39.1. Because: ʔaw̕-
| ʔaw̓ɬčíkʷs cn. | ‘(It’s) because I’m tired.’ |
| hiyáʔ cn; ʔaw̓ɬčíkʷs cn. | ‘I went because I was tired.’ |
► 1 This pattern is a particularly easy one. The prefix ʔaw̓‑ is very regularly translated with English ‘because.’
► 2 This prefix is usually pronounced ʔaw̓‑, but in careful pronunciation it sounds like ʔaʔuʔ‑.
► 3 This ʔaw̓‑ differs from English ‘because’ in that it is not a separate word.
► 4 In English, ‘because I’m tired’ is not a complete sentence; it is just a sentence fragment. The equivalent in Klallam, however, is a complete sentence. The first model, ʔaw̓ɬčíkʷs cn, could be, and often is, translated ‘because I’m tired,’ but a more accurate translation is ‘It’s because I’m tired,’ because this is a complete sentence in Klallam.
► 5 The second model is really two sentences in Klallam that can be translated with one in English. The second model could also be translated as ‘I went; it was because I was tired.’
► 6 When answering a direct ‘why’ question in Klallam, the shorter method, as in the first model, would normally be used.
► 7 Note that, as usual, the second model is translated with the English past tense, but the Klallam could be past, present, or future.
► 8 New vocabulary: sáy̓siʔ ‘scared’; ʔə́y̓ skʷáči ‘nice day’
 | ʔaʔstúʔŋət kʷaʔčaʔ ʔən̓sxʷkʷánəŋət. | ‘Why did you run?’ |
 | ʔuʔmán̓ cn ʔuʔ sáy̓siʔ. | ‘I was very scared.’ |
| ʔaʔstúʔŋət kʷaʔčaʔ kʷi ʔən̓sáy̓siʔ. | ‘Why were you scared?’ |
| ʔá, ʔuʔmán̕ cxʷ ʔuʔ čičtáŋ! | ‘Oh, you ask too many questions!’ |
| ʔaʔstúʔŋət kʷaʔčaʔ ʔən̓sxʷkʷánəŋət. | ‘Why did you run?’ |
| ʔaw̕mán̓ cn ʔuʔ sáy̓siʔ. | ‘It was because I was very scared.’ |
| ʔaʔstúʔŋət kʷaʔčaʔ kʷi ʔən̓sáy̓siʔ. | ‘Why were you scared?’ |
| ʔaw̕k̕ʷə́nnəxʷ cn cə slapúʔ. | ‘It was because I saw Slapu.’ |