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1. Reflexives

=thut ‘self’ [reflexive (REFL)]

The reflexive suffix -thut on a verb indicates that the action was done to oneself or by oneself.

For example:

ya’thut!

‘Back up!’ (literally “back yourself up.”)

Many transitive verbs have reflexive equivalents.

ts’uy’hwt “dry it”	ts’uy’hwthut “dry yourself”
thuyt “fix it”	thuythut “fix yourself””
t’un’ut “line them up side”	t’un’uthut! “Line up!”

 

2. Sewit’s Paddle Song

 

 

thuythut ee’! thuythut ee’!	Fix up! fix up!
‘ushul ee’! ‘ushul ee’!	Paddle!
luq’uthut ee’! luq’uthut ee’!	Even up! Even up!
q’awuthut ee’! q’awuthut ee’!	Use all your strength!
timuthut ee’! timuthut ee’!	Try harder!
t’ukw’stuhw ee’! t’ukw’stuhw ee’!	Take it home!

3. Reflexive meaning

The suffix =thut on active verbs adds the meaning ‘to do it to yourself’.

basic verb				=thut
mulhwt	‘rub oil on it; grease it’			mulhwthut	‘rub oneself with something (oil, creme)’
mulhwt lhu thu qeq.	‘Rub the baby (with oil).’			’i ’u ch malhwthut ’u tthu slhexun’?	‘Did you rub the medicine on yourself?’
tth’xwat	‘wash it’			tth’xwathut	‘wash oneself’
nem’ tth’xwat tthu ’i quliima’ ‘un’ s’itth’um.	‘Go and wash your clothes that are dirty.’			ni’ tth’xwathut.	‘He washed himself.’
hwulukw’t	‘wrap it up’			hwulukw’thut	‘wrap oneself’
hwulukw’t tseep tthu qeq ’u tthu luxwtun.	‘You all wrap the baby up in a blanket.’			’i tsun hwulukw’thut ’u tthu luxwtun.	‘I wrapped myself with the blanket.’
hwuyt	‘wake s.o. up’			hwuythut	‘wake up’
nem’ hwuyt kwthun’ shuyulh, nem’ ts’u yaays.	‘Go wake your older brother, who has to go to work.’			hwuythut, na’uth wulh tsulel ’i’ tahw skweyul.	‘Wake yourself up, it’s almost noon!’

Table 1. Reflexive use of =thut.

basic verb			=thut
kwthut	make it lie down	kwthuthut	lie down
lemut	look at	lamuthut	look at self, look after self
tl’amut	try on	tl’amuthut	‘try it on (self)’
tl’a’t	stop him/her from crying	tl’a’thut	stop oneself from crying
tl’qw’ut	wrap it up; tidy up; put outer clothing on someone	tl’qw’uthut	put on ones coat/gloves, get ready to go
muq’ut	fill someone with food	muq’uthut	fill self with food
punust	cover it with dust, flour, feathers	punusthut	sprinkle (sand/dirt) on self
p’lhiq’t	move it closer	p’lhiq’thut	move (oneself) closer
t’un’ut	line them up side by side	t’un’uthut	line selves up
wi’ult	show, bring out	wi’ulthut	show oneself, come into view
xul’ts’t	turn it, twist it	xults’thut	turn oneself around; turn over; spin

 

4. Meanings

Sometimes the corresponding English translation does not need “self”. Sometimes the Hul’q’umi’num’ meaning is specialized to a context.

Table 2. Specialized meanings of =thut.

q’a’t	put it in with			q’a’thut	join (a group)
timut	do it intensely			timuthut	try harder
t’e’t	try it, taste it			t’a’thut	practice, try
matl’ut	get even			matl’uthut	pay back
’ixw	get swept away			’ixwuthut	sweep
xtsut	figure it out			xtsuthut	think, decide
kw’i’	climb			kw’ukw’i’thut	social climbing
huy’qwt	burning it			huy’qwuthut	be feverish

5. Aspectual meaning

The suffix =thut is added to a descriptive verb, it mean that a change a state. It gets translated as ‘get’, ‘become’, ‘turn’ etc.

tth’ux	‘worn out’
wulh tth’ux tthunu stekun.	‘My sock is worn (i.e., has a hole).’
tth’uxthat	‘get worn down.’
ni’ wulh tth’uxthat tthu snuxwulhshun.	‘The tire got worn down.’
tth’uy’kw’t	‘startle s.o.’
ni’ tsun tth’uykw’t tthu smuyuth.	‘I startled the deer.’
tth’uykw’thut	‘get startled’
tth’uykw’thut tsun.	‘I got startled.’

Table 3. Aspectual use of =thut.

basic verb			=thut
kw’am’kw’um’	strong		kw’am’kw’um’thut	get strong
thi	big		thithat	get big
kw’es	hot (get hot)		kw’asthut	warm up, get hot
tl’up	‘be deep, down below’		tl’upthat	‘get deep’
muqw	thick, big around		muqwthat	thick, big around: getting big around
nets’	different, other (one), strange		nats’thut	change
tth’aqw’um	rotten		tth’qw’amthut	turn rotten
’uya’th	sharp		’uya’thut	getting sharp

 

6. Pronunciations of =thut.

Usually the reflexive suffix does not have stress on it, and it appears as =thut. When the reflexive suffix has stress, it appears as =that with an /a/ vowel instead of /u/.

xuytl’	‘cold’
xuytl’that	‘get cold’
xwum	‘fast’
xwumthat	‘become fast’

7. Change of Vowel with -thut

The reflexive suffix triggers a change in the vowel of the root from /e/ to /a/.

xetl’	‘stormy’
xatl’thut	‘get stormy’
wensh	‘throw it’
wanshthut	‘throw yourself down’
t’e’t	‘try it, taste it’
t’a’thut	‘practice’

Table 4. More examples of change of the root vowel with =thut.

basic verb has /e/			reflexive has /a/
sle’t	do with		sla’thut	do: what was done, what is to
le’lum’ut	looking at it		la’lum’uthut	looking after self, be careful
yuw’en’	first, in front		yuw’an’thut	go ahead
hwet	bring down, lower		hwathut	go down
si’em’	respected, wealthy		si’am’thut	up-and-coming, getting rich
lhexun’t	medicate him/her		lhaxun’thut	medicate oneself