<P> Subsequent Choctaw spelling books de-emphasized the spellings lists in favor of straight prose, and they made use of the particle (,) but they too never included it in the word lists or discussed it directly . The presumption was that the use of particle "oke" or "hoke" was so common and self - evident as to preclude any need for explanation or discussion for either its Choctaw or non-Choctaw readership . </P> <P> The Choctaw language was one of the languages spoken at this time in the South - Eastern United States by a tribe with significant contact with African slaves . The major language of trade in this area, Mobilian Jargon, was based on Choctaw - Chickasaw, two Muskogean - family languages . This language was used, in particular, for communication with the slave - owning Cherokee (an Iroquoian - family language). For the three decades prior to the Boston abbreviation fad, the Choctaw had been in extensive negotiation with the US government, after having fought alongside them at the Battle of New Orleans . </P> <P> Arguments for a more Southern origin for the word note the tendency of English to adopt loan words in language contact situations, as well as the ubiquity of the "okeh" particle . Similar particles exist in native language groups distinct from Iroquoian (Algonquian, Cree cf . "ekosi") and its usefulness in conversation (a verbal equivalent to nodding one's head) as the main reasons for its rapid spread among English speakers . </P> <P> A verifiable early written attestation of the particle' kay' is from transcription by Smyth (1784) of a North Carolina slave not wanting to be flogged by a European visiting America: </P>

What is the origin of the expression okay