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45 Chinookan family, with special reference to Kiksht and notes on Chinuk Wawa

  • Philip T. Duncan , Valerie (Lamxayat) Switzler and Henry B. Zenk
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The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America
This chapter is in the book The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America

Abstract

This chapter introduces aspects of the history, use, and grammatical features of the so-called “Chinookan” languages, which were originally spoken along the lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, from the Pacific Ocean upstream to just above The Dalles, Oregon. We pay special attention to Kiksht (ISO 639-3: wac) as a representative of grammatical patterns common in the family, such as building sentences from richly inflected nouns and verbs and having a sound system with a large number of consonants and a small number of vowels. Our choice to highlight Kiksht is because it is the only Chinookan language spoken today, and we hope that this chapter will be of immediate use to Wasco people who speak, hear, read, teach, and learn the Kiksht language- people for whom the Kiksht language is their sovereign right. Highlighting the enduring legacy of Chinookan languages beyond Kiksht, we include a historical note on Chinuk Wawa (ISO 639-3: chn), a pidgin-creole with strong roots in Chinookan. Formerly a lingua franca used across much of the Pacific Northwest and beyond, Chinuk Wawa is currently used as a heritage language by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Oregon, and the Chinook Indian Nation, Bay Center, Washington.

Abstract

This chapter introduces aspects of the history, use, and grammatical features of the so-called “Chinookan” languages, which were originally spoken along the lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, from the Pacific Ocean upstream to just above The Dalles, Oregon. We pay special attention to Kiksht (ISO 639-3: wac) as a representative of grammatical patterns common in the family, such as building sentences from richly inflected nouns and verbs and having a sound system with a large number of consonants and a small number of vowels. Our choice to highlight Kiksht is because it is the only Chinookan language spoken today, and we hope that this chapter will be of immediate use to Wasco people who speak, hear, read, teach, and learn the Kiksht language- people for whom the Kiksht language is their sovereign right. Highlighting the enduring legacy of Chinookan languages beyond Kiksht, we include a historical note on Chinuk Wawa (ISO 639-3: chn), a pidgin-creole with strong roots in Chinookan. Formerly a lingua franca used across much of the Pacific Northwest and beyond, Chinuk Wawa is currently used as a heritage language by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Oregon, and the Chinook Indian Nation, Bay Center, Washington.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Table of contents VII
  4. VII Language revitalization
  5. 32 Reviving languages: Outcomes of a Mentor-Apprentice style learning study 717
  6. 33 Child and child-directed speech in North American languages 741
  7. 34 Decolonizing Indigenous language pedagogies: Additional language learning and teaching 767
  8. 35 Digital tools for language revitalization 789
  9. 36 Using archival materials for language reclamation 807
  10. 37 Changing notions of fieldwork 823
  11. VIII Language families and isolates
  12. 38 Inuit-Yupik-Unangan: An overview of the language family 843
  13. 39 Dene – Athabaskan 875
  14. 40 Algonquian 931
  15. 41 Michif 951
  16. 42 Tsimshianic 985
  17. 43 Wakashan Languages 1013
  18. 44 Salish 1053
  19. 45 Chinookan family, with special reference to Kiksht and notes on Chinuk Wawa 1115
  20. 46 Sahaptian 1139
  21. 47 Karuk 1169
  22. 48 Wáˑšiw 1201
  23. 49 Pomoan 1223
  24. 50 California languages: Isolates and other languages 1247
  25. 51 Chumashan 1275
  26. 52 Yuman 1303
  27. 53 Uto-Aztecan 1333
  28. 54 Kiowa-Tanoan 1361
  29. 55 Caddoan 1407
  30. 56 Sketch of the Siouan Language Family 1447
  31. 57 Chitimacha 1519
  32. 58 Tunica 1545
  33. 59 Muskogean 1577
  34. 60 Iroquoian 1601
  35. 61 Unclassified languages 1627
  36. List of Authors 1649
  37. Index of languages 1673
  38. Index of names 1685
  39. Index of subjects 1695
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110712742-045

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Table of contents VII
  4. VII Language revitalization
  5. 32 Reviving languages: Outcomes of a Mentor-Apprentice style learning study 717
  6. 33 Child and child-directed speech in North American languages 741
  7. 34 Decolonizing Indigenous language pedagogies: Additional language learning and teaching 767
  8. 35 Digital tools for language revitalization 789
  9. 36 Using archival materials for language reclamation 807
  10. 37 Changing notions of fieldwork 823
  11. VIII Language families and isolates
  12. 38 Inuit-Yupik-Unangan: An overview of the language family 843
  13. 39 Dene – Athabaskan 875
  14. 40 Algonquian 931
  15. 41 Michif 951
  16. 42 Tsimshianic 985
  17. 43 Wakashan Languages 1013
  18. 44 Salish 1053
  19. 45 Chinookan family, with special reference to Kiksht and notes on Chinuk Wawa 1115
  20. 46 Sahaptian 1139
  21. 47 Karuk 1169
  22. 48 Wáˑšiw 1201
  23. 49 Pomoan 1223
  24. 50 California languages: Isolates and other languages 1247
  25. 51 Chumashan 1275
  26. 52 Yuman 1303
  27. 53 Uto-Aztecan 1333
  28. 54 Kiowa-Tanoan 1361
  29. 55 Caddoan 1407
  30. 56 Sketch of the Siouan Language Family 1447
  31. 57 Chitimacha 1519
  32. 58 Tunica 1545
  33. 59 Muskogean 1577
  34. 60 Iroquoian 1601
  35. 61 Unclassified languages 1627
  36. List of Authors 1649
  37. Index of languages 1673
  38. Index of names 1685
  39. Index of subjects 1695
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