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Press Release
July 7, 2003
LINGUIST TO SPEAK ABOUT HISTORIC CHINOOK LANGUAGE
Linguist David Robertson will give a free lecture this month about the historic Chinook Jargon trade language and its colorful role in Southeast Alaska history.
Although the language is fluently spoken only by a few people in the Lower 48 today, a century ago most people in Southeast Alaska knew some Chinook Jargon, said Robertson, a graduate student studying linguistics at the University of Victoria in British Columbia .
The language was spoken by Alaska Natives and non-Natives, and some Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian words used today were derived from Chinook Jargon, said Robertson, who is studying the language through a grant from the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.
“Alaskan English also has a few Chinook Jargon words like cheechako, saltchuck and potlatch,” Robertson said.
In his lecture, Robertson will tell the story of this unusual language from early trading contacts into the 21st century. He will focus on the areas of Southeast Alaska life where Chinook Jargon has played a notable role, including warfare, dance songs, religion and geography. The audience is invited to stay for a brief, fun lesson afterward, featuring actual Chinook Jargon as spoken in Southeast Alaska 100 years ago, and a Chinook gambling song.
The lecture is scheduled 7-9 p.m. , July 14, in the 4 th -floor boardroom of the Sealaska building in downtown Juneau . It is free of charge and open to the public. The lecture is the third talk in a lecture series sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute , a nonprofit organization founded to perpetuate the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.
CONTACT: SHI President Dr. Rosita Worl, 463-4844.