a – Chinuk to English

Interjection from French “eh bien”.

Interjection

Example from CTGR dictionary project:

“‘dret mayka wawa?” – “aha, dret na wawa” ⟺ “You are really speaking the truth?” – “Yes, I speak the truth.”

Note: it may sound a bit like the English “uh-huh” but is to emphasize something, and not used the same way.

Example (CTGR) for maybe, perhaps: aláxti mayka ɬatu ⟺ You might go.

Example (CTGR) for “finally, then”: alaxti qʰá-san ma chaku sáxÌ£ali ⟺ And finally some fine day you’ll rise up!

See t’ɬunas ⟺ don’t know

Etymology: from Old Chinuk for “at last, finally”.

Example (CTGR): kʰamuksh aləksh uk məkʰmək. ⟺ Dog begs for that food.

Etymology: from Salish languages -> pity, poor.

Might have been used as a currency by the Chinuk. Might have also been used as the word for “shell” in general (also old, and maybe only around Puget Sound).

Variants: ilim

Examples: miɬayt pi alím. ⟺ Sit (stay) and rest.

Etymology: Unlikely from French for aliment (food). So who knows.

Other spellings: alta

Also “and then” in storytelling: Now the dog wakes up, now the dog stretches, now the dog goes outside.. to move a story along.

alta … aɬqi … ⟺ Now … (then)

Example (CTGR): alta mayka chaku aɬqi sayku ɬatu ⟺ Now you come on (and) we’ll go.

alta-aɬqi ⟺ now will

Examples (CTGR):

• nayka tÉ™mtÉ™m, “alta-áɬqi nayka mÉ™kÊ°mÉ™k?” ⟺ I think “now will (do I have to) I eat it?”

• alta-áɬqi nayka munk-mímlus mayka, pus nayka t’ɬap mayka ⟺ Now I will surely kill you, when I find you.

alta hilu ⟺ to be done with. that’s all now.
See finis.

alta ɬush ⟺ that’s good | nice

Example: “That’s nice!” as exclamation.

alta-pus ⟺ now when … , then would … .

Example (CTGR):
álta-pus ya q’uÊ” k’ilapay Ê° ɬas haws álta-pus ya umaÊ” uk ya chÉ™ch ⟺ Then when she would get back to their house then she would feed that grandmother of hers.

alta-wəx̣t ⟺ then again

Other spellings: Al’-ki, alekli

also “eventually”

Examples (CTGR): ‘áɬqi yaka mamuk ⟺ Later on he’ll do it.

• áɬqi … áɬqi … ⟺ then it will be (that) ….
• áɬqi-hilu (munk-áɬqi-hilu) ⟺ to use up, to consume.
• áɬqi pus … chxi … ⟺ until; only when … ; not until …
• áɬqi-tumala ⟺ tomorrow it will be; sometime in the future

Example (CTGR): alta-tumula ⟺ then next day …

• áɬqi-tumala sitkum-sán nisayka k’ilapay ⟺ We’ll get back tomorrow noon.
• áɬqi-wÉ™xÌ£t ⟺ see you! (good-bye)
• áɬqi wik-lili ⟺ in a little while.

Wikiwand link.

See: ala

Other spellings: ahnkutty, ahnkuttie

Use anqati to indicate past tense.

Shaw says this:

Alm’-kut-tie, or Ah’n-kut-te, adv. (C) (CMnook.-ankutti.) Formerly; before now; long- ago; anciently; ago. (With the accent prolonged on the first syllable, a very long time ago; anciently. The longer the first syllable is held, the longer the time expressed.)

aaanqati ⟺ very long time ago

Examples:

• (CTGR) anqati tsa mÉ™kÊ°mÉ™k hayú ⟺ In the past we ate quite a lot.
• aaanqati yak achaku yakwa ⟺ He came hera a loooong time ago.

anqati-ikta ⟺ artifact

antʰiyeɬ məlasis ⟺ honey

bastən-antʰiyeɬ ⟺ honey bee

Etymology: from Kalapuyan. Honey bees came with white settlers. Before, at the end of summer when one burnt the prairie, they’d eat the leftover roasted yellowjacket larvae.

Examples (CTGR):

lili ya atá ⟺ he waits for some time.

na atá tunús ⟺ I’ll wait a little.

atá nayka ⟺ wait for me.

Sometimes kapxu ⟺ older sibling (brother or sister), and ats is only a younger sister. Other times ats can be a younger or older sister (depending on source).

See aw.

Sometimes kapxu ⟺ older sibling (brother or sister), and aw is only a younger brother. Other times aw can be a younger or older brother (depending on source).

Alternate spelling: hayaq, but use to ‘ayaq’.

ayaq-kuri ⟺ to run fast.

Pertaining to the ethnicity from Ireland.