Eskimo Trade Jargon

Eskimo Trade Jargon
Native to	Western Canadian Arctic
Native speakers	None
Language family	Inuit-based pidgin
Dialects	Herschel Island Eskimo Pidgin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	eski1266

Eskimo Trade Jargon was an Inuit pidgin used by the Mackenzie River Inuit as a trade language with the Athabaskan peoples to their south, such as the Gwich'in (Loucheux). It was reported by Stefánsson (1909), and was apparently distinct from the Athabaskan-based Loucheux Jargon of the same general area.^[1]

A reduced form of the pidgin was used for ships' trade at Herschel Island off the Arctic coast near Alaska.^[2]

References

1. Stefánsson, V. (Apr–Jun 1909). "The Eskimo Trade Jargon of Herschel Island". American Anthropologist. 11 (2): 217–232. doi:10.1525/aa.1909.11.2.02a00050. hdl:2027/hvd.32044086537768. JSTOR 659464.
2. Schuhmacher, W. W. (July 1977). "Eskimo Trade Jargon: Of Danish or German Origin?". International Journal of American Linguistics. 43 (3). The University of Chicago Press: 226–227. doi:10.1086/465485.