q’et’mí:l

fir

Q’et’mí:l is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘fir’. It may be related to q’át’em -‘sweet’, because some have fir trees have sweet sap …

Pronunciation

• Q’et’mí:l sounds like cut-MEAL, except that the first sound is a popped q, and the t is also popped.
• The Halq’eméylem q is made further back in the mouth than k. For q, the back of your tongue touches way back to your uvula.
• To pop a consonant, you combine it with the catch in the throat (glottal stop).

Audio: Elizabeth Phillips

Related words

Here are some words related to q’et’mí:l:

• q’et’ema:yelhp – fir tree (the -elhp ending refers to the whole plant or tree)
• qát’em – sweet

Plural Form

Q’et’mí:l has a special plural form, like this: q’etq’et’mí:l – ‘firs’ (audio here).

This kind of plural is formed by doubling (‘reduplicating’) the first three sounds of the word.