51.2. Using SU¸- and NIȽ SU¸-
Models
| 1) | NE SU¸ YÁ¸. | ‘So then, I went.’ |
| 2) | EN¸ SU¸ YÁ¸. | ‘So then, you went.’ |
| 3) | SU¸ YÁ¸ȽTE. | ‘So then, we went.’ |
| 4) | SU¸ YÁ¸S. | ‘So then, he/she/it/they went.’ |
| 5) | NIȽ SU¸ YÁ¸S. | ‘So then, he/she/it/they went.’ |
‣ 1 As noted in §30.2 and the previous section, §51.1, SU¸ is a combination of prefixes that is traditionally written as a separate word. It is the noun-forming prefix S‑ followed by the U¸‑ ‘contrast’ prefix (§56.1).
‣ 2 The SU¸ pattern is used to connect sentences in a story and provides somewhat the same smooth flow from one sentence to another as the English phrase ‘so then…’ or ‘and then….’ It is used to describe a continuation of an event or sequence of events.
‣ 3 The SENĆOŦEN SU¸ does not literally mean the same as the English ‘so then...’ The English ‘then’ implies a particular time—‘at that time’; SU¸ does not have that ‘time’ meaning. Often SU¸ has no literal English translation.
‣ 4 English ‘so’ or ‘so then’ is used to indicate a consequence. For example, ‘I ran. So I’m tired.’ The ‘so’ in this English sentence indicates that the ‘I’m tired’ is a consequence of ‘I ran.’ SU¸ does not mark this kind of consequence. In English a sequence like ‘I ran. So I sat down.’ seems a little odd, but in SENĆOŦEN, ȻONEṈET SEN. NE SU¸ EMET is normal meaning ‘I ran. And then I sat.’ To get the consequence idea in SENĆOŦEN use the speech act modifier ȻEĆÁ (§48.3).
‣ 5 The S‑ of SU¸ makes the word a noun. As a noun, the participant that translates as the English subject, is marked by the possessive in SENĆOŦEN. The highlighted items in each of the models shows this.
‣ 6 This SU¸ pattern is very common among all fluent SENĆOŦEN speakers. It occurs thousands of times in the recorded narratives of L1 elders. Narratives often have many sentences in a row that have this SU¸. The sample story shown in the model for §51.1, for example, has five such constructions in the first ten sentences.
‣ 7 Model 5 shows a common variant. This variant can also be seen in line 7 of the model in §51.1. This variant adds NIȽ ‘it is,’ the third-person focus pronoun that occurs in a number of constructions, as described in §15.3, §20.3, §39.1, and §40.3.
‣ 8 SU¸ is often pronounce SEU¸, especially by older speakers. This makes it sound very much like English ‘so.’ It sounds like ‘so’ and has a similar use, but this is entirely accidental. SENĆOŦEN SU¸ is not related to English ‘so.’
 | OOȽ TŦE NE SNEW̱EȽ. | ‘I boarded my canoe. |
 | NE SU¸ IST. NE SU¸ TES ¸E Ṯ W̱LEMI. | I paddled. Then I got to Lummi.’ |
| ÁĆNE! ÁN¸ U¸ YOŦ KE ŦTE EN¸ S¸IST! | ‘Goodness! You paddled a long time!’ |
| NIȽ ȻEĆÁ NE ŚW̱ȽĆIȻES. | ‘That’s why I’m tired.’ |
| EMET ĆE! | ‘Sit down!’ |
| 51.2A. Make up a sequence of three sentences similar to the first line of the ḰEL¸NEȻEL dialogue. Write the three sentences twice—once using the first-person and once using third-person. 51.2B. There are over a thousand example sentences in the SENĆOŦEN dictionary that begin with SU¸. Find one and write a new sentence that might precede that in a story. |