Klallam Grammar

56 Interjections

An interjection is a short word that expresses emotion. It is not a noun, verb, or adjective, and, in Klallam, does not have meaning beyond the emotion it expresses. Short words for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ can be considered interjections. English interjections include words like ‘wow,’ ‘sheesh,’ and ‘yuck.’ Interjections typically occur alone outside the context of a sentence, but they often occur before the beginning of a sentence. A few have limited use as verbs. The Klallam language has twenty-seven interjections.

It is important to remember that all words of a language are useful and worth knowing. To be a fluent speaker of Klallam, you need to know these words. Words like these are useful only if they are not overused or misused. Help keep them valuable and meaningful by not using them too much or inappropriately. Using them appropriately maintains respect for the elders we learned them from and preserves the rich cultural heritage of the Klallam people.
ʔá‘oh!’
ʔaatətáa‘my goodness!’
ʔanəná‘oh no!’
ʔée‘hey!’
ʔə́š‘ugh, disgusting!’
ʔíčənə‘hey!’
ʔíh‘oops!’
ʔíš‘gosh, shoo, hush!’
čəná‘my goodness!’
čx̣ʷə́ɬnəɬ‘damn!’
háy̓əč‘curse to female’
héʔqʷ‘curse to male’
héh‘hey!’
hə́ɬnɬ‘curse’
hə́xʷ‘big deal!’
huxʷéy‘big deal!’
húy̓sta‘hey!’
na-‘hey, well!’
šá‘darn it!’
šaʔšúm̓‘yo heave ho!’
šatatá‘oh no!’
wáa‘huh?!’
wayənəhákʷ‘alas!’
wú‘hey there!’
xʷuxʷéy‘hey there!’
xʷúy‘yay!’
x̣ʷúx̣ʷ‘smart aleck!’

► 1 You can look up each of these in the Klallam Dictionary and see more examples of their use. These are the kinds of words you can start using right away. There is no special grammar to learn with them.
► 2 The first one, ʔá, has the most variation and is the most common. It also appears as áa, ó, ʔá, or ʔú, and is used much like ‘oh’ or ‘oh, my’ is used in English.
► 3 Another very commonly heard interjection is ʔíš. This one, as the model indicates, has the greatest range of use.
► 4 The interjections ʔée, héh, and húy̓sta are similar to the English interjection ‘hey.’ They are used to get someone’s attention. wú and xʷuxʷéy are used to get someone’s attention at a distance and are usually spoken loudly, with a long, high-pitched ending.
► 5 The interjection na- is unusual in that it is a prefix. It can be added to any verb to add emphasis or to get someone’s attention. Here are some examples: nanə́kʷ ‘Hey, you!’; naqʷáy či ‘Well, talk!’; nasə́məxʷ či ‘Stop talking right now!’
► 6 The three with the translation ‘curse’ are háy̓əč, héʔqʷ, and hə́ɬnɬ. These are considered somewhat rude and insulting. háy̓əč is used only to a woman; héʔqʷ is used only to a man. You might use these to someone that you are angry at. For example, an elder used héʔqʷ to a man who was teasing her about something. hə́ɬnɬ¸ if used to express anger at a person is also used only to a man, but it is more commonly used to express frustration or anger not necessarily directed at someone. For example, an elder might say hə́ɬnɬ if she found a mistake in her knitting.
► 7 One elder, Ed Sampson, considered hə́ɬnɬ to be very rude and not to be casually used. Other elders do not consider it such a strong curse word, but it is certainly not to be used by children. Elder Adeline Smith got her mouth slapped for saying this when she was a child.
► 8 The three interjections translated ‘curse’ each seem to have h followed by a lexical suffix. háy̓əč seems to have the suffix for ‘hip,’ héʔqʷ the suffix for ‘head,’ and hə́ɬnɬ the suffix for ‘throat.’ The native-speaking elders recognized these connections, but had no explanation for them.
► 9 The interjection čx̣ʷə́ɬnəɬ is not used by women. It is considered the strongest and most insulting word in Klallam. The root is čx̣ʷ ‘saliva,’ and the suffix is - ə́ɬnəɬ ‘throat.’ The elders can offer no explanation for why ‘saliva throat’ is insulting.
► 10 The interjections háy̓əč, héʔqʷ, and čx̣ʷə́ɬnəɬ can, in a limited way, be used as verbs with cxʷ, the second-person subject.
► 11 The two interjections hə́xʷ and huxʷé are interchangeable. They might be said to someone who is bragging or showing off. Other translations of these two could be ‘Baloney!’ or ‘You’ve got to be kidding!’
► 12 The two interjections translated ‘my goodness!’ ʔaatətáa and čəná, are expressions of surprise. The interjection translated ‘alas,’ wayənəhákʷ, is a strong expression of sadness.
► 13 The interjection translated ‘yo heave ho,’ šaʔšúm̓, is used by people when coordinating a physical effort such as pushing out a large canoe.
šatətá! ʔáwənə nətálə.
ʔiš. ʔə́ŋaʔc caʔn ʔaʔ či tálə.
čəná! mán̓ cxʷ ʔuʔ ʔə́y̓. háʔnəŋ cn.
nuʔnáčc caʔ cxʷ.

 

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