Chinook Jargon

American  

[shi-nook jahr-guhn, -gon, -nook, chi-] / ʃɪˈnʊk ˌdʒɑr gən, -gɒn, -ˈnuk, tʃɪ- /

noun

1. a pidgin based largely on Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), Lower Chinook, French, and English, once widely used as a lingua franca from Alaska to Oregon.

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Chinook Jargon British  

noun

1. a pidgin language containing elements of Native American languages, English, and French: formerly used among fur traders and Indians on the NW coast of North America

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Etymology

Origin of Chinook Jargon

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Chinook Jargon is a language developed in the Puget Sound region in the mid-19th century that served as “a mix of languages for the diverse peoples that lived here to facilitate trade,” Rudrud said.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2022

The event name, Klahowya, is Chinook Jargon for “welcome,” and it’s the phrase these diverse groups of people greeted each other with at the time.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2022

Joseph sought them out and calmly informed them in Chinook Jargon, a widely spoken regional trade language, that they were trespassing.

From Slate • May 24, 2017

Some years ago the Smithsonian Institution printed a small vocabulary of the Chinook Jargon, furnished by Dr. B.R.

From Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, or, Trade Language of Oregon by Gibbs, George

"Words used in the Chinook Jargon," pp. 147-152.

From Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, or, Trade Language of Oregon by Gibbs, George