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 NOTES ON THE STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON
MELVILLE JACOBS
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

[This paper (read at the International Congress of Americanists, Ham-

burg, 1930) attempts to present the phonetics of Chinook Jargon as now
spoken by a few natives, to treat the essential phenomena of its struc-
ture, and to exhibit a text accompanied by an analysis.]

The best earlier treatment of the Jargon is Horatio Hale's Manual

of Chinook Jargon (1890).1 The bibliography of Jargon is large; no
published material examined has been satisfactory for the study of its
phonetic and structural phenomena; semantics and word origins, with
which we are not concerned, can be studied in other publications.
Chinook Jargon is the lingua franca formerly employed by Indians
and whites in the coastal district from southern Oregon to Alaska and
west of the Rocky Mountains. The Jargon is being forgotten rapidly;
a new lingua franca, English, is replacing it. A century ago, Chinook
Jargon was the unique and beautifully satisfactory means of communica-
tion between the speakers of a hundred or more mutually unintelligible
Pacific Northwest languages. Thousands of older natives and hundreds
of older whites in the region can still speak it, and even now it is by no
means a dead language. However, the younger natives can travel
satisfactorily with a knowledge of English alone; they no longer feel
stimulus or need to acquire Jargon. And whites no longer trouble to
learn it. Probably the most fluent ancient speakers of Jargon lived in
the lower Columbia River country-with its tributaries-, in central
and western Oregon and Washington. They were from birth speakers
of Chinook proper, southern Coast Salish, Klikitat Sahaptin, Molale
Sahaptin, Kalapuya, and contiguous languages. Among these people
Jargon vocabularies, idioms, and style were relatively rich and effective.
The speakers of Jargon farther in the Columbia basin interior, in the
Puget Sound country and in British Columbia, knew that the lower
Columbia natives spoke a better lingua franca. Among the Oregon and
' An International Idiom. A Manual of the Oregon Trade Language, or
'Chinook Jargon'. By Horatio Hale. London, 1890.
27
28 MELVILLE JACOBS

lower Columbia tribes where Jargon was once most fully developed, at
Oregon City, the Dalles, Siletz and Grand Ronde, the few survivors
assure us that their grandparents spoke a more expressive and efficient
Jargon than the one that can be dictated to a linguist now. Neverthe-
less, phonetic and structural matters in Jargon may be studied fully and
satisfactorily in 1930. Two or three generations ago it may have been
possible to record longer word and idiom lists.
The material upon which these notes are based was collected in the
course of other field researches in 1930; only notes personally recorded
with natives have been used. The best Jargon speaker heard was Mrs.
Victoria Howard, Oregon City; Mrs. Howard speaks Clackamas (upper
Chinook) as her native language. These notes are based mainly on her
dictations and are valid only for the Jargon spoken in the northwest
Oregon region. Speakers of a less elegant Jargon were a Sanich (south-
east Vancouver Island Coast Salish) and a Snuqualmie (Coast Salish
near Seattle).
PHONETICS

The sounds used by most speakers of Jargon are the sounds used in
their native languages and dialects. This results in little or no phonetic
confusion when strangers from far-distant tribes meet and converse in
Jargon. When the variety of Northwest languages is considered, the
types of sounds peculiar to the Northwest seem amazingly widespread;
when those sounds are used in Jargon, they are perceived satisfactorily
by all natives who speak it. North of the Kalapuya bands, every Indian
employs in his native speech and in his Jargon two palatal series-
basically a rather posterior k and a more or less velar q; every native
employs rounded palatals and velars as units, glottalized stops, glot-
talized affricatives, three or four laterals; his vowel pattern is usually
built around four basic sounds: a or a; a or a ore; i orl or e; u or v or
o or o orw. To effect general intelligibility, the unavoidable differences
in phonetics from language to language are glossed over in the general
recognition of roughly interchangeable Jargon sounds. Though one
speaker employs s, another employing c in the same place is perfectly
understood; a third speaker may employ a sound midway between s
andc; ts and tc alternate similarly,ts! and tc!, n and1, I and ti, g or G
andk, b or B and p, d or D andt. Englishmen and Americans commonly
fail to glottalize, without loss of intelligibility. Vowels like a, a and
e alternate. Some natives permit consonant gemination, others, like
the European and American residents, do not.
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 29

For the pronunciation of Jargon sounds, the student may refer to the
available publications on languages of the northwest of America. The
alphabet employed is written with symbols advised in the transcrip-
tion published in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 66, No. 6,
1916. The symbols used in this paper are: a, a, a, a, E ,i, ,o, , w,
y, b, B, p, p!, m, d, D, t, t!, n, r, s, c, ts, tc, ts!, tc!, g, gw, G, GW, kC,kw,
ic!, kw!, x, xw, q, jw, q, qw, q!, qw!, x, xw, 1, , dl, tI, tI!, h, '. The sounds
w and y rarely or never function as semi-vowels or glides; they serve
as consonants.
Very few vowels and no consonants occur basically long. However,
in slower speech, for rhetoric emphasis and in certain special cases,
lengthened vowels and consonants are heard. Thus a'u 'younger
brother' is often recorded a 'u; wi'k and hi'lu 'no, not' are often pro-
nounced wi 'k and hi 'lu.
Duplication to express distributive plural number involves a lengthen-
ing of the vowel of certain syllables. A duplicated monosyllabic word
lengthens the vowel of the first syllable. A duplicated dissyllabic word
lengthens the vowel of the second syllable; in each case the lengthened
syllable receives the accent. Examples:
la's-mugk!a 'uk!au 'they tied up many' (las 'they'; ck!a'u'tie')
dunu 'sdunus 'little ones' (dana's 'little one')
haya'chayac 'big ones' (haya'c 'big one')
las-na 'ntcnantc 'they looked' (las 'they'; na'ntc, na'nitc 'see, look')
In more rapid speech when two words adjoin or are compounded, the
one word ending in a vowel, the other beginning with a vowel, a glottal
closure may be heard separating the vowels. From the point of view
of syllabic structure, the closure becomes initial C of the following syl-
lable. Thus, in the first example 'uk is felt to be a syllable, CVC1; in
the second example 'i becomes a syllable, CV. In such cases the dash
of course precedes the '. Note that C symbolizes consonant, V,
vowel.
qa'-'uk-las-mi 'lait (qa' 'where'; u'k 'it, that'; las 'they'; mi 'lait
'lived')
ka'ba-'i'li' (ka'ba 'to'; ili' 'the ground')
ya-'u 'ma' (ya'-, third person personal pronoun subject; u 'ma' 'give')
Some few words like ka'ba may assimilate final a to u of uk, if it fol-
lows immediately. Thus ka'ba u'k, ka'ba'u'k or ka'buk, have each been
recorded. Example: a'lda-gi 'gwli ka'buk'i'li' then far beneath in the
ground' (a'lda 'then'; gi 'gwli 'beneath'; ka'ba, locative; u'k 'it, that';
i'li' 'ground').
30 MELVILLE JACOBS

