X̲pá:y means ‘cedar’. You use it to refer to the wood, not to a whole cedar tree (for a cedar tree you use a related word: x̲páyelhp).
Pronunciation
Sounds like KUH-PAY, except that instead of a K, the first sound is the Halq’eméylem hard-x sound (x̲). You make this sound be creating friction with the back of your tongue touching your uvula.
The vowel a is quite long in this word, with a high and slightly falling pitch. The colon (:) marks the length.
Audio: Elizabeth Herrling
Related words
X̲pá:y is related to many other words in the language, including:
- x̲páyelhp – cedar tree (the –elhp ending marks whole plants and whole trees)
- x̲páytses – cedar bough, cedar limb (the –tses ending literally means hand/arm)
- x̲epyúwelh – cedar trough (to serve food) (the –úwelh ending, sometimes pronounced –ówelh, marks a vessel or a canoe)
All these words may be related to the word x̲íp’ – to scratch and leave a mark (though the p’ is not popped in the words for cedar).
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