- Lesson 1: Where is my Knife? - Alétse tel Lháts'tel
- Lesson 2: We need it - Stl'ítset
- Lesson 3: Put it On the Table - Lháq'etchexw la te Letám
- Lesson 4: I Need It. Where Is It? - El Stl'í. Alétse?
- Lesson 5: Put it On the Table. - Lháq'etchexw la te letám.
- Lesson 6: In the Kitchen - Li te Kéchel
- Lesson 7: In the Car - Li te Kó
- Lesson 8: At the table - Li te Letám
- Lesson 9: At Home - Li te Lá:lém
- Lesson 10: In the Kitchen - Lí te Kéchel
- Lesson 11: At Home - Li te Lá:lém
- Lesson 12: At Home - Li te Lá:lém
- Lesson 13: At the Office - Li te Syó:ysáwtxw
- Lesson 14: At the Office - Li te Syó:ysáwtxw
- Lesson 15: In the Kitchen - Li te Kéchel
- Lesson 16: Don't Want To! - Éwe el Stl'ís!
- Lesson 17: Did Mary Freeze the Fish Yet? - Lí ulh Píwetes tl' Máli ye Sth'óqwi?
- Lesson 18: Where's My Pencil - Áletse tel X̲éltel?
- Lesson 19: Where's the Salt? - Áletse te Tl'álhem?
- Lesson 20: Did you Open It? - Lichexw Xwemá:qet?
- Lesson 21: You're Wet! - Lhéqwchexw!
- Lesson 22: A Dream - Te S'élíyá
- Lesson 23: I lost it! - Tsel Ékw'elexw!
- Lesson 24: What Happened to Him? - Le Xwe'ít Tútl'ó?
- Lesson 25: I heard... - Tsel Ts'lhám...
- Lesson 26: Did You Wash Your Hands? - Lichexw Th'ex̲wá:tsesem?
- Lesson 27: Did You Take a Bath? - Lichexw Xóxekw'em?
- Lesson 28: Mary has a New Boyfriend - Kwelátes tl' Máli te X̲á:ws Swíweles
- Lesson 29: Is Mary Home? - Le ew Stá the Máli
- Lesson 30: I'm Looking after the Baby - Xóxelhmettsel te Sqáqele
- Lesson 31: How was your Day? - Selchím ta' Swáyel?
- Lesson 32: Did Somebody Help Him? - Lí Máytemkw'eTewátes?
- Lesson 33: Did He Ask You? - Lí Petámethó:me?
- Lesson 34: Are You Hungry? - Líchexw Kw'ókw'iy?
- Lesson 35: Please Pass It To Me - Th'íyxwem Sátelhsthóxchexw
- Lesson 36: Who did you Talk To? - Tewát kw'e qwélstexw
- Lesson 37: What are you going to eat? - Stámcha kw'e Lép'exexw?
- Lesson 38: What did John catch? - Stám kw'e Chxélches tl' Chól?
- Lesson 39: What are you Going to Make? - Stám kw'e Thíytexw?
- Lesson 40: Mary went Fishing - La qw'óqw'emó:thel the Máli.
- Lesson 41: Somebody Called You - Ílh me tá:methó:m kw'e wátes
- Lesson 42: Did you get your hair cut? - Líchexw lhíts'eqwem?
- Lesson 43: Who ate it? - Tewát kw'e lép'ex tel s'álhtel?
- Lesson 44: It was a Good Gathering - Éy te sq'ép
- Lesson 45: This Smoked Fish is Really Good - Ts'áts'el ew éy te'íle sq'éylo
- Lesson 46: Where is the Fish that I caught? - Elétse te Sth'óqwi el Schxélcha?
- Lesson 47: The place I used to live - Shxwlíselh kw'els stá
- Lesson 48: We Need some Milk - Stl'ítset kw'e Sqemó:s te Músmes.
- Lesson 49: If you go to the Store... - Líp Lám te Shxwímálá...
- Lesson 50: Your foot is Bleeding! - Chó:lxwem ta' sxéle!