Final -wa of la'dwa 'go'-an occasionally auxiliary verb-may become

-u when ladwa is compounded with or auxiliary to some noun or verb.
la'ska ladu-na'nitc ma 'witc 'they would go hunt deer' (la'ska
'they'; la'dwa 'go'; na'nitc 'seek'; ma 'witc 'deer')
ya-la'du-gu 'l-laxni 'she would run outside' (ya, third person pro-
noun, la'dwa 'go'; gu 'l 'run'; la'xni 'outside')
ya-la'du-ha'us 'she went into the house' (ya 'she'; ha'us 'house')
tca'gu 'come', usually an auxiliary compounded with other verbs, has
been recorded both as tca'gu and tca'gwa when independent. No
doubt tca'gwa is primary and tca'gu a later form, the result of assimila-
tion of -wa. Example: la'sga tca'gwa na'iga ta't 'my uncles are coming'
(la'sga 'they'; tca'gwa 'come'; na'iga 'I, my'; ta't 'uncle').
In rapid speech, adjacent identical sounds fuse and are heard as one
short or one long sound; in the case of long consonants, speakers who
employ in their native languages geminated consonants, employ them
analogously in Jargon.
a'lda-las u 'p!na (a'lda 'then'; las 'they'; su 'p!na 'jump')
(Snuqu.) ta'nEs ti'k (ta'ne's 'little'; sti'k 'stick')
There is one recorded case of loss of final -i of gu'li 'run'; ya-la'du-gu 'l-
laxni 'she would run outside' (ya 'she; la'dwa 'go'; gu 'li 'run'; la'xni
'outside').
na'nitc 'see, look' is recorded sometimes as na'ntc, and always so in
the duplicated distributive plural form.
las-na'ntcnantc 'they looked' (las 'they')
u'k-ha yu-na 'nitc ma 'witc 'those hunters' (u'k, article; ha'yu 'very,;
ma 'witc 'deer').
las-na'ntc Lxwa'p 'they saw holes' (las 'they'; kxwa'p 'hole')
Final k is assimilated to an initial palatal or velar stop of an imme-
diately succeeding word, in rapid speech. All the examples at hand are
of final -k of the causative auxiliary mu'yk.
la's-muyq!u" 'they brought her' (la's 'they'; mu'yk, causative';
q!u" 'arrive')
la's-muyk!a'uk!au 'they tied many' (la's 'they'; mu'yk, causative;
k!a'u 'tie')
muyka'nawi-'i'kda 'do everything' (ka'nawi 'all'; i'kda 'thing')
There are even more examples where final k has not assimilated to a
palatal or velar stop that follows; slower speech permits the articulation
of k. It is likely that with more recorded material we would find all
the palatals and velars assimilating to other and following palatals or
velars.
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 31

A number of vowel alternations were noted in various parts of speech.

In one adjective an obscure a vowel is strengthened to make a noun:
da'nas 'little'; dana's 'little one'. In Puget Sound Jargon, tane 's
'little one' was heard. Another change occurs for the distributive or
plural of the same word: dunu 'sdunus 'little ones'.
The adjective or adverb ha'yu 'very', simplifies to ha'i in rapid speech.
The independent verb ma'muk 'do, make', has broken down to ma'uyk,
ma'yk and most commonly mu'yk, when employed as a causative auxil-
iary.
In the pronouns the third person singular personal pronoun ya'xga
appears occasionally as ya'ga in rapid speech; in the outlying Jargon
districts ya'ka or ya'ka is the invariable form.
The demonstrative ga'gwa becomes ga'gu (like the verb ladwa, ladu)
in rapid speech: ga'gu-bus ha'yu-wa'wa 'it looked as if something were
talking' (ga'gwa 'that manner'; bus 'so, as if'; ha'yu 'very'; wa'wa
'speak').
Final -a of an independent personal pronoun seems very rarely dulled
or sloughed away even in rapid speech. One example noted in a myth
dictation is: ga 'gwa la'sk 'they were like that' (ga 'gwa 'in that manner';
Ia'sga 'they').

SYLLABLES

The feeling for syllable structure is no doubt dependent on and a

reflection of the syllabic structure of the native dialect of the speaker.
In all probability it would not be correct to present a syllable pattern
for Jargon as a whole: the syllables of the Clackamas informant may
differ in essentials from those of Jargon speakers of other tribes. Only
those syllables heard in the speech of this informant are noted; syllables
especially indicated are underlined.
n, m, x, short and long vowels and diphthongs occur as syllables; they
may be symbolized C, V, V-, VV1, V V1. Examples: ntsa'iga, mtsa'iga,
a'ha, i'li', i 'nadai, a'u' a 'u, xlu'wima.
Syllables of VC, V C, VCC1, VV1C, V V1C form: i'xt, i 'xt, u'k, a'lda,
a 'ngadi.
Syllables of CV, CV-, CVV1 form: ya', mi 'lait, lamya'i.

Syllables of CVC1, CV C1, CVViC1 form: gwa'nisim, ha'us, sa 'n,

q!u", u 'ma', lu"lu'.
Syllables of CVC1C2, CVV1C1C2,C(V)C1C2 form: mu'yk, ma'uyk,
wa'xt, sa 'likc, xa 'laql, ma'kwct, na'ntc, mi 'mlust.
32 MELVILLE JACOBS

Syllables of CC1V, CC1VC2form: p!i"nas, tiya"wit, tq!i', sti'k, mi'-

txwit, dli't, i''wal, sgi 'n, tI!ma'n. There is doubt in the case of txwit
since some natives may feel that t is final in the preceding syllable.
Note the forms where initial 'is C.
STRESS

Only one syllable of a Jargon word receives stress with accompanying

high or falling tone. Every independent word or element felt to be an
independent word takes stress on that syllable having it regularly.
With the stress, higher pitch is always found, quickly falling to normal
pitch during or shortly after the articulation of the syllable. Unstressed
syllables are uttered in the basic tone of the sentence. There is no
secondary stress.
Those compounded elements that approach morphologic functioning,
such as auxiliary verbs, the demonstrative article u'k, the shorter per-
sonal pronouns, parts of compounds that have become idiomatic, and
even some adjectives, occasionally lose stress. Thus:
ma'iga-muyk-1a'qw'you take off' (ma'iga 'you'; mu'yk, causative;
Ia'qw'remove')
a'lda-las-k!i'labai 'then they returned' (a'lda 'then'; la's 'they';
*k!i'labai'return').
wi'k-saya 'nearly' (wi'k 'not'; saya' 'far away')
u'k-dands-lu'tcmdn'that girl' (u'k 'that'; df'nas 'little'; lu'tcmdn
'female').
a'lda-ga 'gwa-ya-muyk 'then that is how she did it' (a'lda 'then';
ga 'gwa 'in that manner'; ya'-, third person singular proclitic
personal pronoun; mu'yk 'make, do').
Basic sentence tone has not been recorded. It seems much as in Eng-
lish, rising with emphasized words or phrases, falling at the close of a
declarative sentence, rising towards the climax of an interrogation.
This is the proximate pattern for sentence tone in Coast Salish, Chinook,
Kalapuya, and Northern Sahaptin. Speakers of these languages agree
in their employment of stress and tone in Jargon; speakers reveal their
native origin not by tone and accent but by the consonants, vowels,
words and idioms they employ.

