

E54295

Chinook Jargon is a historical trade language (pidgin) of the Pacific Northwest that blended Indigenous, English, and French elements to facilitate communication among diverse peoples.

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Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf contact language
pidgin language
trade language
alternativeName Chinook Wawa
Chinuk Wawa
The Jargon
culturalRole influenced regional place names and slang
medium of intercultural communication in the Pacific Northwest fur trade era
developedFor communication between Indigenous peoples and European settlers
interethnic communication
trade
hasGrammaticalInfluenceFrom Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest
hasLanguageFamily pidgin
hasLexicalSourceLanguage Chinookan languages
English
French
Nootka language
surface form: Nuu-chah-nulth language

Salishan languages
hasLexifierLanguage English
French
hasLoanwordsIn British Columbia English
Western American English
surface form: Pacific Northwest English

regional toponymy of the Pacific Northwest
hasNotableFeature relatively small core vocabulary
served as a lingua franca across multiple language families
simplified grammar
hasPhonologicalInfluenceFrom Chinookan languages
Nootka language
surface form: Nuu-chah-nulth language

Salishan languages
hasRevitalizationStatus undergoing revitalization in some communities
hasSubstrateLanguage Chinookan languages
Nootka language
surface form: Nuu-chah-nulth language

Salishan languages
historicalStatus largely extinct as a pidgin
peakUsagePeriod 19th century
early 20th century
timeOfOrigin early 19th century
usedBy European traders
Hudson's Bay Company employees
Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples
surface form: Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest

missionaries in the Pacific Northwest
settlers in the Pacific Northwest
usedInRegion Alaska
British Columbia
Pacific Northwest
surface form: Northwestern United States

Canada West Coast
surface form: Pacific Coast of Canada

Pacific coast of North America
surface form: Pacific Coast of the United States

Pacific Northwest
Yukon
writingSystem Latin script

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Sealth languageSpoken Chinook Jargon
Chief Seattle spokeLanguage Chinook Jargon
Chinookan peoples used Chinook Jargon