Lesson 1: Where is my Knife? - Alétse tel Lháts'tel
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Lesson 2: We need it - Stl'ítset
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Lesson 3: Put it On the Table - Lháq'etchexw la te Letám
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Lesson 4: I Need It. Where Is It? - El Stl'í. Alétse?
Lesson 5: Put it On the Table. - Lháq'etchexw la te letám.
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Lesson 6: In the Kitchen - Li te Kéchel
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Lesson 7: In the Car - Li te Kó
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Lesson 8: At the table - Li te Letám
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Lesson 9: At Home - Li te Lá:lém
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Lesson 10: In the Kitchen - Lí te Kéchel
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Lesson 11: At Home - Li te Lá:lém
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Lesson 12: At Home - Li te Lá:lém
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Lesson 13: At the Office - Li te Syó:ysáwtxw
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Lesson 14: At the Office - Li te Syó:ysáwtxw
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Lesson 15: In the Kitchen - Li te Kéchel
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Lesson 16: Don't Want To! - Éwe el Stl'ís!
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Lesson 17: Did Mary Freeze the Fish Yet? - Lí ulh Píwetes tl' Máli ye Sth'óqwi?
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Lesson 18: Where's My Pencil - Áletse tel X̲éltel?
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Lesson 19: Where's the Salt? - Áletse te Tl'álhem?
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Lesson 20: Did you Open It? - Lichexw Xwemá:qet?
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Lesson 21: You're Wet! - Lhéqwchexw!
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Lesson 22: A Dream - Te S'élíyá
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Lesson 23: I lost it! - Tsel Ékw'elexw!
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Lesson 24: What Happened to Him? - Le Xwe'ít Tútl'ó?
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Lesson 25: I heard... - Tsel Ts'lhám...
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Lesson 26: Did You Wash Your Hands? - Lichexw Th'ex̲wá:tsesem?
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Lesson 27: Did You Take a Bath? - Lichexw Xóxekw'em?
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Lesson 28: Mary has a New Boyfriend - Kwelátes tl' Máli te X̲á:ws Swíweles
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Lesson 29: Is Mary Home? - Le ew Stá the Máli
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Lesson 30: I'm Looking after the Baby - Xóxelhmettsel te Sqáqele
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Lesson 31: How was your Day? - Selchím ta' Swáyel?
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Lesson 32: Did Somebody Help Him? - Lí Máytemkw'eTewátes?
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Lesson 33: Did He Ask You? - Lí Petámethó:me?
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Lesson 34: Are You Hungry? - Líchexw Kw'ókw'iy?
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Lesson 35: Please Pass It To Me - Th'íyxwem Sátelhsthóxchexw
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Lesson 36: Who did you Talk To? - Tewát kw'e qwélstexw
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Lesson 37: What are you going to eat? - Stámcha kw'e Lép'exexw?
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Lesson 38: What did John catch? - Stám kw'e Chxélches tl' Chól?
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Lesson 39: What are you Going to Make? - Stám kw'e Thíytexw?
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Lesson 40: Mary went Fishing - La qw'óqw'emó:thel the Máli.
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Lesson 41: Somebody Called You - Ílh me tá:methó:m kw'e wátes
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Lesson 42: Did you get your hair cut? - Líchexw lhíts'eqwem?
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Lesson 43: Who ate it? - Tewát kw'e lép'ex tel s'álhtel?
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Lesson 44: It was a Good Gathering - Éy te sq'ép
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Lesson 45: This Smoked Fish is Really Good - Ts'áts'el ew éy te'íle sq'éylo
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Lesson 46: Where is the Fish that I caught? - Elétse te Sth'óqwi el Schxélcha?
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Lesson 47: The place I used to live - Shxwlíselh kw'els stá
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Lesson 48: We Need some Milk - Stl'ítset kw'e Sqemó:s te Músmes.
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Lesson 49: If you go to the Store... - Líp Lám te Shxwímálá...
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Lesson 50: Your foot is Bleeding! - Chó:lxwem ta' sxéle!
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Lesson 4: I Need It. Where Is It? - El Stl'í. Alétse?

Qwú:lqwelqweltel 4A

A
El stl'í te léxwtels tl' Máli. Alétse?
I need Mary's blanket. Where is it?
B
Lí ta' ítetáwt.
It's in your bedroom.
A
Éy. Látselcha kwú:t.
Good. I'm going to go get it.
B
Achxwu ma kwú:t tel shxwtóle'ólestel? Sp'lhíq' te skwechóstel.
Could you get my glasses? They're beside the window.