DUPLICATION

Reduplication, so widespread in the northwest, is absent from its inter-

tribal Jargon. Formal duplication is extensively employed to express
plural or distributive ideas, in both noun and verb. When a monosyl-
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 3
33

labic word is duplicated, the first syllable is accented and long. When a
dissyllabic word is duplicated, the second syllable is accented and long.
No duplication of a word or unit of more than two syllables has been
found.
la's-muyk!a 'uk!au dunu 'sdunus ka 'nawi i'kda 'they tied up a
little of everything' (la's- 'they'; mugyk,causative; k!a'u 'tie';
da'nas 'little'; ka'nawi 'all'; i'kda 'thing')
haya 'chayac 'the big ones' (haya'c 'big one')
ya-kila 'ikilai 'she cried and cried' (ya-, third person singular
proclitic personal pronoun; kila'i 'cry')
ya'ga-hai-mayk-lu 'cuc 'she was setting things to rights' (ya'ga,
third person singular independent personal pronoun; hai, for
ha'yu 'very, indeed'; mayk, for muyk, causative; lu'c 'be good,
good')
las-na 'ntcnantc'they looked at (it)' (las 'they'; na'nitc, na'ntc 'see,
look at')
wi'k ha'yu na'nitc aya'q aya'q 'don't be looking so often!' (wi'lc
'not'; ha'yu 'very, indeed'; na'nitc 'look'; aya'q 'quick')
When the vowel of the duplicated word is a, no lengthening occurs in
the duplicated form. Thus, ya-mukc-qwa'ttlqwatl'she hung up meat to
dry' (ya-, third person singular personal pronoun; muyk, causative;
qwa'tl 'hang up').
A number of words appear duplicated in their simple root form.
Some are onomatopoetic, especially the verbs. Examples: dudu 'c
'breast, milk'; li'li 'length of time'; wa'wa 'speak, speech'; di'mdim
'think, heart'; lu 'lu 'take, carry'; ma'kmak 'eat, food'; lu"lu' 'pile up'.

COMPOUNDING

There is as precise feeling for words as units as there is in other North-

west languages. Nevertheless it is quite striking that all speakers of
Jargon employ idiomatic compounds, and elsewhere, clustered words,
in normal or rapid speech. There seem two fairly sharply distinguished
types of usage for compounds or clusters.
The cohesiveness of compounds and clusters is such that I feel it
inaccurate to describe Jargon as cleanly analytic. Indeed with two or
three exceptions no morphologic materials, no purely derivational or
relational elements, are used. But a sensitive record of Jargon shows
somewhat formal compounds and less formal clusters of rather limp
words, not a simple analytic utterance of crisply independent words.
Clusters are more or less inconsequential, ephemeral, stylistic; com-
34 MELVILLE JACOBS

pounds are of grammatical or idiomatic weaving. However we term

compounds or clusters-grammatical or stylistic-they are certainly
strongly felt by a northwest Oregon native Jargon speaker, and perhaps
only very little less so by other Jargon speakers.
The English sentence 'He told them', may be spoken rapidly by an
Englishman and recorded by a foreigner as a compound 'Hetoldthem'.
But the English speaker feels insistently that 'he' and 'told' and 'them'
are independent words. In Jargon ya-wa'wa-la's 'he told them' the
Jargon speaker uses a quite strongly knit compound and cluster which
may be approximated in English script as "hespeak-them'; -la's 'them'
seems a frail enclitic, rather an independent word; but, notwithstanding
clear signification and ease of movement in the sentence, ya- 'he' is
exceedingly firmly welded, compounded in this case, to the verb wa'wa
'speak'.
The most interesting structural trait in Jargon is this compounding,
clustering, or tying of words. To generalize: compounds and clusters
are of several degrees of firmness of knit; the more frequent component
elements of compounds are, in order from firmer to looser: the shorter
personal pronouns (ma, na, ya, ntsa, mtsa, las); the demonstrative article
u'k; the auxiliary verbs (tca'gu, mu'?k, la'dwa, etc.); the adverbs, par-
ticularly bus and hayu (hai). Felt rather as clustered than compounded
are the connectives bi', a'lda; the general locative preposition ka'ba;
the demonstrative of manner ga'gwa; and occasional others. Almost
any words may cluster.
Almost all tied words occur anterior to verbs or nouns to which they
may attach. They frequently lose accent, or retain it when any word
with which they compound surrenders accent.
When two or more words are tied (clustered or compounded), they
arrange themselves in order. Connectives are found in first position,
negatives, adverbs, and prepositions next, demonstrative and interroga-
tive pronouns next, and so on. Components of clusters and compounds
are here set apart and indicated by dashes.
In first position within word clusters or compounds are elements con-
necting phrases or sentences: bi' 'and'; a'ida'now, and then'; duma 'la
'next day'. Examples:
a'lda-'uk-dd'nas-lu'tcman 'then the little girl' (a'lda 'and then'; uk
'the, that'; dd'nas'little'; lu'tcman'female')
bi'-ya'-kwi'i'm 'and her grandchild' (bi 'and'; ya', third person
personal pronoun; kwi'i'm 'grandchild')
Negative wi'kc, adverbial elements like ka'bit 'so far', ni'xwa 'let's!',
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 35

t'lu'nas 'maybe', ka'ba, locative element, usually appear in later po-

sition. Examples:
tl!u'nas-qa'ntci-li'li 'maybe so long a time' (tl!u'nas 'maybe';
qa'ntci 'how much'; li 'i 'time')
wi'k-qa'ntci-wa'xt 'never again' (wi'k 'not'; qa'ntci 'how much';
wa'xt 'again')
kca'ba-'u'k-ya-tca'tcfto her grandmother' (kca'ba,locative; u'k 'it,
that'; ya, third person singular personal pronoun; tca'tec'grand-
mother')
a'lda-kabit-ga'gwa-ha'yu 'now that's all of that" (a'lda 'now';
kabit 'so far'; ga'gwa 'in that manner'; ha'yu 'very, indeed')
Demonstrative and interrogative pronouns follow next in order:
qa ' u'k-bus-na-la 'dwa 'where I have been going' (qa ' 'where'; u'k
'it, that'; na 'I'; la'dwa 'go')
u'k-ya-tca'tc 'her grandmother' (u'lk 'it, that, she'; ya, third person
singular personal pronoun; tca'tc 'grandmother')
qa 'da-'a1gi-na'iga 'what can I do?' (qa 'da 'what?'; a'kgi 'at the
time that, before'; na'iga 'I')
wi'kc-'i'kda-ya-wa'wa'she said nothing' (wi'k 'not'; i'kda 'thing';
ya, third person singular personal pronoun; wa'wa 'speak')
a'lda-ga'gwa-ya-muyk 'then that is how she did it' (a'lda 'then';
ga 'gwa 'in that manner'; ya, third person singular personal pro-
noun; mu'yk 'do')
Some thoroughly idiomatic compounds are build of at least one
demonstrative and another word, the arrangement of words following
the conventional order for tied words; each word may or may not retain
word stress, depending on rapidity of speech. These compounds may
appear in larger clusters, or, as often, quite independently. Examples:
wi'k-li'li 'pretty soon' (wi'k 'not'; li'li 'time length')
(Sanich) qa'Da-i-ili 'how long a time' (qa'Da 'how much'; li'li
'time length')
wi'k-saya 'nearly, not far' (wi'k 'not'; saya' 'far away')
wi'k-saya-bu 'lakli 'pretty near evening'
dd'nas-li 'li 'in a little while' (da'nas 'little'; li'li 'time length')
In next position, bus 'if, suppose, so, indeed'. The rule for bus is
not invariable; negative examples are given after examples illustrating
more common usage.
qa ' uk-bu's-na-la 'dwa 'where I have been going' (qa' 'where?';
u'k 'it, that'; na 'I', la'dwa 'go')
1as-wa'wa-ya'xga: 'bu's-'u'k-dana 's ya-kila'i' 'they told her: "If
36 MELVILLE JACOBS

