p’éq’

white

P’éq’ is the Halq’eméylem word for the colour ‘white’…

Pronunciation

• P’éq’ sounds like PUCK, except that the last sound is the Halq’eméylem q sound, and both consonants are popped.
• The Halq’eméylem q is similar to k, except that you make q further back in the mouth, at the uvula.
• To make a popped consonant, you combine it with a catch-in-the-throat (glottal stop) sound.

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips

Examples

Here are some examples of how you can use p’éq’:

• Q. Selchí:momex tetha? – What color is that?
• A. P’éq’ tetha! – That’s white!

• Q. Selchí:momex te máqa? – What color is the snow?
• A. P’éq’ te máqa! – The snow is white!

Related words

Here are some words related to p’éq’:

• Sp’óq’es – bald eagle (the –es or –os ending means ‘face‘ or ‘on the face‘)
• P’eq’ó:les – cataract (the –óles ending means ‘of the eyes‘)
• P’q’élqel – mountain goat (the –élqel ending means ‘wool, fur, hair‘)

Note: to talk about white people, you would use an unrelated word: xwelítem.