Sihks, Seeks, shikhs - a friend
Used only towards men (historically). I await the debate in
the emerging Chinook internet community as to whether this can be used as a
form of address for or term used to refer to a woman; I propose klootchman
sikhs as a compromise.
Man - man, male
Used generally, but more in reference to a non-native than a
native, for whom the term siwash would have been used. An optional
plural form ending in "-s" was also occasionally used.
Siwash - man, a male
From the French "sauvage", but widely used by natives in
frontier times as a self-descriptive. Generally an Indian male, although could
refer to men as a general concept. Technically a male human, in the sense of
"human being" as an identity, as common in other native languages. Potentially
(even usually) derisive in modern usage (although only old-timers would know
the word), this was originally a neutral descriptive despite its context in the
original French. Its best-known use today is in the name of Siwash Rock in
Vancouver's Stanley Park, which legend attributes as a man turned to immortal
stone in reward for his virtue.
Klootchman - woman, a female. Technically a female of any species,
but normally by itself an Indian woman
Klootchman would generally mean "woman", and could also
mean "women", although an "-s" might be added for the plural sense as with
words like tillikum(s) and whiteman(s). Klootchman generally only meant
an Indian woman, unless combined with another word, such as itwsoot
klootchman - she-bear; King george klootchman and/or Boston
klootchman for a white lady, perhaps, but there weren't many in the old
days. NB do not under any circumstances use the word "squaw" to refer to an
Indian woman; its modern meaning is highly derogatory and its etymology is a
descriptive vulgarity in Cree for vagina. Klootchman may have its source
in the word kloosh for "good", as in "a good 'man' to have around", or
"someone who makes you feel good". This may be wrong and I stand to be
corrected by another etymology, if someone has one.
Kingchauch, kingchauchman - Britisher of any species, also written
King George Man
This term remained in use during Victoria's reign although it
was coined during the era of George III. On the
British/Canadian side of the border, the Chinook term for the English language
was King george wawa or King George lalang. The Chinook term for
England or Britain was King George Illahee.
Boston, Boston Man - American
Most fur-trade era Americans were Bostonian, and the first
American ships in the region were all Boston traders. The town of Boston Bar
in the Fraser Canyon, which was the main American encampment north of Yale and
Emory Bar during the 1858 Gold Rush, owes its name to this Chinook
usage. The Chinook term for the United States was
Boston Illahee. On the US side of the border, the Chinook term for the
English language was Boston wawa or Boston lalang. In British
Columbia, this same term would have meant double-talk, or the loud and drawling
dialects and manner of speech of American miners and cowboys.
Dutch, Dutchman - German
Conceivably used for Scandinavians and Netherlanders also, for
whom there were no separate words in the jargon, although Scandinavians in
particular were omnipresent in the early history of colonization on both sides
of the border.
China, Chinaman - Chinese person
Also this term is now considered derogatory in English, it had
no such associations in Chinook, as is the case with Siwash (similarly
derogatory in English), Dutchman (mildly derogatory in English), and
Boston (sometimes mildly derisive in Chinook). Chinook derisives were
formed by the addition of pejorative adjectives, such as cultus,
tamanass, or mesachie. Although this is no
longer politically correct and its modern usage is condemned, many Chinese of
long residence in North America still use this word for themselves. It had its
origin as a neutral descriptive coined either by natives or by the Chinese
themselves, but acquired derogatory overtones late in the 19th Century,
although natives and many non-Chinese continued to use it casually into the
later 20th Century until it became controversial after the heightening of
ethnic sensitivities in BC with the massive influx of Chinese immigrants in the
1980s and 90s. Although held in regard by long-time British Columbians of all
races as a quaint term, and even an archaic one almost abandoned by the time of
the controversy, which caused the replacement of obscure frontier-era
placenames with new ones by substituting "Chinese" for "China". Similar
revisions of the toponymy in Alberta and the adjoining states are on the
agenda. The Chinook terms for the country of China were China Illahee
orChinaman Illahee, for the Chinese language China wawa
orChinaman wawa, or China lalang orChinaman
lalang.
