léqem

to dive, to dive in

Léqem is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘to dive’, or ‘to dive in’ …

Pronunciation

• Léqem sounds like LUCK-um, except that instead of a k you say the Halq’eméylem q.
• To make the q, touch the back of your tongue to your uvula.

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips

Plural Form

To talk about ‘diving‘ as an ongoing action, you use a special form of léqem like this: hálqem (audio here).

Elders make this type of –ing form by adding a prefix ha-. This is the way you make the –ing form for verbs that start with l (or m, y, or w).