Lachexw xwehíwel, xwehí::wel lam kw’e ehíw

Lachexw xwehíwel, xwehí::wel lam kw’e ehíw means ‘You go upriver, waaaay upriver’.

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling

Vocabulary and Structure

This phrase has the following structure:

Vocabulary:

• la – this is an untranslatable ‘auxiliary’ (‘helper’ verb). You use it when talking about acts involving motion away from the place of speaking (it is probably a reduced form of lám– to go).
• chexw – you (speakers normally drop the vowel in fast speech, so it sounds like chxw).
• xwehíwel – to go upriver, to go upstream
• xwehí::wel – to go waaay upriver. The extra length on the vowel í is used for special emphasis.
• kw’e – the (you use this for distant or remote people or objects)
• ehíw – upriver