Kanaka - Hawaiian person
This Hawaiian word is part of the BC landscape and was part of
the argot of early BC; some Chinook dictionaries include it as a regular part
of the jargon, indicating its early provenance in the fur trade and the gold
rush era rather than a non-Chinook import into the provincial dialect. Usually
given in Chinook lexicon publications as meaning "local" in Hawaiian, this is
incorrect, as I have been informed by Leilani at the Hawaiian Language
Page that the correct meaning is "human being, man, person, individual,
party, mankind, population" - i.e. the Hawaiian equivalent of the native
connotation of siwash. Leilani, in informing me of the correction, went
on to say "Just as it is culturally-incorrect, in these enlightened times, to
refer to an Asian as an Oriental, which is a European appellation, culturally-aware Hawaiians refer to themselves (ourselves) in
the language of the land...as kanaka maoli...fig., true
Hawaiians, to distinguish them/ourselves from the
immigrant-descended and Hawaiians-at-heart. Indigenous
Hawaiian and native Hawaiian would be English
approximations of the term, kanaka maoli. Literally, it translates then to: true humans (!). Nothing like an improved
self-concept (s)!". Kanaka Bar,
Kanaka Creek, and the now-vanished Kanaka Rancherie on
Vancouver's Lost Lagoon all indicate areas of Hawaiian activity and settlement
in the old colony; Kanaka Creek is across the Fraser from Fort Langley
and Derby, and would have been the domicile of the HBC's Hawaiian employees
(1820s). There are still many old family links to Hawaii in BC, especially
among the natives, with whom BC's Kanaka population readily
intermarried.
Pasiooks - French
This term is derived from the word paseese (blanket or
woolen cloth), one of the most culturally important trade goods introduced to
the region by the French-speaking voyageur employees of the fur
companies. The "-ooks" ending denotes a living being, i.e. "clothmen".
Gibbs notes that this term was applied to all fur company employees on the
Interior side of the Cascade Range/Coast Mountains, but on the Coast it was
exclusively used in reference to the French Canadian voyageurs.
Pasiooks wawa or pasiooks lalang - the French language.
Scotchman - a Scot
This has survived as a family name in the Lillooet region.
Klale man, klale siwash - a black person or a mulatto.
As in other parts of North America, blacks were easily accepted
by native societies. Most blacks and mulattos in the Northwest were British
subjects, usually West Indian, including the Crown Colony of Vancouver Island's
first Governor and first troops/police. There were extremely few blacks, if
any, in the American part of the Northwest until after the American Civil War.
One of the first ships in the region, the Venus, had an all-African crew
composed of "negroes of Lolo"; the Venus' fate is unknown, as there is
no record of her after her presence in the area of the BC coast around 1790.
Pictures of goldrush-era native graveyards in the Fraser Canyon feature black
mortuary statues, with West Indian-style head-bandanas and polka-dotted
knee-breeches.
Shama - White man.
Not strictly a Chinook word, but in wide use in many variants
throughout Salishan and adjoining areas. Emphasized or otherwise mutated vowels
indicate derision and hostility, and probably menace.
Whiteman - White man or whites in general.
Whiteman was used mostly by natives; it is not common
among them today; means any person of European extraction. Whitemans is
an alternative plural, but can also be the genetive.Unlike King george
man, Boston man, Scotchman, and Dutchman, which are
nationality-specific, this term would have been used when speaking of white
people in general, or in the aspect of an individual being white, or typically
white. Although not specifically a derisive, it was commonly used in
combination with pejoratives like cultus andmesachie.
Pronounced as one word, with vowels more or less the same as in English but
with an emphasis on the first syllable. The "a" in "man" is still an audibly
broad "a" rather than a neutral vowel as in the English prononciations of
"Dutchman" or "Englishman". Usually had a derogatory meaning, and was most
common in the forms tamanass whiteman (evil or wicked white man) and
cultus whiteman (bad whiteman, worthless whiteman, idiot), either of
which in the plural would have referred to the general iniquity of white people
as a whole. This colourful usage is unfortunately virtually extinct even among
the natives. The most common modern native term in the region is shama
(Salishan spelling "sama7", the "7" being a glottal stop), which can also have
derogatory meanings especially if the vowels ar changed or lengthened; this is
not properly a Chinook jargon word, but was probably in wider use among native
speakers of Chinook in BC than was King George man or Boston man,
especially in Salishan-speaking areas and/or when the context made no
distinguishment of Americans and Brits was intended. In such cases where no
national affiliation was meant or relevant, whiteman was likely more
often used in speech by natives with non-natives because of the impolite tone
of the more purely native term shama. NB the plural of this and other
"-man" terms was not made in the English way but by the addition of numerical
or other modifiers; e.g. hiyu whiteman (many white men). The optional
use of a final "-s" in addition to the modifier was also acceptable ("hiyu
whitemans"), but the addition of a final "s" was more generally used for the
possessive as in English. Most nouns were the same in the plural as they were
in the singular, especially for words of pure native origin such as those for
animals.
