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sqwélqwel

Illustration for 'story, message, news'

story, message, news


Sqwélqwel means ‘story’, ‘message’, or ‘news’.

Note:  to talk about  traditional legends such as stories from the Transformer period, you would use a different word: sx̲wōx̲wiyám.


Pronunciation

Sqwélqwel sounds like SKWULL-kwull, except that instead of a k you say the Halq’eméylem q.  To make the q sound, you touch your tongue further back in your mouth, against your uvula.


Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips


Plura form

Sqwélqwel has a special plural form, like this: sqwélqwelwelstories, messages (audio here).

Elders make this type of plural by doubling (‘reduplicating’) the first part of the word.


Related words

Sqwélqwel comes from the word qwà:lto speak, to talk. Other words based on qwà:l include:

  • sqwà:lword
  • qwélqwelto tell news, information

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