| GRAMMAR RULES FOR
SLIAMMON LANGUAGE
PATTERNING.
SUBJECT IS AT5 THE END OF THE SENTENCE.
i.e. hoč ǰu I am going home.
hošt ǰu We are going home.
hočɛp ǰu You (all) go home.
FRAME SENTENCES. PUTTING TWO VERBS TOGETHER.
i.e. hoč ǰu θapiš I am going home to bathe.
hošt ǰu θapiš We are going home to bathe.
hočɛp ǰu θapiš You (all) go home and bathe.
The activity can change to ƛočt̓ (sleep); ɛɬtən (eat);
PRESENT PAST FUTURE
I am going I went I will go
hoč hohoɬč hot́ᶿəm
to eat I ate I will eat
ʔɛɬən ʔɛɬtənoɬ ʔɛltənθəm
to dance I danced I will dance
čičɬɛm čičɬɛmoɬ čičɬɛmθəm
to carry I carried I will carry
kʷinət kʷinətoɬ kʷinətθəm
WEATHER WORDS FORM A DIFFERENT PATTERN.
rain it rained it will rain
č̓ɩɬ č̓ɩɬoɬ č̓ɩɬsəm
snow it snowed it will snow
ʔaχʷ ?aχʷoɬ ?aχʷsɛm
wind it was windy it will be windy
puʔɛm puʔemoɬ puʔəmsəm
QUESTIONING TECNIQUES
hɛkʷ čɛ nɛs kʷaθ kæpoʔ where is your coat?
tam kʷaθ nanʔ what is your name?
k̓ʷɛnaye čɛpʔ how many of you?
k̓ʷɛnsəm kʷalčʷ tasʔ When will you be here?
čimšɛnčxʷʔ Where are you going?
hahačxʷʊm p̓ap̓ɛmʔ Are you going to work?
gət kʷaθ qəmʔ Who are you with?
POSSESSIVES
Possessives are formed by adding the possessor to an article before the noun.
ʔat́ᶿ tat́ᶿ kʷat́ᶿ
my mom
ʔat́ᶿ tan tat́ᶿ tan kʷat́ᶿ tan
ʔaθ taθ kʷaθ
your mom
ʔaθ tan taθ tan kʷaθ tan
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
ʔaʔyǰuɬɛm
ɬaʔamɩn (Sliammon First Nations)
LETTER HOW TO PRONUNCE EXAMPLES
ʔ Glottal stop. Exists in English, but is ʔopan
not written: i.e. Typicallay heard in the 10
exclamation uh – oh!
a as in father, bought ʔaχʷ
snow
æ as in apple, bat kʸæpo
coat
č like ch in change, cherry čuy
young
č́ glottalized ch č́ɛno
dog
e as in they, bait nɛʔɛt
be in the way
ɛ short e. As in led, bet qaʔyɛ
water
ə as in about kʷatə
quarter
g like g in gift gɩǰɛ
earth
h like h in hoe hoǰoθɛn
be finished eating
i ee sound. As in she, beat ǰi:ƛ
running
ɩ as in hit, bit ǰɩƛ̓
run
ǰ as in job ǰɛʔǰɛ
tree/relative
Letter How to pronounce Examples
k as in kayak kušən
star
ḱ glottalized k ḱɩḱiḱ
bird
kʷ lips rounded as in “oh”. As in quality kʷanəčɛm
sit down
ḱʷ glottalized rounded k ḱʷas
hot
l as in lips č̓ɛləs
three
ĺ glottalized l, ./. most often used ʔal ̓əs / ʔaʔləs
sea cucumber
ɬ “barred l” like a whispered l ɬa/amɛn
Sliammon
ƛ “barred lamda” t and- together ƛən̓ƛən
shy
ƛ̓ glottalized barred lamda ƛ̓ɛʔƛ̓ɛ
fast
m as in metal mos
four
ḿ glottalized m. ʔ often used haḿo / hamo
pigeon
n as in name nɩgi
you
o as in throat, boat ʔoɬqʷo
dig clams
ɔ as in caught p̓ɔhɔ
raven
p as in paper paʔa
one
p̓ glottalized p p̓ap̓ɛm
work
q “uvular k”. back of the throat sound. qəχ
many
q̓ glottalized q̓atən
rat
Letter How to pronounce Example
qʷ rounded back of the throat qʷɛyqʷɛy
sand
q̓ʷ glottalized and popping q̓ʷɛt
beach
s as in salt saɬt̓ɩxʷ
woman
š́ like sh as in shoulder šɩm
dry
t like t in take tala
money
t́ glottalized t t́ɛn
barbecued fish
tᶿ t followed by th tᶿ (man)
my father
t́ᶿ glottalized t́ᶿok̓ʷ
day
θ like th in thin θoθɛn
mouth (external)
u oo sound as in boot kʷušɛm
green
ʊ sound as in book tʊkɬɛ
rabbit
w as in wallet walθ
frog
ẃ glottalized w mɛmaw̓
cat
x uvular fricative χaʔa
like some people say Bach ‘ch’ butter clam
xʷ xʷɛƛ̓ay
mountain goat
y as in yellow yɛχay
berry basket
y̓ qay̓ɛ
water
a qʸɩyɛ
water
DIPTHONGS
aw as in cow χawgəs
grizzly
ay as in eye ʔayʔaǰʊθəm
speaking the language
Glottalized sounds are written with an apostrophe on top or after the letter. ᶿhey are made with a tightness in the throat and often sound a little popped. |