that little one should cry" (u'k 'that'; dana 's 'little one'; ya,
third person singular personal pronoun; kila'i 'cry')
na'iga bu's-wi'k-na-la 'dwa 'I must not go' (na'iga 'I'; wi'k 'not';
na 'I'; la'dwa 'go')
In next position and preceding the verb or noun is the shorter per-
sonal pronoun. Even though the above elements sometimes move as
free independent words in slow speech, the short personal pronouns are
very closely fused, truly compounded, with the following verb or noun.
They are rarely accented.
las-wa'wa-ya'xga 'they told her' (las 'they'; wa'wa 'speak'; ya'xga,
third person singular independent personal pronoun)
na-q!u' 'I reached home' (na 'I'; q!u" 'return home')
ma-tca'tc'your grandmother' (ma 'you, your')
ya-muyk-sdu'x 'she untied it' (ya, third person singular personal
pronoun; muyk, causative auxiliary verb; sdu'x 'untie')
The longer so called independent personal pronouns may be used in
order to provide a more pointed indication of what person is meant, in
the same anterior position as the shorter forms. But such usage is not
quite so frequent; the elements are felt as clustered, not compounded.
gi 'gwli ka'ba-lasga-lima' 'below in their arm pits' (gi 'gwli 'below';
ka'ba, locative; la'sga 'they, their'; lima' 'arm')
ntsa'iga-lu 'lu 'we will take' (ntsa'iga 'we'; lu 'lu 'take')
a'lda-bus-la'sga-ma'kmak'then indeed they ate'
True compound nouns occur, or compounds of adjective and noun, in
order, adjective, then noun. They are old idioms. Thus, u'k-man-di'l-
xam 'the men folks' (u'k, article; ma'n 'male'; di'lxam 'people'); da'-
nas-lu'tcman 'girl' (da'nas 'little'; lu'tcman 'female').
Adverbs more usually anterior may trail posteriorly after verbs or
nouns. Examples are cited of both posterior and anterior usage.
duma'la-wa'xt 'and next day again' (duma'la 'next day'; wa'xt
'again')
a'lda-wa'xt-ya-la'dwa 'then again she went' (a'lda 'then'; wd'xt
'again'; ya, third person pronoun; la 'dwa 'go')
ya-ha'l-la'xni 'she pulled it up out' (ya, third person pronoun;
ha 'l 'pull'; la'xni 'inside to outside')
In next position are verb roots functioning as auxiliaries, compounded
with and anterior to the main verb. See below under the verb.
After the verb a few words sometimes trail along enclitically. The
third person plural shorter pronoun la's 'them'-note that when enclitic
it is accusative-behaves about as tightly enclitically as any word in
the language. Example: las-wa'wa-la's 'they told them'.
 Table: Tied words-positional order of compounded and clust
Anterior to nouns or verbs

Coneties
Connectives Ngtv
Negative Interrogative
Pronouns bus Personal Pronouns

a'lda 'and then' wi'k 'no, not' qa' 'where?' bus 'if, so, na- 'I, my'
bi 'and' - qa 'da 'what indeed' ma- 'you, yours'
duma'ia 'tomor- Adverbs thing?' ya- 'he, his'
row' ntsa- 'our, ours, we'
ni'xwa 'let's' Demonstra- mtsa- 'you, your,
t!u'nas five Pro- yours' (p1.)
'maybe' nouns las- 'they, theirs'

Preposition u'k 'that, it'

i'kda 'that
ka'ba, loca- thing'
tive ga'gwa 'in
that man-
ner'
38 3MELVILLEJACOBS

The longer independent personal pronouns, used accusatively, at-

tach posteriorly like the shorter la's form; their usage in this manner is
very frequent.
ntsa-lu 'lu-ma'iga 'we will take you' (ntsa 'we'; lu 'lu 'take'; ma'iga
'you')
a'lda-las-wa'-ya'xga 'then they told her'
To sum up this aspect of the language; Jargon is apparently of origi-
nally analytic cast, but the speech of several modern informants shows
a variety of agglomerates, some more ephemeral than others, and many
already rather firm compounds. In certain traits, the language seems
to be moving towards polysynthesis.
The phenomenon of clustering bears startling resemblance to the
phrase clusters of the Kalapuya dialects of western Oregon. Neverthe-
less it is certain that Chinookan, not Kalapuyan structure influenced
Jargon most deeply. And Chinook does very little word clustering.
The feeling for it in Jargon is especially unexpected in the Jargon
speech of our Chinookan (Clackamas) informant.
THE VERB

The verb occurs in simple root form, or within clusters or compounds

such as those described above. There are no formal means of expressing
temporal or most other ideas in the verb; such concepts must be taken
care of by free adverbs or other words, or by contextual implication.
The only clearly formal device employed in the Jargon verb is dupli-
cation, used as in the noun to express a plural or distributive idea or
action. See above, duplication.
We have already mentioned the compounded short personal pro-
nouns and auxiliary verbs, which provide the best examples of quasi-
formal types of expression in the verb.
The auxiliary verbs are very few in number. The most frequent are
the causative mu'yk, (also ma'muk, ma'uyk, ma'yk) and tca'gu 'come,
become'. Others are ku'li 'run, go'; ia'dwa 'go'; tq!i' 'wish, want' (ti'gi
in the speech of many natives, especially non-Chinooks) and a few
others. Causative mu'yk is likely to follow the others and directly
precede the verb.
a'lda-ya-tca'gu-k!wa 's 'then she got scared'
a'lda-tcagu-xaa'laql'then it opened up' (a'lda 'then'; xa 'laql 'open')
ka'nawi tca'gu-tl!man u'k-lagu 'm, tca'gu-wa'x 'the pitch became
all mashed, and it spilled' (ka'nawit 'all'; tVman 'mash'; u'k 'it';
lagu 'm 'pitch'; wa'x 'spill')
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 39

ya-tca'gu-ga'mdaks 'she got to thinking about' (ya, third person

pronoun; ga'mdaks 'think')
tca'gu-ba'ya 'they became cooked and done'
ma'-tq!-ila'dwa-na'nitc 'do you want to go see?' (ma' 'you'; tq!i
'want'; la 'dwa 'go'; na'nitc 'see')
la's-muyq!u" 'they brought her' (la's 'they'; muyk, causative;
q!u" 'arrive')
Ia's-muyk-na 'ntc-ya'xga qa '-bus-ya muyk-mi'lait 'they showed her
where to put it' (las 'they'; na 'ntc 'see'; ya'xga 'her'; qa' 'where';
bus 'indeed'; ya 'she'; mi'lait 'put')
ya-muyk-p!i"nes 'she baked them' (ya 'she'; p!i"nas 'bake')
The context of a Jargon sentence usually takes care of the expression
of ideas like 'be, be the matter with, have, own, become, exist, stay,
stand'. The almost invariable lack of such verbs is an important phe-
nomenon.
ga'gwa gwa''nisim la'sga 'that is how they were all the time' (ga '-
gwa 'in that manner'; gwa 'nisim 'always'; la'sga 'they')
a'lda-ya'xga ka'ba-'i'li' 'then she was in the ground' (a'lda 'then';
ya'xga 'she'; ka'ba, locative; i'li' 'ground')
a'lda-ya'xga-ya-lu'tcman u'k-dd'nas-lu'tcman 'then that little girl
became his wife' (a'lda 'then'; ya'xga 'she'; ya 'his'; lu'tcmdn
'female'; u'k 'that'; dd'nds'little')
a'lda-ya-xu 'qan qa'-'uk-haya 'chayac 'then she picked out the ones
where they were big' (a'lda 'then'; ya 'she'; xu 'qan 'pick'; qa'
'where'; u'k 'that, those'; haya'c 'big one')
a'lda-ya-lu 'c-di'mdim 'she was in a good humor then' (a'lda 'then';
ya 'she, her'; lu 'c 'good'; di'mdim 'heart, feel, think')
yagwa' wi'k-saya a'lda 'it is close by now' (yagwa' 'here'; wi'k 'not';
saya' 'far'; a'lda 'now')
qa 'da ma'iga, masi'k? 'what's the trouble with you, are you sick?)
(qa 'da 'what'; ma'iga 'you'; ma 'you'; si'k 'be sick')
tl!u'nas i'kda qa 'da 'maybe something is wrong' (tl!u'nas 'maybe';
i'kda 'thing'; qa'da 'what thing? what trouble?')
To express a command, wish, exhortation or any imperative or in-
tensely emotional behavior no special construction is used. The sub-
ject pronoun may or may not be expressed. When the pronominal ob-
ject is 'me' or 'us,' the object pronoun may be omitted if the context be
clear. Examples of imperative usage:
(Snuqu.) pa 'ldtc u'kuk 'give me that!' (pa 'ldtc 'give'; u'kuk 'that')
(Snuqu.) ma'c-saya' 'throw it away!' (ma 'c 'throw'; saya' 'far
away')
40 MELVILLE JACOBS