Sitkum siwash - half-breed.
The term "Metis" (pron. "maytsee") was not used in historic BC
except in reference to fur company voyageurs, who would more commonly
have been referred to as "Canadien", which was often their own word for
themselves. Most fur company Canadien employees would have been of Metis
stock, and technically sitkum siwash although not generally regarded as
such, but the latter term would have been reserved for people whose native
ancestry/culture was local.
Cultus whiteman - evil white man, worthless white man, dishonest
white man.
NB cultus - also means flawed, broken, nothing.
Cultus siwash - bad Indian, untrustworthy Indian, lazy Indian.
Obviously cultus can be used to generate other
derisives, but these two were the most common historical usages, along with
cultus boston. A truly evil, malicious individual would have been
described or accused as tamanass whiteman, tamanass siwash,
tamanass boston, etc. or as mesachie whiteman, mesachie
siwash, mesachie boston; mesachie means crooked,
untrustworthy, or malign, whereas tamanass indicates evil, malice, crazy
viciousness. All of these derisive forms would have been used commonly as
expletives and/or to-the-face denunciations. The same derisives applied
collectively would tend to use a plural form, if available - cultus
whitemans ("whites suck"), tamanass boston mans ("damn
Yankees").
Lemolo - wild, crazy. Lemolo boston - crazy American, etc.
Pelton - a fool, foolish, insane, stupid
Siks, sihks, seeks - friend
Tillikum, tillicum - friend
May also mean "people", especially if in plural form with
"-s"
Tenas, tenas tillikums - children ("little people")
Tenas means the young of any species. Moxt naika
tenas - I have two children. Mitlite tenas - to be with child.
Mahsh tenas - to give birth.
Self - self.Nika self - myself,mesika self - yourselves.
Huiloma, huloima - other, another, someone else, a different one
Huloima tillikum - stranger
Cheechako - newcomer, stranger, literally "just came"
Cheechako can also mean "tenderfoot", although this mild
derisive context is later and more regional, being associated with the Klondike
gold rush.
Naika, nika - I, me, mine
Maika, mika - you, yours (sing.)
Nesaika, nesika - We, us, ours
Mesaika, mesika - You, yours (pl.)
Yaka, yahka, yokka - him, her, they and his, hers, theirs
Klaska - they, them, theirs
Okook klaska, oke klaska - they, those present.
Yaka could also be used for the 3rd person
plural.
Okoke, okook, oke - this, that, here
Ka, kah - what, that
Also where, whither, whence. NB kah-kah - here
and there, wherever . Konaway kah - everywhere.
Klaksta - who, someone, which one
Oke klaksta, okook klaksta - he who.
Na, nah - who, which one
Na was used in both interrogative and pronomial senses.
It was also used as an interrogative particle to turn a phrase into a question,
or as a querying interjection. Gibbs says that in Yakima it is used as the
vocative. See also interjections.
Halo klaksta - no one, nobody
Konaway tillikum - everyone, everybody
Kunamoxt - both, both of them
Kunamoxt kahkwa - both alike, "they are the same", "they
are equal"
Ikt-ikt - someone, someone or other, whatever, something "here and
there"
Whit, wid - used as a suffix meaning "one who is"
Not exactly a pronoun; used as in kliminawhit (liar),
chee whit ("new one"), and klee whit ("laughing one"). This
particle could be very useful in the coining of new words - e.g. mesachie
whit - evil bastard, cooley whit - runner, hyak whit - fast
one.
