Chinook Jargon

[ shi-nook jahr-guhn, -gon, -nook, chi- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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.

Chinook Jargon

noun

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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Word History and Origins

Origin of Chinook Jargon¹

First recorded in 1830–40

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

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

Chinook Jargon, the trade language of Oregon: Id., ib.

From

Among his smaller volumes he had found a travel book of the "Chinook Jargon," with a lexicon of many of the words commonly used by the Northern Pacific tribes.

From

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

Chinookan chinook salmon

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