álhqey

snake

Álhqey is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘snake’. It is a general term, and you can use it for any snake……

Pronunciation

• Álhqey sounds like ‘ESS-kay’, except that instead of an ‘ss’ you say the Halq’emeylem hissy-l (‘lh‘) sound, and instead of a ‘k’ you say the Halq’eméylem ‘q‘.
• To make a hissy-l (‘lh‘), say a regular ‘l’, but make it hissy, something like a whisper with heavy friction.
• To make the Halq’eméylem ‘q‘ sound, tough the back of your tongue further back in your mouth than for a ‘k’. For ‘q‘, your tongue touches your uvula.
• Some elders pronounce this word more like álhqay, where the final vowel sounds a bit more like ‘eye‘.  Both pronunciations are ‘correct’.

Audio: Rosaleen George, Elizabeth Herrling

Related words

Here are some words related to álhqey:

• lháq, lhálheqem – to hiss, hissing
• slálem álhqey – turtle (lit. ‘snake with a house’)
• sth’í:ms te álhqey – snakeberry
• Alhqá:yem – rock in the Fraser River, just North of Strawberry Island (snakes sun themselves on this rock)