15.2. Focus in questions and answers to ‘What?’
| stáŋ cn ʔay̓. | ‘What am I?’ |
| ʔə́c ʔuč stáŋ. | ‘What am I?’ |
| stáŋ cxʷ ʔay̓. | ‘What are you?’ |
| nə́kʷ ʔuč stáŋ. | ‘What are you?’ |
| stáŋ ʔay̓. | ‘What is he/she/it?’ |
| níɬ ʔuč stáŋ. | ‘What is he/she/it?’ |
► 1 Note that, just as with ‘Who?’ questions, there are two ways to ask some ‘What?’ questions.
► 2 Again, just as with ‘Who?’ questions, note that the members of each pair of questions in the models differ only in the focus. Putting the word first in the sentence makes it focused.
► 3 When stáŋ is not the first word in the sentence, the little word ʔuč is used to indicate that this is a request for information. Again, as in other types of questions, the ʔuč is not required.
► 4 Answers to stáŋ questions normally use the appropriate focus pronoun. Study the following sets of questions and answers:
| Q: ʔə́c ʔuč stáŋ. | ‘What am I?’ | ||
| A: nə́kʷ swéʔwəs. | ‘You are a boy.’ | ||
| Q: nə́kʷ ʔuč stáŋ. | ‘What are you?’ | ||
| A: ʔə́c swéʔwəs. | ‘I am a boy.’ | ||
| Q: nə́kʷ hay ʔuč stáŋ. | ‘What are you folks?’ | ||
| A: ɬníŋɬ ʔən̓sčə́y̓aʔčaʔ. | ‘We are your friends.’ | ||
| Q: níɬ ʔuč stáŋ. | ‘What is he/she/it?’ | ||
| A: níɬ nəsqáx̣aʔ. | ‘He/she/it is my dog.’ | ||
| Q: stáŋ yaʔ ʔay̓ či kʷánəŋət. | ‘What ran?’ | ||
| A: níɬ nəsqáx̣aʔ kʷə kʷánəŋət. | ‘It was my dog that ran.’ |
| nə́kʷ kʷi swéʔwəs. | ‘You are a boy.’ | ||
| ʔə́c kʷi swéʔwəs. | ‘I am a boy.’ | ||
| ɬníŋɬ kʷi ʔən̓sčə́y̓aʔčaʔ. | ‘We are your friends.’ | ||
| níɬ kʷi nəsqáx̣aʔ. | ‘He/she/it is my dog.’ | ||
| níɬ kʷi nəsqáx̣aʔ kʷə kʷánəŋət. | ‘It was my dog that ran.’ |
 | stáŋ ʔuč tiə. | ‘What is this?’ |
 | níɬ kʷi nəsčə́səqʷ. | ‘It’s my hat.’ |
| sčə́səqʷ! x̣ʷnáŋ ʔaʔ či snə́xʷɬ! | ‘Hat! It’s like a canoe!’ |
| stáŋ ʔuč cə. | ‘What is that?’ |
| níɬ kʷi nəsnə́xʷɬ. | ‘It’s my canoe.’ |
| nəx̣čŋín ʔaʔ či ʔən̓sčə́səqʷ! | ‘I thought it was your hat!’ |