becoming green
Tsqwóqwiyel means ‘becoming green’. Many Elders also use the same term for ‘becoming yellow’.
Pronunciation
Tsqwóqwiyel sounds like ts-KWOCK-wee-ull, except that instead of k‘s you say the Halq’emeylem q sound. For the q, touch the back of your tongue all the way back to your uvula. In this word the q‘s also have rounded lips (qw).
Audio: Elizabeth Herrling
Related words
Tsqwóqwiyel is based on tsqwá:y – green (or yellow).
The Elders partly doubled tsqwá:y, and this kind of doubling (what linguists call ‘reduplication’) can mark an ongoing action. They also added the prefix ts– (for ‘state of’, but used only with colours) and the ending –el (for ‘becoming‘). So literally the word means something like ‘state of becoming green/yellow in colour’.
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