T’elt’álew means ‘arms’, it is the plural form of t’álew – ‘arm’.
Pronunciation
T’elt’álew sounds like till-TAL-oh, except that the t-sounds are ‘popped’ (‘ejective’). You make these ‘pops’ by combining the t with a catch in the throat (glottal stop).
Audio: Elizabeth Herrling
Structure
Elders make this type of plural by doubling the first consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) sequence in the word. One of the vowels (the one with less stress) will also ‘reduce’ to an e-vowel.
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