CHINOOK COLOR JARGON

The Chinook jargon — a Native American trade language from the Pacific Northwest, which I learned while I lived there — has four color words: t’kope, which is white; pil, which is red, orange, yellow, or any bright lively color; klale, which is any dark color; and spooh, which is any faded, washed-out color; a pair of blue jeans starts out klale and ends up spooh.