swíyeqe

man

‘swíyeqe’ is the traditional Halq’eméylem word for ‘man’.

Pronunciation

Here are some tips for pronouncing swíyeqe:

• Basically, you just say “SWAY-uh-kuh”
• Instead of a “k”, though, try and say the Halq’émeylem “q” sound. For this, your tongue touches further back in your mouth: touching your uvula.

The elders sometimes also say this word so it sounds more like SWEE-uh-quh, or even SWEE-quh. All pronunciations are correct.

Using the Word

Here are some good contexts for using this word:

• Talking about a man (any adult age)
• Talking about a male of another species, e.g. a swíyeqe pús is tomcat.

Related Words

Here are some other words related to swíyeqe:

• sí:wí:qe – men (this is the plural form; click here for audio)
• swiyeqe’ó:llh – boy (the -ó:llh ending means ‘little one’)

Note: the audio sample above is by Elizabeth Herrling – Th’áth’elexwot and Elizabeth Phillips – Siyamiyateliot. If you don’t see an audio player above, you can try here.