Pre-contact distribution of Chinookan languages

Chinookan is a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Columbia River (known as Chinookan refers to several groups of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. They are not to be confused with the Chinook Jargon, a pidgin based on Chinookan and with many words loaned from other languages, which was used in trade along the Pacific Northwest coast and adjoining areas inland. Chinook Jargon originated as a Pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread quickly up the West Coast from modern Oregon to the regions now A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America (the term refers to the land not the ocean

Family division

Chinookan consists of three languages with multiple varieties:

1. Kathlamet (also known as Katlamat, Cathlamet), now extinct (†). Kathlamet was a Chinookan language that was spoken around the border of Washington and Oregon. According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken Kathlamet was spoken in northwestern Oregon along the south bank of the lower Columbia River. Kathlamet has been classified as a dialect of Upper Chinook (or Middle Chinook), but they are not mutually intelligible. In Linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between Languages in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand
2. Lower Chinook (also known as Coastal Chinook), now extinct (†). According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken
   • Clatsop was spoken in northwestern Oregon around the mouth of the Columbia River and the Clatsop Plains (†). The Clatsop are a small tribe of Chinookan -speaking Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The Columbia River (known as The Clatsop Plains are an area of Wetlands and Sand dunes between the Northern Oregon Coast Range and Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon
   • Shoalwater (also known as Chinook proper), now extinct (†). According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken Shoalwater was spoken in southwestern Washington around southern Willapa Bay. Willapa Bay is a bay located on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state in the United States.
3. Upper Chinook (also known as Kiksht, Columbia Chinook)
   • Cascades, now extinct (†). According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken
   • Clackamas, now extinct (†). The Clackamas Indians were a tribe of American Indians of the American state of Oregon. According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken the clakmasas was spoken in northwestern Oregon along the Clackamas and Sandy rivers. The Clackamas River is a tributary about long of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. The Sandy River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States.
   • Hood River, now extinct (†). According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken
   • Multnomah (†) Multnomah spoken on Sauvie Island and in the Portland area in northwestern Oregon. The Multnomah were a tribe of Chinookan people who lived in the area of Portland Oregon, more specifically Sauvie Island, in the United States Sauvie Island, in the US state of Oregon, is the largest Island along the Columbia River, at 26000 acres (105 km² Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers
   • Wasco-Wishram, still spoken but severely endangered. Wasco-Wishram is a dialect of Upper Chinook, a Chinookan language. An endangered language is a Language that it is at risk of falling out of use generally because it has few surviving speakers

   Wasco has two speakers left.

   Wishram has two speakers.

   • White Salmon, now extinct (†). According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken

Watlala was spoken in north-central Oregon along the Columbia River Gorge. The Columbia River Gorge is a Canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Bibliography

• Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.

Further Reading

• Gibbs, George (1863). Alphabetical vocabulary of the Chinook language. Cramoisy Press.  Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection