18.1. Asking about time: First method
| čən̓táŋ. | ‘When?’ |
| čən̓táŋ ʔay̓ či ʔən̓shiyáʔ. | ‘When do you go?’ |
| čən̓táŋ či ʔən̓shiyáʔ. | ‘When do you go?’ |
| čən̓táŋ caʔ ʔay̓ či ʔən̓shiyáʔ. | ‘When will you go?’ |
| čən̓táŋ yaʔ ʔay̓ kʷi ʔən̓shiyáʔ. | ‘When did you go?’ |
► 1 In §12.2 you learned that the word for ‘what’ is stáŋ. This word is actually the root táŋ with a prefix s‑. If we put the čən̓‑ ‘time’ prefix on the root, we get čən̓táŋ ‘When?’ or literally ‘What time?’
► 2 Since it is based on the same root as stáŋ, the word čən̓táŋ is used in a similar way. Just as stáŋ can mean ‘something’ as well as ‘What?,’ čən̓táŋ can mean ‘sometime’ as well as ‘When?’
► 3 The word čən̓táŋ is usually followed by the little word ʔay̓, just as stáŋ is, but it is not required.
► 4 Just as in other questions, ʔuč may be used instead of ʔay̓.
► 5 These questions all ask when some event happened or will happen. The event in each of the models is ‘you go.’ Notice that the subject of the event is indicated with the possessive pronoun. Notice also that the event requires the s‑ prefix when it has the possessive pronoun (see §10.3). Study this set of sentences to see how that works:
| čən̓táŋ či ʔən̓shiyáʔ. | ‘When do you go?’ | |||
| čən̓táŋ či ʔən̓shiyáʔ hay. | ‘When do you folks go?’ | |||
| čən̓táŋ či nəshiyáʔ. | ‘When do I go?’ | |||
| čən̓táŋ či shiyáʔɬ. | ‘When do we go?’ | |||
| čən̓táŋ či shiyáʔs. | ‘When does he/she/it/they go?’ |
► 7 The ‘time’ prefix, čən̓‑, can also be found on the names of the seasons and on most of the names of the months. It can also be put on other words to indicate a time such as čən̓ʔíɬən ‘time to eat.’ Below are the names of the months and seasons in Klallam:
| x̣ə́w̓əs sčiʔánəŋ | ‘January’ (lit. ‘new year’) | |||
| č̓aʔč̓éʔiɬ ɬqáy̓č̓ | ‘February’ (lit. ‘short month’) | |||
| x̣aƛ̓ ɬqáy̓č̓ | ‘March’ (lit. ‘windy month’) | |||
| čən̓šə́wi | ‘March’ (lit. ‘growing time’) | |||
| waʔx̣wəx̣ɬcítəŋ̓ | ‘March’ (lit. ‘hearing peeper frogs’) | |||
| x̣t̓cáʔyəs | ‘March’ (lit. ‘lingcod eggs’) | |||
| čən̓máʔəxʷ | ‘April’ (lit. ‘horsetail time’) | |||
| čən̓líluʔ | ‘May’ (lit. ‘salmonberry time’) | |||
| čən̓kʷítšən | ‘June’ (lit. ‘king salmon time’) | |||
| čən̓q̓ə́čqs | ‘July’ (lit. ‘coho salmon time’) | |||
| čən̓t̓áqaʔ | ‘August’ (lit. ‘salalberry time’) | |||
| čən̓hə́nən̓ | ‘September’ (lit. ‘humpback salmon time’) | |||
| čən̓sɬə́məxʷ | ‘September’ (lit. ‘rain time’) | |||
| sx̣ʷúpč | ‘October’ (lit. ‘old salmon after spawning’) | |||
| čən̓háʔnəŋ | ‘November’ (lit. ‘thanking time’) | |||
| čiʔčiʔk̓ʷáʔsəŋ | ‘November’ (lit. ‘putting paddles away’) | |||
| čən̓shəyí | ‘December’ (lit. ‘time of spirit/life’) | |||
| čən̓syə́wən | ‘December’ (lit. ‘time of spirit dance’) | |||
| x̣ə́p̓ sčiʔánəŋ | ‘December’ (lit. ‘finished year’) | |||
| sx̣ʷús | ‘Spring’ | |||
| čən̓sx̣ʷús | ‘Spring’ | |||
| čən̓sx̣ʷiy̓ús | ‘Spring’ | |||
| čən̓ʔə́yi | ‘Summer’ | |||
| čən̓k̓ʷáʔyəs | ‘Summer’ | |||
| čiʔánəŋ | ‘Summer’ | |||
| čən̓sútč | ‘Winter’ |
► 9 There is no special word for ‘fall season’ in Klallam.
 | čən̓táŋ yaʔ ʔay̓ kʷi ʔən̓st̓úk̓ʷ. | ‘When did you go home?’ |
 | ʔáwənə nəsx̣čít. | ‘I don’t know.’ |
| mán̓ u cxʷ ʔuʔ ɬčíkʷs. | ‘Are you very tired?’ |
| ʔáa. mán̓ cn ʔuʔ ɬčíkʷs. | ‘Yes. I’m very tired.’ |