sqelá:w

beaver

Sqelá:w is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘beaver’ ……

Pronunciation

• Sqelá:w sounds like skuh-LAW, except that instead of ‘k’ you say the Halq’emeylem ‘q‘ sound.
• You make the ‘q‘ further back than ‘k‘. For ‘q‘ the back of the tongue touches way back at the uvula.

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Rosaleen George, Elizabeth Phillips

Related words

Here are some words related to sqelá:w:

• sqiqelá:w – little beaver
• Sqelá:w Xóxtsa – Hanging Lake, Beaver Lake
• Sqelá:w Stótelō – Beaver Creek

Sqelá:w is also related to the word séq, which means ‘under‘ or ‘hang under‘.

Sqelá:w comes from séq+a:w where –á:w (or –í:w) is the suffix for ‘body‘, so the word means literally  ‘something that gets its body under‘.