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Klahowya - Hello, Greetings, How are you?
NB: most published lexicons give klahowyum for poor, "miserable", but this is only a spelling convention. In most areas, the two meanings were indistinguishable by listening. Thus, the context of the greeting seems to have been originally "Mercy" or "Please help/give" Klahowyum - poor, miserable, "I'm hungry", "please help me". Native food-gathering societies in the Northwest were often devastated by the consequences of even early Contact. On the other hand, traders might have plead hard times before opening negotiations - "give me a break"...See above. Nah sikhs - Hello, friend. Nah cheechako - Hello, stranger.
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| Masiem, mahsie - thanks, thank you
Spose - if, what if. Also Spose, klosh-spose - may I? Shall I? (i.e. "would it be good if...?") Kopasetty, copascetic - doing jes' fine, sitting pretty. Jeff Kopp contributed this, which I have used for a long time without ever considering it to be of Chinook origin. But now that he's pointed it out, the "kopa-" beginning is a hallmark of Chinook phrases - I just can't think what "setty" would mean. |
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