Identity & Ethnicity | Status | Family &
Relationships | Pronouns
Male, man - man, siwash
Siwash was used only in reference to Indian men, and has
over time acquired a somewhat derogatory tone if used by non-natives. With the
exception of Kanaka, other masculine ethnicities were formed using the
"-man" suffix. Man by itself would also generally refer to non-Indians.
Female, woman - klootchman
American woman - Boston klootchman.
Englishwoman - Kingchauch klootchman - . Doe - Mowitch
klootchman. Female dog, bitch - Kamooks klootchman, dog
klootchman. etc.
British, English - Kingchauchman, kingchauch, king george man, king
george
English language - kingchauch wawa, king george wawa,
kingchauch lalang, king george lalang. These terms were used on the
British side of the border.
American- Boston, Boston Man (most fur-trade
era Americans were Bostonian)
English language - Boston wawa, Boston lalang. These
terms could also refer to the American dialect or manner of speech.
German - Dutch, Dutchman
Dutchman was conceivably used for Scandinavians and
Netherlanders also, as there were no separate words for these ethnicities in
the jargon. The term Dutchman was widely used throughout North
American in reference to Germans (who use Deutsch to describe
themselves), rather than to Netherlanders for whom the English usage is
reserved. The German language - Dutchman wawa, dutchman
lalang.
Chinese person - China, Chinaman
Also this term is now considered derogatory in English, it had
no such associations in Chinook, as is the case with Siwash (similarly
derogatory in English) and Dutchman (mildly derogatory in English).
Chinook derisives were formed by the addition of pejorative adjectives. The
Chinese language - China wawa, chinaman wawa, china lalang, chinaman
lalang - more particularly Cantonese (other dialects of Chinese being rare
in North America in those days).
Hawaiian - Kanaka
From Hawaiian kanaka for "human being";
kanakamaoli - "true human being", i.e. a native Hawaiian. The
Hawaiian language - kanaka wawa, kanaka lalang.
French, a Frenchman - Pasiooks
The French language - Pasiooks wawa, pasiooks
lalang.
Scottish, a Scot - Scotchman
There was no "Scotchman lalang", Gaelic being largely
unspoken in the Northwest despite a large Scots population, especially on the
British side of the border. There was no term for Irishman, except, perhaps
for Irishman orIrish.
Klale man, klale siwash - a black person or a mulatto. As in other parts of North America, blacks were easily accepted by native societies. Most blacks and mulattos in the Northwest were British subjects, usually West Indian, including the Crown Colony of Vancouver Island's first Governor and first troops/police. There were extremely few blacks, if any, in American part of the Northwest until after the American Civil War. One of the first ships in the region, the Venus,had an all-African crew composed of "negroes of Lolo"; the Venus' fate is unknown, as there is no record of her after her presence in the area of the BC coast around 1790.
Shama - White man. Not strictly a Chinook word, but in wide use in many variants throughout Salishan and adjoining areas. Emphasized or otherwise mutated vowels indicate derision and hostility, and probably menace.
Whiteman - White man or whites in general. Whitemans is an alternative plural, but can also be the genetive. Pronounced as one word, with vowels more or less the same as in English but with an emphasis on the first syllable.
Sitkum siwash - half-breed. The term "Metis" (pron. "maytsee") was not used in historic BC except in reference to fur company voyageurs
Cultus whiteman - evil white man, worthless white man, dishonest white man. NB cultus - also flawed, broken, nothing.
Cultus siwash - bad Indian, untrustworthy Indian, lazy Indian.
Obviously cultus can be used to generate other derisives, but these two
were the most common historical usages, along with cultus boston. A
truly evil, malicious individual would have been described or accused as
tamanass whiteman, tamanass siwash, tamanass boston, etc.
or as mesachie whiteman, mesachie siwash, mesachie boston;
mesachie means crooked, untrustworthy, or malign, whereas
tamanass indicates evil, malice, crazy viciousness. All of these
derisive forms would have been used commonly as expletives and/or to-the-face
denunciations. The same derisives applied collectively would tend to use a
plural form, if available - cultus whitemans ("whites suck"),
tamanass boston mans ("damn Yankees").
Lemolo - wild, crazy. Lemolo boston - crazy American
, etc.
Huiloma - other, another, someone else
Cheechako - newcomer, stranger (also tenderfoot)