33.5. Irregular plurals and ŋə́n̕
| swə́y̓qaʔ ‘man’ | suʔwə́y̓qaʔ | ‘men’ |
| swéʔwəs ‘young man’ | suwáʔwəs | ‘young men’ |
| stúʔwiʔ ‘river’ | stúyaʔwiʔ | ‘rivers’ |
| x̣ʷúŋən ‘neck | ŋə́n̓ x̣ʷúŋən | ‘necks’ |
► 1 There are a few words—such as the four models—that do not seem to fit any category. These must simply be considered irregular. They have to be memorized.
► 2 There are alternate forms of the plural for each of these irregular words that some elders use all the time. Some of these have multiple alternate forms. The word for ‘young men,’ for example, has many different forms.
► 3 Typically the alternate forms above fall into one of the other regular classes. What class does each of these alternate forms fall into?
swə́y̓qaʔ ‘man’ swiwə́y̓qaʔ ‘men’
swéʔwəs ‘young man’ swiweʔwəs ‘young men’
stúʔwi ‘river’ stitúʔwi ‘rivers’
x̣ʷúŋən ‘neck’ x̣ʷaʔyúŋən ‘necks
► 4 There are a few words that have no special plural forms. For a word with no special plural form, just put the word ŋə́n̓ ‘many’ before it to refer to a group. The word sxʷk̓ʷúŋən ‘throat’, for example, has no special plural form. To refer to ‘a bunch of throats,’ use ŋə́n̓ sxʷk̓ʷúŋən. Perhaps there is no plural for this because, as one elder has said, ‘throats don’t come in bunches.’
► 5 Actually, you can make any noun plural just by putting ŋə́n̓ before it. The word ŋə́n̓ means ‘many, much, lots of, a bunch of.’ So, for example, ŋə́n̓ snə́xʷɬ means basically the same as ŋə́n̓ sninə́xʷɬ.
► 6 A long list of plurals is given in Appendix F. Look there and in the Klallam Dictionary for other irregular plurals.
 | k̓ʷənáy ʔuč suʔwə́y̓qaʔ či sʔənʔás. | ‘How many men will come?’ |
 | mán̓ ʔuʔ ŋə́n̓ ʔiʔ ŋə́n̓ suwáʔwəs. | ‘Very many, and many young men.’ |
| ččát caʔ st cə ŋə́n̓ sʔíɬən. | ‘We’ll make lots of food.’ |
| háʔnəŋ cn ʔaʔ či ʔən̓skʷənáŋəc. | ‘Thanks for your help.’ |