MAMOOK KOPA B.C

MAMOOK KOPA B.C. (MADE IN B.C.)

REIN STAMM

The business world is constantly changing as new opportunities arise and, in turn, drive technological innovation. In this light, human language is a technology. Chinook Jargon is a technological innovation that utilizes about 700 words: roughly 25% French, 25% English and 50% Indigenous.

Chinook Jargon, as we know it, was developing on the West Coast in the early 1800s as new opportunities were arising. By the 1840s, when the Hudson Bay Co.’s Chief Factor James Douglas established Fort Camosun (present day Victoria), Chinook Jargon was the home language for some families. Some 60 years later, though new opportunities continued to present themselves, its usage was in decline and English — seen as a better technology — became B.C.’s dominant language.

Yet here we are, almost 125 years later, five generations past Chinook Jargon’s “best before date” and the language still lingers. This is not just a reference to the numerous place names and street names that can be found throughout the province. But rather, this refers to more recent ventures, such as Mákook pi Sélim. Check the local phonebook (or kids, if you prefer — Google) and one sees numerous businesses that carry a Chinook Jargon name. A quick search for “Klahanie” or “Nesika” or “Tyee” tells the tale of the language’s staying power.

Why such staying power? Clearly, for some, Indigenous or not, Chinook Jargon remains a very important part of British Columbia. Back in 1931, the University of British Columbia Student Handbook promoted the use of “Klahowya” as a student greeting, because the word “is too rich in association with the early history of our province, too appropriately ours, in a word too British Columbian to be lost to us.”

In this writer’s view, this description pretty well applies to the entire Chinook Jargon lexicon. The language is a constant reminder of a history that should not be forgotten; a history that we all can learn from as we move to a more equitable future.

The future brings opportunities. Perhaps Chinook Jargon, now some 220 years old, still has a technological role to play in branding B.C. companies and products. “Mamook kopa B.C.” has a lovely ring to it.

Rein Stamm is part of the Chinook Jargon community. He offers Snass Sessions and other seminars to keep the language alive, and spends most Saturday mornings with a group of Chinook Jargon devotees.

THE LANGUAGE IS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF A HISTORY THAT SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN; A HISTORY THAT WE ALL CAN LEARN FROM AS WE MOVE TO A MORE EQUITABLE FUTURE