Wolích is a place name. Several places now bear this name, but in her stories Elizabeth appears to be referring to a whistle stop along the railway tracks on Seabird Island.
In the map, the approximate place is at the end of Seabird Island Rd. (also known as Wahleach or Waleach road), just on the other side of the Lougheed highway.
Pronunciation
Wolích sounds wall-EACH.
Audio: Elizabeth Herrling
Related words and notes on the place
- Wolích may come from the root ̲x̲wále, which is related to the meaning willow.
- The root ̲x̲wále does not appear as a word by itself, but it appears in the word for willow tree: ̲xwálá:lhp – willow tree. (The -á:lhp ending marks that you are talking about the whole tree or a whole plant.)
- The place name ̲Xwólich was recorded for a (different) place on Seabird Island (where they had many willow trees) and Wolích may have been adapted from this older name.
- There are currently some other places in the area that bear the modern name Wahleach (or Waleach), including a man-made lake further up the river. But based on the Doll Story, it appears that Elizabeth is talking about the whistle-stop by the tracks on Seabird, as noted.
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