(Snuqu.) lo 'c-tca 'ku ya'kwa 'you had better come here!' (to 'c
better'; tca 'ku 'come'; ya'kwa 'here')
(Snuqu.) ma'ika Ie 'dwa 'you may go!' (ma'ika 'you'; Ie 'dwa 'go')
la'dwa-saya, ma'iga 'go away, you!'
wi'k ha'yu na'nitc aya'q aya'q 'don't be looking so often!' (wi'k
'not'; ha'yu 'very, indeed'; na'nitc 'look'; aya'q 'quick')
wi'k-ma-ga'gwa'don't do that!' (wi'k 'not'; ma 'you'; ga'gwa 'in that
manner')
THE NOUN

There is hardly the slightest difference between the use of the noun
and the verb; meaning, position and context point and distinguish them
sufficiently. Duplication expresses plural or distributive number when
the context fails to make the meaning certain; such usage is very rare.
Prepositional phrases are common, the demonstrative ka'ba 'thereat',
functioning as a general preposition; in position it may be compounded.
The dependent shorter form of the demonstrative u'guk 'that', is u'k
'it, that'; it is virtually an article, but also felt as compounded with its
noun.
u'k-las-lipyi' 'their feet' (u'k 'that, those'; las 'they, their'; lipyi'
'foot')
u'k-'i'li' 'the ground'
u'k-ya-tcd'tc 'her grandmother' (u'k 'that'; ya 'her'; tcd'tc 'grand-
mother')
ka'buk-'i'li' 'in the ground' (ka'ba 'in, at that place'; uk 'that';
i'li' 'ground')
ya-wa'wa ka'ba-ya-tca'tc'she told her grandmother' (ya 'she, her';
wa'wa 'tell'; tca'tc 'grandmother')
kaba-ha'us 'homewards'
(Sanich) kini 'm pe-'l kaBa-ti'lxam 'canoes full of people'
(Sanich) hi 'lu ti! >'p-kaBa-tcd'k'(it was) not covered by water'
THE ADJECTIVE

Most, if not all adjectives and numerals are also used as nouns, less
often as adverbs. xlu'wima 'different' means also 'different one,
differently'; maca 'tci 'bad, bad thing, badly'; lu 'c 'good, good thing,
well'; sgugu'm 'powerful, powerful being, powerfully'. It should be
remembered that in Jargon elements are indiscriminately verbs, nouns,
adjectives, or adverbs depending on their meaning and the ability an
element of a given meaning has to serve as another form of word.
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 41

All adjectives and numerals may effect idiomatic compounds in rapid

speech with nouns they modify. Demonstratives and other elements
precede the adjective. See above, p. 33. Examples: i'xt-sa 'n 'one
day'; u'k-danes-lu'tcman 'that little girl'. There are many virtually
purely idiomatic compounds of noun and noun, where the first noun
may be conceived as adjectival in function. Thus, la.'xw-sa 'n 'after-
noon'; sgi^'n-lu 'p 'skin rope'.
THE NUMERALS

The numerals are Chinookan in origin: si'tgum 'half'; i 'xt 'one';

mafkwst, ma'kwct 'two'; (Sanich) ma'kst 'two'; lu'n 'three'; la'kt 'four';
(Sanich) le'kt 'four'; gwa'nam 'five'; (Sanich) qwa'nam 'five'; da'xam
'six'; (Sanich) Da'xam 'six'; si'nmakwst 'seven'; (Sanich) sa'namakst
'seven'; sdu'xwtkin 'eight'; (Sanich) kwa'it 'eight'; k!wa'its 'nine'; (San-
ich) tu'kwtci 'nine'; da'llamn'ten'; (Sanich) tE'llam, i'xt te'ltam 'ten';
da'lam bi-'i'xt 'eleven'; ma'kwst da'lam 'twenty'; i'xt da'k!umunaq
'one hundred'; ma'kwcdi 'twice'; (Snuqu.) ka'nama'kws'both together'
(from Chinookan kanam 'each, all, together' and ma'kwst'two').
RELATIONSHIP TERMS

It is interesting that the few terms employed are general enough to

be used intelligibly everywhere in the region. The local languages ex-
press fine kinship distinctions that would be burdensome in Jargon, and
unintelligible to natives who employ different kinship distinctions.
Additional Jargon terms will no doubt be found. ga'pxu 'elder sibling';
a'u 'younger brother'; a'ts 'younger sister'; lu'tcman 'female, wife';
ma'n 'male, husband'; ba-'ba 'father'; ma'ma 'mother'; tca'tc 'grand-
mother'; kwi'i'm 'grandchild'; ta't 'uncle'; i'qsix 'son-in-law'; i'qix
'brother-in-law'.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

There are two sets of personal pronouns, derived fron one set of roots
of Chinookan origin. The basic simpler set compounds proclitically,
and less often, in slower speech, appears as independent words; the third
form also compounds enclitically, when accusative. The roots, Chinoo-
kan of course, are these elements minus -a.
na- 'I, my'
ma- 'you, your' (singular)
ya- 'he, she, it; his, her, its'
ntsa- 'we, our'
42 MELVILLE JACOBS

mtsa- 'you, your' (plural)

las- 'they, their'; -las 'them'
The independent set of personal pronouns is derived from the pro-
noun roots by adding an -aiga or no doubt basically -ga suffix; in the
better third person form, -xga is suffixed. These are historically merely
the Chinookan independent personal pronouns. In Jargon, they serve
to point more sharply to the person referred to than the simpler proclitic-
enclitic forms; it may be that the -ga suffix is felt to be related to the -ga
suffix of several demonstratives, and that all the independent personal
pronouns have a demonstrative insistency that is lacking in the simpler
compounded personal pronouns. However, Jargon -ga is historically
-ka 'only' of Chinook proper. The independent personal pronouns slip
into clusters, but with none of the snugness of the simpler compounded
forms; they are always very much demonstrative and independent.
na'iga 'I, me, my, mine'; (Sanich) na'iGa; (Snuqu.) na'ika
ma'iga 'you, your, yours' (singular); (Sanich) ma'iGa; (Snuqu.)
ma'ika
ya'xga, ya'ga 'he, his, him; she, her, hers; it, its'; (Sanich) yE'lca,
ya'Ga; (Snuqu.) ya'lcka
ntsa'iga 'we, our, ours, us'; (Sanich) nisa'iGa; (Snuqu.) nisa'ika
mtsa'iga 'you, your, yours' (plural); msa'iga has also been recorded
(Sanich) misa'iGa; (Snuqu.) misa'ika
la'sga 'they, their, theirs, them'; (Sanich) la'ska
The basic pronominal elements are the basic Chinookan pronoun roots
n, m, i (or y), Z. To form the plural, ts (tc in Chinook) is added to the
first person (n) and second person (m) forms, exactly as in Chinook.
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

