21 Time Prefixes
We have already seen the kʷɬ‑ prefix in §19.3, §20.2, and §20.3. You will learn more about that one here. In addition, this section covers four other time prefixes found in the Klallam language: kʷɬən̓‑ ‘now,’ twaw̓‑ ‘still,’ čaʔ‑ ‘just now,’ and txʷ‑ ‘first, for a while.’
| kʷɬx̣ʷə́ŋ cn. | ‘I’m already fast.’ |
| kʷɬʔíɬən cn. | ‘I already ate.’ |
| kʷɬswə́y̓qaʔ cn. | ‘I’m already a man.’ |
| kʷɬən̓x̣ʷə́ŋ cn. | ‘Now I’ll be fast.’ |
| kʷɬən̓ʔíɬən cn. | ‘Now I’ll eat.’ |
| kʷɬən̓swə́y̓qaʔ cn. | ‘Now I’m a man.’ |
| twaw̓x̣ʷə́ŋ cn. | ‘I’m still fast.’ |
| twaw̓ʔíɬən cn. | ‘I still eat.’ |
| twaw̓swə́y̓qaʔ cn. | ‘I’m still a man.’ |
| čaʔx̣ʷə́ŋ cn. | ‘I’m just recently fast.’ |
| čaʔíɬən cn. | ‘I just recently ate.’ |
| čaʔswə́y̓qaʔ cn. | ‘I’m just a man,’ ‘I’m all man,’ or ‘I’m a bachelor.’ |
| txʷʔíɬən cn. | ‘I’ll eat first.’ |
| txʷƛ̓kʷít či. | ‘Hold it for a while.’ |
► 1 The first set of models show the prefix kʷɬ‑. The basic meaning of this prefix is ‘already.’ You can put this on apparently any word to add the meaning ‘already’ to whatever the stem means.
► 2 Although kʷɬ‑ most commonly appears on adjectives and verbs, it can also occur on any noun that makes sense. For example, kʷɬsʔíɬən means ‘it’s already food.’
► 3 The second set of models shows the prefix kʷɬən̓‑. This prefix means basically ‘now then, at this time then.’ It implies something just about to happen or to happen next, just after something else. For example, the model sentence kʷɬən̓ʔíɬən cn could also be translated ‘then (next) I ate.’
► 4 Often English ‘turn,’ as in ‘take a turn to participate,’ shows up in translations of kʷɬən̓‑. This happens especially if the prefix is on a noun or on one of the focus pronouns:
kʷɬən̓tím ‘Now it’s Tim’s turn.’
kʷɬən̓ʔə́c ‘Now it’s my turn.’
► 5 The third set of models shows the prefix twaw̓‑. The basic meaning of this prefix is ‘still.’ You can apparently put this on any word to add the meaning ‘still’ to whatever the stem means.
► 6 The word ‘still’ in English has several meanings. The Klallam twaw̓‑ means ‘still’ in the specific sense that whatever the stem means is happening now and has continued from some previous time. For example, twaw̓ʔíɬən cn means ‘I eat now, continuing from some previous time.’
► 7 The twaw̓‑ prefix is usually used with the actual, as in twəw̓ʔéʔɬən̓ cn ‘I’m still eating.’
► 8 There is quite a bit of variation in how the twaw̓‑ prefix is pronounced. Here is a list of observed pronunciations: twaw̓‑, twəw̓‑, twəw‑, təwəw̓‑, təwəw‑, təwə‑, tuwə‑.
► 9 The fourth set of models illustrates the čaʔ‑ prefix. The general meaning of this prefix is hard to pin down, but if you translate it with English ‘just,’ you won’t be wrong.
► 10 The prefix čaʔ‑ has a rather distinct meaning when it is attached to a noun versus when it is attached to any other type of word.
► 11 When čaʔ‑ is prefixed to a verb or an adjective, it adds the meaning ‘just now,’ ‘just recently,’ or ‘just finally.’ So čaʔhiyáʔ cn can mean ‘I just now went’ or ‘I just recently went’ or ‘I just finally went.’
