day
This is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘day’, and it also means ‘sky’. You will often use it when talking about the weather, or talking about how your day is going …
Pronunciation
Swáyel sounds like this: SWAY-ull.
Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips
Some speakers say swáyél, with slightly higher pitch on the second vowel. Both pronunciations (and spellings) are ‘correct’.
Examples
Here are some examples of how you can use this word:
- Ey te swáyel. – It’s a good day (lit. The day is good).
- Lets’e swáyel… – One day…
- Lhémlhemexw swáyel – It’s a (very) rainy day.
Plural Form
This word has a special plural form, created by partial doubling (reduplication): seswáyel.
Audio: Elizabeth Phillips
Plural marking is usually optional in Halq’eméylem, which means that you will sometimes hear elders use just swáyel to talk about plural days, too.
Related Words
A number of related words contain the same root as swáyel, including:
- wáyel – to become day (Swáyel is actually built from this verb, with the s- prefix making it into a noun.)
- tlowáyel – today (telo or tlo is one way of saying this).
- wáyeles – tomorrow (the -es ending marks a cycle of time).
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