Dracula… in Chinook?

Okay, hear me out

Have you read Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula” before? At the very least you’re somewhat familiar with the character and the story, right?

Perhaps a bit of a crazy thought here, but don’t you think this novel would make a great translation, or even better, a great re-imagining in Chinook Jargon?

Obviously I’m a little driven here by the need to have a work in the public domain, but it goes deeper than that. The thing about Dracula and a lot of these famous Victorian novels is that they use an “epistolary” format. That is, they are told through things like journal entries, letters, newspaper clippings, and the like.

Hold on a minute. Newspapers & letters, set the 1890s, blood sucking robe-wearing single men from a foreign land… where have I heard these things before?

Picture this

Re-write Dracula in Chinook written in Chinuk Pipa, except instead of being set in the UK, it’s set in Kamloops. Transylvania is the Chilcotin country and you keep the epistolary format, but they’re all in the style of Chinuk Pipa letters, clippings from Kamloops Wawa-esque papers, notes scratched into fence posts, etc.

It can go further. Instead of like in Dracula when they take a jaunt to Hull and the locals whip out their dialect English, why not have them go to Vancouver Island and have folks talk in a Vancouver Island-accented Chinook (huloiman, kumtaks, etc)? Or Pidgin English, maybe?

Why make the Chilcotin Country stand in for Transylvania, you might ask? Well, in the 1890s it had a bit of a reputation of a wild place. You can see the jokes in the Kamloops Wawa / Shugir Kin Tintin about Chilcotin folks being the sort to cast a spell at you. It would map somewhat well onto the (problematic) contemporary 1890s English people’s view of the ‘Gypsies’ in Dracula.

What would this look like?

Well, maybe something like this:

Original English

“My Friend.—Welcome to the Carpathians. I am anxiously expecting you. Sleep well to-night. At three to-morrow the diligence will start for Bukovina; a place on it is kept for you. At the Borgo Pass my carriage will await you and will bring you to me. I trust that your journey from London has been a happy one, and that you will enjoy your stay in my beautiful land.

“Your friend,
“Dracula.”

Translated (CP)

𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛰆𛱛𛰜 𛰃𛱇‌𛰆𛱇‌𛰅𛱄𛰙 𛰛𛱄𛰚𛱇 𛰀𛱁𛰋𛰅𛰋,

𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛱇‌𛰅𛱆 𛱜‌𛱜 𛰅𛱄‌𛰂𛱁 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁. 𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛱜‌𛱜 𛰅𛰆𛱂‌𛰀𛱚‌𛱊𛱁𛰙 𛰅𛱄‌𛰂𛱁 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁. 𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛱁‌𛱊𛱁𛰜 𛰃𛰆𛱛𛰜 𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛱄𛰙‌𛰃𛱄𛰙 𛰂𛱛͏͏͏𛰜 𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛰚𛱁‌𛰚𛱇𛰣 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁. 𛰃𛰆𛱛𛰜 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁 𛰜𛰆𛱇𛰂 𛱛‌𛰅𛱛𛰅 𛰂𛱛‌𛰆𛱂‌𛰅𛰆𛱇. 𛰃𛱛͏͏͏‌𛰙𛱄‌𛰋𛱄͏͏͏ 3 𛱄‌𛰅𛰆𛱁𛰅 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁 𛰅𛱛‌𛰆𛱇 𛰅𛱄‌𛰂𛱁 𛰜𛰃𛱇𛰙 𛰅𛱁𛰋. 𛱛‌𛰅𛱛𛰅 𛰜𛰃𛱇𛰙 𛰅𛱁𛰋 𛰆𛱄͏͏͏‌𛰆𛱄͏͏͏ 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁 𛰅𛱄‌𛰂𛱁 “𛰇𛱛𛰅𛱄𛰉𛱆𛰚𛱁„ «Bukovina»𛰃𛱚𛰚. 𛰂𛱛͏͏͏𛰜 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛰆𛱁𛰂 “𛰇𛱄𛰋𛰊𛱄 𛰂𛱂𛰜„«Borgo Pass» 𛰂𛱆 𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛰙𛱁𛰚 𛰆𛱄͏͏͏‌𛰆𛱄͏͏͏ 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁 𛰅𛱄‌𛰂𛱁 𛰥𛱇𛰅‌𛰥𛱇𛰅. 𛰅𛱁‌𛰃𛱂 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛱄𛰙‌𛰃𛱄𛰙 𛰅𛱄‌𛰂𛱁 𛱛‌𛰅𛱛𛰅 𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛱇𛰆𛱇‌𛰀𛱇? 𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛱇‌𛰅𛱆 𛰂𛱛͏͏͏𛰜 𛰙𛱁𛱆‌𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛰆𛱛𛰜 𛰙𛱆𛰃‌𛰆𛱂𛱆𛰃 𛰅𛱄‌𛰂𛱁 𛱛‌𛰅𛱛𛰅 𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛱇𛰆𛱇‌𛰀𛱇.

𛰚𛱁𛱋‌𛰅𛱁 𛰚𛱇𛰙 𛰈𛰋𛱁𛰅𛱑𛰆𛱂

Translated (CP Transcribed)

naika tlus tilikom shoni harkr,

naika tiki wawa kopa maika. naika wawa klahawiam kopa maika. naika aias tlus naika tomtom pus naika nanich maika. tlus maika slip ukuk pulakli. tumoro 3 oklak maika kuli kopa stim kar. ukuk stim kar lolo maika kopa “bukovina„ «Bukovina» tawn. pus maika tlap “borgo pas„ «Borgo Pass» pi naika man lolo maika kopa tsiktsik. kata maika tomtom kopa ukuk naika ilihi? naika tiki pus maika tlus mitlait kopa ukuk naika ilihi.

naika nim drakyula

What do you think?

Would you want to read something like this? Perhaps it could be a little short story at some point, rather than a whole retelling.