► 12 Although čaʔ‑ usually adds the meaning of the action occurring in the immediate or recent past, it is possible for it to occur with the future tense marker. When it does occur with the future, it is always translated as ‘finally.’ For example, čaʔhiyáʔ caʔn means ‘I’m finally going to go.’
► 13 When čaʔ‑ is prefixed to a noun, it can add the idea of ‘just’ meaning ‘merely,’ as in čaʔsqáx̣aʔ ‘it’s just a dog,’ or it can add the idea of ‘just’ meaning ‘all, completely,’ as in čaʔsɬə́məxʷ ʔaʔ tiə skʷači ‘it’s just all rain today.’
► 14 With some nouns, čaʔ‑ adds special idiomatic meaning. Here are a few:
swə́y̓qaʔ ‘man’ čaʔswə́y̓qaʔ ‘bachelor’
sɬániʔ ‘woman’ čaʔsɬániʔ ‘unmarried adult woman’
q̓ʷə́yən ‘ear’ čaʔq̓ʷə́yən ‘always listening (all ears)’
ŋə́scən ‘louse’ čaʔŋə́scən ‘full of lice’
► 15 On nouns, čaʔ‑ can add the idea of something being an admirable model, complete and perfect. For example, čaʔcə́t ‘he’s all father’ means he is an admirably good father and seems to love his children very much. čaʔsnə́xʷɬ means ‘it’s all canoe; it’s a perfect canoe.’ The word čaʔŋə́qsən ‘he’s all nose’ was used by Ed Sampson to refer to someone with an unusually big nose.
► 16 You should be careful to avoid confusing čaʔ‑ with the similar-looking prefixes čšaʔ‑ ‘go from’ and č‑ ‘be from’ seen in §23.1, and with č‑ ‘have’ seen in §49.
► 17 The txʷ‑ prefix means ‘to do something for a while, first, before doing something else.’ See the Klallam Dictionary for more examples of this prefix.
► 18 These time prefixes are all mutually exclusive. That is, you cannot get any combination of kʷɬ‑, kʷɬən̓‑, twaw̓‑, čaʔ‑, or txʷ‑ in a single word.
► 19 Although kʷɬ‑ and twaw̓‑ cannot occur in the same word together, they do work together in a special construction:
twaw̓ʔáx̣əŋ ʔiʔ kʷɬč̓ə́yəxʷ. ‘Suddenly, he came in.’
This sentence is made up of two independent clauses: twaw̓ʔáx̣əŋ, which by itself means ‘he still says’ or ‘he still does’ (ʔáx̣əŋ ‘do’ or ‘say’), and kʷɬč̓ə́yəxʷ ‘he already entered.’ Together they produce the idea of ‘suddenly.’
► 20 Here is the general pattern for ‘suddenly’:
twaw̓ʔáx̣əŋ ʔiʔ kʷɬ…
► 21 Here are some more examples of how this idiom works. Make sure you can identify all of the parts of these sentences and understand how each works:
twaw̓ʔáx̣əŋ cn ʔiʔ kʷɬ́x̣čnáxʷ. ‘Suddenly, I figured it out.’
twaw̓ʔáx̣əŋ cn ʔiʔ kʷɬk̓ʷənúŋə. ‘Suddenly, I saw you.’
twaw̓ʔáx̣əŋ u cxʷ ʔiʔ kʷɬšč̓ə́təŋ. ‘Did you suddenly get hit?’
twaw̓ʔáx̣əŋ q̓ ʔiʔ kʷɬšč̓ə́c. ‘Suddenly, it hit me!’
twaw̓ʔáx̣əŋ yaʔ cn ʔiʔ kʷɬʔáwə c čtálə. ‘Suddenly, I didn’t have money.’
 | kʷɬʔíɬən u cxʷ. | ‘Did you eat already?’ |
 | twəw̓ʔéʔɬən cn. | ‘I’m still eating.’ |
 | čaʔhúy cn. | ‘I just finished.’ |
| q̓aʔq̓əníws cn. | ‘I’m a slowpoke.’ |