► 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’