Qwú:lqwelqweltel 4B

A
El stl'í kw'e shxwep'életstel. Alétse?
I need some toilet paper. Where is it?
B
Slíw lí te híkw kw'óxwe lí te ítetáwts tl' Máli.
It's in that big box in Mary's bedroom.
A
Éy. Látselcha kwú:t te shxwep'életstel.
Good. I'm going to go get the toilet paper.
B
We is iyólem kwút te kopús tl' Máli? Síq te shxwe'áxeths.
Can you get Mary's coat? It's under her bed.

Listen to the elder

Full Lesson Audio S4- Vocabulary, phrases, and Dialogues

Audio Halq'eméylem English
ólu too much, overly, too
axwí:l small, little, a little bit
swí:qe man, male (creature or plant)
kw'óxwe box, chest
shxwe'áx̲etháwtxw bedroom
léx̲wtel blanket
iyólem okay, alright
slíw in [used for inside box, object, etc.], inside (a hollow object)
shxwep'életstel toilet paper
híkw big
kwelát get, have, hold
to go
shxwe'áx̲eth bed
slhá:lí woman
sí:wí:qe men, male (creatures or plants)
kw'ólexwe box, chest
kwú:t taking (it)
shxwe'álex̲eth bed
slhellhá:lí women (several)
lam to go
hélem be going, be on one's way
shxwe'álexáwt bedroom

Audio Halq'eméylem English
Síq lí te shxwe'áxeths te kopús tl' Chól. John's coat is under his bed.
Stl'epólwelh lí te léxwtels te híkw kopús tl' Máli. Mary's big coat is under the blanket.
Síq li te shxwe'áxeth te kopús. His/her coat is under the bed.
Li te shxwe'áxetháwt te kopús tl' Máli. Mary's coat is in the bedroom.
Li te shxwe'áxetháwt tel kopú. My coat is in the bedroom.
Li te shxwe'áxetháwt te kopús. His/her coat is in the bedroom.
Achxwu ma kwú:t... could you get...
We is iyólem… could, would it be okay if…
El stl'í te léxwtels tl' Máli. Alétse? I need Mary's blanket. Where is it?
El stl'í kw'e shxwep'életstel. Alétse? I need some toilet paper. Where is it?
Slíw lí te híkw kw'óxwe lí te ítetáwts tl' Máli. It's in that big box in Mary's bedroom.
Lí ta' ítetáwt. It's in your bedroom.
Éy. Látselcha kwú:t. Good. I'm going to go get it.
Éy. Látselcha kwú:t te shxwep'életstel. Good. I'm going to go get the toilet paper.
Achxwu ma kwú:t tel shxwtóle'ólestel? Sp'lhíq' te skwechóstel. Could you get my glasses? They're beside the window.
We is iyólem kwút te kopús tl' Máli? Síq te shxwe'áxeths. Can you get Mary's coat? It's under her bed.

Proper Names as Possessors

When the possessor is a proper name like John or Mary, you use a special word tl' before the name. 


Examples:

te lá:lém - the house

te lá:léms tl' Chól - John's house 

te lá:léms tl' Máli - Mary's house


The word tl' is used only before proper names, and only in certain constructions, including this possessive construction. Note that in many other simple sentences in Halq'eméylem, instead of tl' you will see te and the before proper names


Examples:

Ímex te Chól. - John walks.

Ímex the Máli. - Mary walks.

Regular (Common) Nouns as Possessors

To talk about the man's N (where N stands for any noun) in Halq'eméylem, you add the usual -s ending onto the noun, and the possessor follows. 


For example (swíyeqe meaning man and slhá:lí meaning woman):

te lá:lém - the house

te lá:léms te swíyeqe - the man's house

te lá:léms the slhá:lí - the woman's house

The Halq'eméylem language, including all of its varieties or (what is the same thing) dialects, is part of a much larger set of historically related languages. This historically related group is called the Salish 'family' of languages.  


There are a total of twenty-three languages in the Salish family, spoken in Southern B.C. and extending south into Washington state and Montana.  Each language in the family is distinct in the sense that it cannot be understood by speakers of the other languages; however, the languages also share a number of similar features:  many vocabulary items in the languages in the family are recognizably related, the sound systems are very similar, and the grammars of the languages, though different, also share many similarities.  Linguists who study historical patterns in language generally agree that all of the modern Salish languages are probably descended from an ancient common Salish language, spoken in the area many thousands of years ago. 



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