Nootka Jargon facts for kids

Nootka Jargon or Nootka Lingo was a special kind of language called a pidgin. A pidgin is a simplified language that people use to talk to each other when they don't speak the same language. Nootka Jargon was based on the Wakashan language called Nuučaan̓uł.

People used Nootka Jargon for trading, especially between the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and Europeans. It was most common in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Many experts believe it helped create another important trade language called Chinook Wawa. Some words from Nuučaan̓uł are still a big part of Chinook Wawa today.

How Nootka Jargon Started

Experts believe that Nootka Sound was a busy trading place for First Nations groups for a long time, even before Europeans arrived. Russian and Spanish ships were some of the first to reach the west coast of Vancouver Island. The British came soon after, arriving at a place called Yuquot (also known as Friendly Cove) in 1788.

There are stories of British and Spanish interpreters learning Nootka Jargon. This language mostly used words from Nuučaan̓uł. But it also picked up new words from the Europeans, like "sail" and "stow," because of all the trading and talking happening.

Recording the Language

Early European traders in the area wrote down lists of words from Nootka Jargon. Captain James Cook wrote down 268 words in his journal. Another person, John Jewitt, listed 87 words and their meanings in English in his book from 1815. His book was called A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt.

Nootka Jargon and Chinook Wawa

Nootka Jargon was the main way Europeans and First Nations people talked to each other for about 20 to 30 years. It's thought that Europeans learned this simpler version of Nuučaan̓uł through sea trade. They then used it as they traveled further down the Pacific Northwest Coast, towards the Columbia River.

About 5% of the words in Chinook Wawa come from Nuučaan̓uł. However, these Nuučaan̓uł words are used very often in everyday Chinook Wawa speech and writing. When people who weren't native speakers of Nuučaan̓uł started using it for trade, the sounds of the words changed a bit. The way the words were put together also changed slightly when they became part of Chinook Wawa.

See also

• Haida Jargon
• Chinook Jargon
• Medny Aleut language