Demonstrative pronouns are used adverbially and adjectivally as

well as independently. Some express adverbial ideas almost invariably;
ga'gwa 'in that manner'; li'li 'for such length of time'. Others are
commonly adjectival, almost articles; u'k, the short form of u'guk 'it,
that', is most of the time a compounded article of very weak demonstra-
tive quality. Thus, u'k-ma'n 'the man, that man'; u'k-ya-tc9'tc 'her
grandmother' (u'k 'the, that'; ya 'her').
The purely demonstrative pronoun roots, from the point of view of
Jargon rather than of their Chinookan origin, seem to be uk 'that';
ya- 'this'; ka- 'that'; li- 'time'. These are built into functioning words
by using originally Chinookan suffixes (-gwa, -bdt, -iwa, etc.) or by du-
plication (u'guk 'that'; li 'li 'length of time'). Other words serve some-
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 43

times more or less demonstratively: ka'nawi 'all'; i'kda 'thing, that

thing'; i 'nadai 'this side' (Sanich, i 'natai); saya' 'distance, far away'.
The total list of words functioning demonstratively in Jargon: u'guk,
u'k 'that, those, the, it'; ka'ba'to or at that place' (also a locative prepo-
sition); ka'bat, ka'bit 'so far, that much'; ga'gwa 'in that manner, that is
how' (Sanich, Ga'Gwa; Snuqu., kwa'kwa 'in that manner, for that rea-
son'); da'ttlli'that is how'; yawa' 'to that place there, over at that place';
yawa' 'iwa 'in that manner, in that direction'; ya'gwa 'to this place here'
(Snuqu., ya'kwa); li'li 'that length of time'. Idiomatic compounds
containing demonstratives: qa'ntci-li'li 'I do not know how long a
time'; da'nas-li'li 'a little while'; wi'k-li'li 'not a long time, soon';
wi'k-saya 'not far, pretty near'; datnasaya' 'a little way, a short distance'.
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

The word qa''which? what? where?' seems used for all interrogations
about non-human matters; it appears to be a stem to which the suffixes
-x, -ntci, -da, -iwa' are added to supply special connotations. -iwa' has
already been noted as demonstrative suffix. Interrogative pronouns
ound are qa' 'where, there where, which, what?'; qa''iwa' 'wherever';
qa'da 'what thing? what trouble? what?'; qa'ntci 'what quantity? how
much?'; qa'x 'there where, which place?'. Interrogatives occurring in
compounds: ka'nawi-qa'x 'all over'; tl!u'nas-qa
''somewheres'.
ADVERBS

Common adverbs, some of which are occasionally adjectives: a'ngadi

'long ago' (Sanich, a'nkaDi); a'1gi'before'; wa'xt'again, also'; wi'k
'no,
not' (used more in western Oregon Jargon;hi''u used to the north);
dili 't 'directly, right, very';tcxi' 'after a while then, before'; gwa-'-
nisim 'always'; ka'ldds 'just, merely'; k!a'xtci 'in vain'; xa'uga1 'unable';
luu'c 'maybe, better, good, well'; tl!u'nas 'maybe, I do not know'; ha'yu,
ha'i 'very much, indeed'; hi'lu 'no, not' (not used much in Oregon
Jargon).
CONNECTIVES

The following connectives are used: a'laxdi 'and then'; a'lda 'and
then'; (Sanich, Snuqu.) we'1 'well, and then'; bi 'and' (Sanich, pi).

SYNTAX
All expression of relations between concepts or words is supplied by
means of precise word-order patterns. In northwest Oregon Jargon,
44 MELVILLE JACOBS

compounding and clustering incidentally exhibit ordered arrangements

of words, presented above; since relational matters depend for expres-
sion upon word order, in this section we repeat some rules already given
for word order in compounded or clustered units.
Using a transitive verb, subject, predicate and object usually occur in
the sequence, subject, predicate, object, whether subject or object be
noun or pronoun. Thus, ya-la'dwa 'he went'; ya-wa'wa-ya'xga 'he
told him'. The predicate is frequently given an extra ya- compounded
third person subject even with an expressed noun subject. Thus,
ya-1u'tcman ya-sa 'likc 'the woman was angry' (ya-, third person; tu'tc-
man 'woman'; sa 'likc 'be angry').
Occasionally the subject follows an intransitive verb. Thus, tl!u 'nas
ya-si'k na-tca'tc 'maybe my grandmother is sick' (tl!u 'nas 'maybe';
ya-, third person; si'k 'be sick'; na- 'my'; tca'tc 'grandmother'); tca'gu-
duma'la 'came tomorrow'; tca'gu-ia'x u'k-ya-lagu 'm 'the pitch came
out' (tca'gu 'come'; 1a'x 'out'; u'k 'it, the'; ya-, third person; lagu'm
'pitch'); ya-mi'lait i'xt-lamya'i 'one old lady dwelt there' (ya-mi'lait
'she dwelt there'; i'xt 'one'; lamya'i 'old lady').
Possessive relations commonly receive expression as follows. What
is possessed by or belongs to a thing or person, follows in word order, and
takes a personal pronoun functioning possessively. Thus, uk-lu'tcman
ya-ha'us 'the woman's house' (lit. 'the women her house'). Demonstra-
tive or article u'k, possessive pronouns (dependent or independent) and
then adjectives and numerals precede nouns they modify. Thus, ya-sti'k
'his stick'; haya 'c sti'k 'big tree'; ya-haya 'c sti'k, or ya-haya 'c ya-sti'k,
or u'k-haya 'c u'k-ya-sti'k 'his big stick, that big stick of his'. Note that
when an adjective occurs, ya- very commonly appends to both adjec-
tive and noun, resulting in giving nominal feeling to the adjective.
Thus, u'k-ya-lu'c ya-lu'tcman 'that-she-good she-woman', or 'the good
woman', or 'that woman is good'.
Locational positions and relations may be expressed by independent
demonstratives which usually precede the sentence subject. Thus,
ga'gwa-ya-mu'yk 'in that manner he did it' (ga'gwa 'that manner';
ya-, third person; mu'yk 'do'). ka'ba 'at that place' is the most common
demonstrative, though it serves pretty much as preposition, and pro-
vides virtual prepositional phrases. Thus, ya-q!u" kaba-las-ha'us 'he
came to their house' (ya-q!u" 'he came to'; ias-ha'us 'their house').
Place and especially time subordination may be provided in a clause
introduced by an interrogative pronoun. Thus, ya-la'dwa qa' u'k-ya-
Gu'tcman'he went where the woman was' (ya-la'dwa 'he went'; qa'
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 45

