Xwelítem is the word for ‘white person’ or ‘European’.
Pronunciation
Xwelítem sounds like shwa-LEE-tumm, except instead of a sh the first sound is the Halq’eméylem soft-x (x). To make the soft-x, you touch your tongue lightly to the roof of your mouth. In this case the soft-x also has lip-rounding (xw).
Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips
Plural form
Xwelítem has a special plural form, like this: xwelalítem – ‘white people‘ (audio here).
Use of the plural form is optional with this word. You can also just say ye xwélmexw -‘ the white people‘ (ye means the, but is only used with plurals)..
Word origins
The origin and root for this word is unclear. There are (at least) two theories:
- Many people think the root of this word is xwá – to starve. This relates the word to periods when early Europeans needed the help of First Nations people to survive.
- Alternatively, some other people think the root of this word is xweli – to come, to arrive. This relates the origin to the fact that Europeans were the ones who arrived into First Nations territory.
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