14 Questions: ‘Whose?’
| txʷcán ʔay̓. | ‘Whose is it?’ |
| txʷcán ʔay̓ sqáx̣aʔ. | ‘Whose dog is it?’ |
| txʷcán ʔay̓ sqáx̣aʔ či hiyáʔ. | ‘Whose dog goes?’ |
| txʷcán ʔay̓ sqáx̣aʔ či ƛ̓kʷə́t. | ‘Whose dog takes it?’ |
| txʷcán ʔay̓ sqáx̣aʔ či ƛ̓kʷə́ts. | ‘Whose dog does he take?’ |
► 1 The word for ‘whose’ in Klallam is the word for ‘who,’ can, with a txʷ‑ on the front of it: txʷcán.
► 2 Basically, the question word, txʷcán, comes first, then the thing that is possessed comes next: txʷcán snə́xʷɬ ‘whose canoe (is it)?’ But the tense markers and other speech act particles (more on these in a later section) may come between the two.
► 3 The ʔay̓ is not necessary, but speakers often use it. Each of the models above would be just as good without the ʔay̓. txʷcán ʔay̓ snə́xʷɬ and txʷcán snə́xʷɬ both mean the same thing: ‘whose canoe (is it)?’
► 4 As in other questions, ʔuč may be used instead of ʔay̓.
► 5 The word txʷcán is really a verb meaning ‘to be whose,’ so the English ‘is it’ in the translation is built in to the Klallam word. It is possible to say txʷcán cn ‘Whose am I?’ and txʷcán cxʷ ‘Whose are you?’
► 6 txʷcán can be used as a verb in a pattern like the following:
txʷcán ʔay̓ cə sqáx̣aʔ. ‘Whose is that dog?’ or ‘That dog is whose?’
Note the small differences in pattern and meaning between this sentence and the model sentence
txʷcán ʔay̓ sqáx̣aʔ. ‘Whose dog is it?’ or ‘It is whose dog?’
► 7 Aside from the word for the possessed thing following the question word, txʷcán works just like cán. Review §12.1.
► 8 New vocabulary: nə́čəŋ ‘laugh’; qʷáy ‘talk’; kʷáčəŋ ‘yell, holler’; sáwqəŋ ‘whisper’
► 2 Basically, the question word, txʷcán, comes first, then the thing that is possessed comes next: txʷcán snə́xʷɬ ‘whose canoe (is it)?’ But the tense markers and other speech act particles (more on these in a later section) may come between the two.
► 3 The ʔay̓ is not necessary, but speakers often use it. Each of the models above would be just as good without the ʔay̓. txʷcán ʔay̓ snə́xʷɬ and txʷcán snə́xʷɬ both mean the same thing: ‘whose canoe (is it)?’
► 4 As in other questions, ʔuč may be used instead of ʔay̓.
► 5 The word txʷcán is really a verb meaning ‘to be whose,’ so the English ‘is it’ in the translation is built in to the Klallam word. It is possible to say txʷcán cn ‘Whose am I?’ and txʷcán cxʷ ‘Whose are you?’
► 6 txʷcán can be used as a verb in a pattern like the following:
txʷcán ʔay̓ cə sqáx̣aʔ. ‘Whose is that dog?’ or ‘That dog is whose?’
Note the small differences in pattern and meaning between this sentence and the model sentence
txʷcán ʔay̓ sqáx̣aʔ. ‘Whose dog is it?’ or ‘It is whose dog?’
► 7 Aside from the word for the possessed thing following the question word, txʷcán works just like cán. Review §12.1.
► 8 New vocabulary: nə́čəŋ ‘laugh’; qʷáy ‘talk’; kʷáčəŋ ‘yell, holler’; sáwqəŋ ‘whisper’
 | txʷcán ʔay̓ píšpš. | ‘Whose cat is it?’ |
 | ʔáwənə nəsx̣čít. ʔən̓skʷáʔ u. | ‘I don’t know. Is it yours?’ |
| ʔáwə c nəskʷáʔ. | ‘It’s not mine’ |
| ƛ̓áy ʔuʔ ʔáwə c nəskʷáʔ. | ‘It’s not mine either.’ |