'where'; u'k 'that, the'; ya-lu'tcman 'the woman'); ma'iga-ga'mdaks

qa'da bu's-mu'yk-dla'i i'1'wal 'you are learning how to dry meat' (ma'iga
'you'; ga'mdaks 'know, learn'; qa'da 'what, how'; bus 'if, then'; muyk
'make'; dla'i 'dry'; i'l'wal 'meat'); ya-tl!a'p qa 'x u'k-la'sga-ha'yu da '-
nas 'she found where they were dancing a great deal' (ya-, third person;
tl!a'p 'find'; qa'c 'where'; u'k 'that, the'; la'sga 'they'; ha'yu 'very
much'; da 'nas 'dance'). Other types of relative clause subordination
are provided by sentences or phrases in apposition to what they modify.
Thus: 'The tree, which had a lot of pitch' is 'The-tree, much (is) its-
pitch': ya-sti'k, ha'yu ya-lagu 'm.
Phrases and sentences are connected, if they are felt related in
thought, by conjunctions like a'lda and wE'l. bi 'and' connects two
words. Thus: lamya'i bi-ya-kwi'i'm 'the old lady and her grand-
daughter' (lamya'i 'old lady'; ya- 'her'; kwi'i'm 'granddaughter').
Interrogation is expressed by rising sentence tone, not by a different
word order pattern. Thus: ma-si'k? 'are you sick?' (ma- 'you');ga '-
da-ma-di'mdim, bu's-ntsa-ia'dwa-yawa'? 'what do you think, shall we
go over there?' (qa'da 'what'; ma- 'you7';di'mdim 'think'; bus 'if then';
ntsa- 'we'; la 'dwa 'go'; yawa' 'over there'); qa da-'al9i-na'iga? 'what
can I do?' (qa'da 'what'; a'1gi 'before, then'; na'iga 'I').
Orders or commands may be expressed by using ma'iga 'you' before
or after, or ma- before the verb, or ma'iga or ma- may be omitted, the
sentence following the ordinary declarative word order pattern and sen-
tence tone indicating the mood of utterance. Examples: la'dwa-saya
ma'iga 'you go away!' (la'dwa 'go'; saya 'far away'); ma'iga-w'xt
ma-su'p!na! 'you jump too!' (ws'xt 'also, again'; su'p!na 'jump'); u '-
kla'-ma'iga 'oh keep quiet!'; la'dwa i'sgam tsu'q! aya'q! 'go get water!
hurry!' ma-la'dwa! 'go!'.
Hortatory expression is made possible by using ni'xwa 'lets!' Thus:
ni'xwa-na-la 'dwa kaba 'let me go there anyhow!' (na- 'I'; la'dwa 'go';
kaba 'at that place').
TEXT
This is a portion of a myth dictated in March 1930by Mrs. V. Howard, a native
speaker of Clackamas Chinook; she gave a version in Clackamas, which will be
published elsewhere. Mrs. Howard says the myth is Molale in origin, but was
told her in Jargon by her Clackamas speaking mother.
las-mi'lait' i'xt-lamya'i2 bi-ya'-kwi'im.3
They were living one old lady and her grandchild.
u'k-ddnds-lu'tcman4 gwa
'nisim ya-la'dwa5
That little girl always she went
46 MELVILLE JACOBS

mu'yk-laga'mas.6 gwa 'nisim ya-q!u"7

to dig camas (cat-earroots). Always she (would) come
k!i 'labai ka'ba-las-ha'us.8 a'lda-ya-p!i"nas9 u'k-lagama's4
home to their house. Then she (would) bake the camas.
a'lda-ya-'u 'ma'9 ya-tca'tc.0
Then she (would) give (them) to her grandmother.
a'lda-bus-la'sga-ma'kmak.ll duma 'la-w 'xtl2
Then they (would) eat. Next day again (tomorrow)
ya-la-'dwa6 mu'yk-lagama's6 a'lda-bus-ya-q!u' 1'
she (would) go dig camas. Then when she (would) come
k!i'labai ka'ba-las-ha'us,8 a'lda-bus-ya-'u 'ma'7, 11
home to their house, then she (would)give (them) to
u'k-ya-tca'tc.4 10 gwa ' nisim ga 'gwa-ya-muyk.l3 a'lda
her grandmother. Always thus she (would) do. Now then
i 'xt-sa 'n2 u'k-la'miyai4 ya'ga-hai-mayk-lu 'c uc.l4
one day the old lady she was cleaningup things.
ya'ga-ha'i-mayk-plu 'm14 wi'k-saya'5 ka'ba-las-ba'ya.8 ya-tH!a'p6
She was sweeping not far from the fire. She found
u'k-la'gama's4 ya-sgi 'n.3 qa'ntci-haya 's.16 ya'-muyk-mi'1ait'4 17
a camas (its) skin. It (was) a big one. She put it
ka'ba-ya-tiya'uwt.'8 ka'bat-haya'c'9 bus-ya'-tiya'wit.20. 3

on her leg (knee). It just fit on her leg (knee).

a'lda-ya-di'mdim9 u'k-lamiya'i,4 'da't!i21 ga'gwa-ya'xga.22
Then she thought the old lady, 'That's the way thus she (is doing).
dunu 'sdunus23 ya24 ba'latc na'iga,25 alda-ya'xga9 14

Small ones she gave me, then she

uk-ha'yachayac4'23 ya'-hayu-ma'kmak.'26 a'lda wi'k-saya'5
the big ones she is eating.' Now pretty near
bu 'lakli ya-q!u"7 u'k-dands-1u'tcman.4 ya-muyk-ba 'ya.14 17

night she came the little girl. She made fire.

ya-muyk-p!i'nas4' 17 uk-la'gamas.4 tcuba'ya,
She baked the camas. It got cooked,done,
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 47

a'lda-ya-'u 'ma'9 u'k-ya-tca'tc.4' 10 a'lda-ya-sa 'likc,9

then she gave it to her grandmother. Then she was angry,
wi'k-ya-tq!i27 ma'kmak26 li'li.28 a'lda-las-mu 'sum.ll
not (did) she want to eat a long time. Then they went to bed.
tca'gu-duma'la.29 a'lda-wa'xt-ya-1a'dwa5' 30 mu'yk-lagama's.6
Came tomorrow. Then again she went away to get camas.
wi'k-saya'5 bu'lakli ya-q!u".7 u'k-ya-tca'tc4'10
Pretty near evening she came. Her grandmother
ya-mu' sum.5' 31 ya-wa m5 pi-'k!u. ya-di'mdim,5
she was lying down. She was warming (her) back. She thought,
't!u 'nas ya-si'k5 32 na'-tca'tc.'33 ya'-p!i' 'nas5
'Maybe she (is) sick my grandmother.' She baked
u'k-la'gamas.4 a'lda-wadxt-ya-'u'ma'9 30 u'k-ya-tca'tc.4'10
the camas. Then again she gave (them) to her grandmother.
u'kc-la'miyai4 ya-sa 'likc.9 wi'k-ya-t!qi27 ma'kmak.26
The old lady was angry. Not did she want to eat.
tca'gu-sa 'n.29 a'lda-wa'xt30 ya-la 'dwa5 u'k-danaS-lu'teman."
Came next day. Then again she went away the little girl.
a'lda-'u'k-la'miyai4'9 ya-la 'dwa5 kaba-sti'k.A ya-la 'dwa5
Then the old lady she went to the woods. She went
na 'nitc qa'x35 ha'yac lagu'm sti'k.
to look where, what place big fir trees (were).
ya-tl!a'p5 i'xt haya 'c sti'k hayu' ya-lagu'm.36
She found one big tree (with) lots of (its) pitch.

a'lda-ya-muyk-ba'ya.'4' 17 tca'qu-a'x29 u'k-ya-lagu'm.37

Then she made a fire. It came out the pitch.
tca'gu-lu''lw'29 qa'-' w-lagu 'm38 ya-la 'dwa5 kaba-'i'li'.8
It piled up where the pitch (it) went (dropped) to the ground.

a'lda-ya-wa'wa,39 'a'lda ma-tca'gu40

Then she said (to the pitch), 'Now you turn into a

sgugu'm. na-kwi'i'm3 33 ya-'u ma'9 na'iga26

dangerous being. My granddaughter she gave me
48 MELVILLE JACOBS

uk-dunu 'sdunus4' 23 laga'mas.' a'lda-ya'xgal4 ya-ma'kmak5

the small camas.' Then she she ate

uk-haya 'chayac.4' 16' 23 a'lda-ya-k!i 'labai.

the big ones. Then she went home.

