schí:ya

strawberry

Schí:ya is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘strawberry’. You can use it for either wild strawberries or domestic strawberries.

Pronunciation

Schí:ya sounds like this: SCHEE-ya

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips

Plural form

strawberries

As is common in the language, elders differ in the plural form they use for schí:ya:

• Some elders say schelchí:ya, with partial doubling and an inserted -l
• Both elders say schechí:ya, with just partial doubling

Both these plural forms follow regular patterns for plural in the language, and both are ‘correct’.  You can also just say ye schí:ya – the strawberries.  Audio for both plural forms is here.

Related words

strawberry patch

• To talk about a strawberry patch (strawberry plant, strawberry vine, etc), you use schí:yàlhp, with the (e)lhp ending.
• The Halq’eméylem name for Cheam reserve (Xwchíyò:m) is also based on schí:ya