Top Menu

thel málelh

my-late-father-2

Thel málelh means ‘my late father’. Some speakers would say tel málelh.


Pronunciation

Sounds like thill MAL-ith, except that instead of a th at the end you say the Halq’éylem hissy-l (lh). This is like a regular l, but hissy, and with no vibration in the throat.


Audio: Elizabeth Herrling


Structure

The phrase consists of these elements:

  • thelmy -many speakers would say tel before males, but speakers vary.
  • málfather
  • -elhlate

You attach the ending -elh to terms for any relatives who are deceased, e.g. sílegrandfather | sílalhlate grandfather.

The -elh ending also has other uses. With verbs (attached to an auxiliary before the verb) it marks past tense, e.g. lám tútl’oHe goes | – Ilh lám tútl’o He went


No comments yet.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress. Designed by Woo Themes