FREE TRANSLATION

One old lady and her grandchild were dwelling there. The little girl
always used to go dig camas (cat-ear roots). She would always return
home. Then she would bake the camas under ashes. Then she would
give them to her grandmother. They then would eat. The next day
she would go again to dig camas. When she reached their home, she
would give them to her grandmother. That is how she always used to
do. One day the old lady was cleaning up things. She was sweeping
near the fire. She found a camas skin. It was a large one. She placed
it over her knee. It just fit her knee. Then the old lady thought:
'So that is what she is doing! She gave me small ones, but she is eat-
ing big ones.' The little girl arrived near night time. She made a fire.
She baked the camas. When it was cooked, she gave it to her grand-
mother. The latter was angry, for a long time she would not eat. Then
they went to bed. The next day came. Again she went away to dig
camas. She reached home near evening. Her grandmother was ly-
ing down. She was warming her back. The girl thought: 'Maybe my
grandmother is ill.' She baked the camas. Then again she gave them
to her grandmother. The old lady was angry. She would not eat
them. The next day came. Then the little girl went away again.
Then the old lady went to the woods. She went to look where there
were large firs. She found one large tree that had lots of pitch. Then
she made a fire. The pitch came out. Where the pitch dropped to the
ground it formed a pile. Then she said: 'Now you become a dangerous
being! My granddaughter has been giving me small camas.' Then
she ate large camas. Then she went home.

ANALYSIS OF TEXT
1las, third person plural personal pronoun, shorter dependent form, subject of
the verb; the accent of las has been lost, a phenomenon common in pronoun pro-
clitics.
2 A grouping of i'xt 'one'; lamya'i 'old woman'; heard together because of rapid
speech.
3 bi 'and'; ya'-, third person singular personal pronoun, shorter dependent
form, with possessive signification.
 NOTES ON STRUCTURE OF CHINOOK JARGON 49

4u'k 'that' demonstrative pronoun or article; da'nas 'little'; this adjective

often
5 loses stress;
iu'tcman 'female'.
ya-, third person singular personal pronoun, subject of verb, shorter depend-
ent form, unaccented.
6
mu'olk 'make, do' causative auxiliary compounded verb, which frequently
occurs unaccented; ma'uo)kand man)k(14) have also been heard in the speech of
this informant; the form ma'muk is more generally used by Jargon speakers
elsewhere.
7 ya-, see 3 and 5.
8 ka'ba, preposition or demonstrative 'at that place' used here rather as prepo-

sition; la's, third person plural personal pronoun having a possessive connotation
in this case; it is unaccented.
9 a'lda 'now then', phrase and sentence connective; ya-, see 3.
10 ya'-, third person singular personal pronoun having possessive meaning,
and unaccented; compare ya-, 8.
1' a'Ilda'now then' (9); bu's,
this ubiquitous element here suggests some such
idea as 'I suppose at that time then'; Za'sga, third person plural independent per-
sonal pronoun, subject of the verb; la's is the third person plural root, -ga the
suffix used for the independent personal pronouns; ma'kmak 'eat' a verb root oc-
curring in duplicated form only.
3 wA'xt 'again, also' is frequently enclitic, or compounded posteriorly.
12

qga 'gwa 'in that manner', independent demonstrative pronoun; ya- (5);
mu'o)k'make, do' here used not as an auxiliary but as the independent verb 'do',
and nevertheless unaccented perhaps because of associated feeling for its fre-
quently dependent role.
14 ya'ga, a frequently heard, clipped, alternate form for ya'xga, and perhaps in

poorer usage; it is the third person singular independent personal pronoun; ya-
is the root and abbreviated form; -ga (11); hai, also a clipped and alternate form,
for the adjective or adverb hayu 'lots, very, much, rather, sort of, somehow';
in this case the accent is lost; mal)k, an occasionally employed alternative form of
causative auxiliary muijk (6); lu c 'good' an adjective or noun also used as a verb
'make good or clean or set to rights'; the duplicated form suggests that various
things are being set to rights.
15 wi'k 'no, not'; saya 'far away', a sort of adverb such as 'distantly' or de-

monstrative 'that-considerable-distance-away'; saya' is the more usual accented

form; wi'ksaya' is a common idiom whose components are felt as very tightly
knit.
16 qa'ntci 'how much', an interrogative pronoun; qa, interrogative root; -ntci,

element expressing quantity; haya's 'big one'. There is no verb needed with this
sentence-word.
'7 ya, third person; muojk,causative auxiliary verb; mi'lait'put, place'.
18ka'ba, demonstrative or locative preposition, 'place there at' (8); ya, third
person possessive.
'9 ka'bat'that much only', constructed of demonstrative root ka and -bat 'only',
from Chinook; haya'c 'big'. Note again the omission of a verb.
20 bus, a nearly empty adverb, 'merely, indeed, so'.
21 One of the demonstratives expressing manner.
50 5IMELVILLEJACOBS

22 ga'gwa, another demonstrative of manner (13); ya'xga (14). Note the omis-
sion of a verb.
23 dd'nas 'little'; dana's 'a little one'; the noun is duplicated and the vowels

changed to u in this very irregular noun plural.

24 The proclitic third person personal pronoun is employed as an independent

word, no doubt because of slow hesitant speech.

25 After the verb the personal pronoun is accusative; it is the independent form

of the personal pronoun, basically n or na, and with pronominal or demonstrative

-ga suffixed. na'iga is Chinookan in origin.
26 ya (5); hayu (14); ma'kmak 'eat'.

27 wi'k 'no, not'; ya (5); tq!i 'wish, want'.

28 Demonstrative root probably originally li-, and duplicated in every instance

of usage.
29
tca'gu 'come arrive, result in being, become', a verb frequently used as com-
pounded auxiliary; duma-'la 'the next day, tomorrow'; sa 'n 'sun, dawn' may
be used more or less analogously.
30 a'lda 'then'; wa'xt 'again'; ya 'she'; Ia'dwa 'go'.
31mu'sum 'lie down'; lengthened for some rhetorical purpose, perhaps to pro-
vide dramatic intensity.
32 si'k 'sick'; may be adjective or verb, depending on position and use.
33 na 'I, my', shorter proclitic personal pronoun, first person singular; it is
usually not accented; perhaps in dictation, slowness of speech resulted in notice-
able accentuation.
34ya 'she' (5); usually ya is unaccented; either extra slow dictation or some ob-
scure rhetorical motive may explain the lengthening and stress.
35 qa, interrogative pronoun root 'where, what, how?';-x, an obscure suffix.
36ya- 'its, it is, it has'; the third person singular proclitic pronoun employed
possessively.
37 u'k 'it, that' (4); ya, third person singular proclitic pronoun employed idio-
matically, or possessively. u'k-lagu'm would have been equally proper.
38 qa' (35); u'k 'it, that, the' (37); note rounding of k to kw because of preceding

u; this is more likely due to Chinookan speech habits of the informant than to
Jargon phonetic rule.
39 a'lda (9); ya (5); wa'wa, verb found in duplicated form in every instance.
40 ma 'you', second person singular proclitic personal pronoun; tca'gu 'become'

(29).