Tl’ís kw’es télexwes we is stám kw’es alxwítsel

Tl’ís kw’es télexwes we is stám kw’es alxwítsel means ‘(They) wanted to find out what was inside’.

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling

This phrase has the following structure:

Vocabulary:

• stl’í – want, need (Elizabeth says it without the s– in this sentences. s– is a noun marker here, and there is often variation with this.)
• The –s at the end of stl’í is a possessive marker, indicating a 3rd person possessor (3rd person means neither you nor me). Here the third person possessor is understood ‘their‘, and literally stl’ís means ‘(their) want (is)…‘
• kw’es – that, to
• télexw – find out, discover
• -es – here, a ‘third person’ marker (indicates that the subject is someone other than you or me).
• we – here, a ‘subjunctive’ marker, indicating uncertainty.
• i – an untranslatable auxiliary
• -s – another 3rd person agreement marker
• stám – what
• kw’es – can mean that, here does not directly translate.
• alxwítsel – inside