Lesson 1: Where is my Knife? - Alétse tel Lháts'tel
Qwú:lqwelqweltel 1A
Qwú:lqwelqweltel 1B
Full Lesson Audio-Vocabulary and Dialogues
| Audio | Halq'eméylem | English |
|---|---|---|
| á'a | yes | |
| stl'epólwelh | under, underneath | |
| letám | table | |
| éy | good | |
| alétse | where (is it)? | |
| el stl'í | I want/I need... | |
| lháts'tel | knife | |
| ló:thel | plate, platter dish | |
| lepót | cup | |
| sts'ets'á | on, on top of | |
| qas | and | |
| qe | and, or, but | |
| lhq'él:exw | to know (it) | |
| sts'ó:qw'els | fork | |
| te | the | |
| síq | under | |
| stl'í | a want, need | |
| lhá:lets'tel | knives | |
| leló:thel | plates | |
| lelepót | cups | |
| kw'e | the, a, some [use for remote objects and non-specific items] | |
| lí | yonder, over there, in, at, on, (other meanings also include: yes, answer to yes/no question, question word at beginning of sentence | |
| slhq'él:exw | knowledge, knowing (it) | |
| ta' | your | |
| tel | my |
Plurals
A common and easy way talk about plural (multiple) objects in Halq'eméylem is to just use the basic noun (ignoring the plural form) and use the word ye before the noun. Ye means the, but it is used only with plural objects. Thus, for example, ye kopú will be understood to mean the coats, because of the ye, even though kopú itself simply means coat. If you wanted to be explicit, you could also say ye kalepú, using the explicit plural form (coats) for the noun, but this is not necessary in Halq'eméylem.
The plural form for each noun, where available, is listed beside the noun in your vocabulary lists, in case you do want to use it. Plurals are formed in various different ways, and it is not usually possible to predict what the plural form for a given noun will be: sometimes the plural is made by doubling part of the noun, sometimes it is made by inserting an -l into the word, and sometimes in other ways. Some nouns do not have any plural form at all
My and Your in Halq'eméylem
My in Halq'eméylem is tel. Your is ta'. For example:
tel lepót my cup ta' lepót your cup
tel letám my table ta' letám your table
tel lháts'tel my knife ta' lháts'tel your knife
Spatial expressions
The most general way to describe where something is in Halq'eméylem is to use the word lí, which means in, at, or on. The word-order to use is as in the following example.
Lí te letám te lháts'tel
At/in/on the table the knife
=The knife is on the table.
Whether you mean in, at, or on will be understood from the nature of the things being talked about. As the vocabulary list for this lesson indicates, there are also more specific words for describing where objects are located, including sts'ets'á (on, on top of) síq (under) and various others. With these more specific words for spatial locations you use a word-order as in this example:
Sts'ets'á te letám te lháts'tel
On the table the knife
=The knife is on the table."
Sentences for expressing spatial locations are usually constructed along similar lines, substituting the various other words for locations (stl'epólwelh, síq, etc.).
The Halq'eméylem language is the traditional language of the Stó:lō people, and it has been spoken continuously in the traditional Stó:lō territory, extending up the Fraser valley region of British Columbia, for thousands of years.
Like all languages, the Halq'eméylem language comes in many different varieties. The three main varieties of Halq'eméylem are as follows:
Upriver: Stó:lō Halq'eméylem (including Chilliwack, Chehalis, Sumas, Seabird, Tait, and other areas)
Downriver: Hun'q'umin'um' (including Musqueam, Tsawwasen, Kwantlen, Katzie, Burrard, and other areas)
Island: Hul'q'umin'um' (including Nanaimo, Chemainus, Cowichan, Malahat, Nanoose, and other areas)
Speakers of these three varieties can understand each other's speech, but there are major differences between the varieties. The most striking feature distinguishing Upriver Halq'eméylem from the other varieties is that Upriver Halq'eméylem does not have the sound 'n', a sound which occurs in many words in both Downriver and Island; all occurrences of 'n' in Downriver and Island words have been replaced by the sound 'l', in Upriver.
Linguists have adopted the term 'Halkomelem' to describe all the varieties of the language, though this term is being used less and less.
| Name | Description | File |
|---|---|---|
| Full Lesson Audio | Lesson Audio | Preview Download |
| Lesson 1 PDF | Lesson PDF | Preview Download |
| Printable Vocabulary Flash Cards | Printable flash cards for the vocabulary in this unit | Preview Download |
| Printable Phrases Flash Cards | Printable flash cards for the phrases in this unit | Preview Download |
| Audio | Vocabulary and Phrases | Download |
| Anki deck | 2 way | Download |
| Anki deck | recognition only | Download |