Part of Speech: interrogative

Where to? to somewhere, to wherever, to anywhere. ímɨnam wínaša ‘where are you going?’; ƛ̓áax̣ʷna čná wiyáwinata ímɨn náx̣šyaw tiičámyaw ana kú ɨ́nta ‘all of us here will go to some other land when he will call us’.

How long? how far? however long, however far. máal kʷná ikútkutšata ‘how long will he be working there?’; máalnam wínaša ‘how far are you going?’; máalsɨmk̓as wá ‘how far am I now?’; máal paq̓ínunx̣a paamíin ttáwax̣t ‘how far do they see their pedigree?’; máalnam ttáwax̣ɨn ‘how tall have you grown?’; máalna iwaníčayita náaman łk̓ʷí ‘how far will he name the day for us?’ (i.e., ‘how long will we live?’); watx̣ɨ́naš wɨ́npta núsux aš máal ín táwyaša ‘will I catch salmon as long as I am living?’; kʷašta kú máalsɨmk̓a ásapsik̓ʷasa miyánašmaaman ‘and then however much longer I am teaching the children’; ku máal áša ‘and he went in however long’; ana máal ‘however long, however far’. [NE maˀál(k); NP /mahál/.]

Toward where? toward wherever, toward somewhere, toward anywhere. Versative case. máannam wínaša ‘where are you going?’; máan pawíšapawinaša ‘where are they sending each?’; máanpam áw tmíyuna ‘how did you decide now?’; čáwtaš máan wɨšánaša ‘we are not going anywhere’; kuna kúuk iwíniča ana máan ‘and then we buried each wherever’; ana máan pašúkʷaša ‘as far as they know’; ačataš kú čáw máan wínax̣ana ‘because we wouldn’t go anywhere’; máan iwaníša tanánki čí ‘what is this called in Indian?’; ánč̓a máan ‘in another direction’; pamáan ‘in every direction’; maaní ‘toward where?’ (emphatic); máal ‘how far? how long?’ (length). See also zero ablaut base mn-. [NW míin; NP /mnépi/.]

Where? See mɨná.

In what direction? for what reason? in whatever direction, in some way. kuna čáw šúkʷaša mayní wíˀanit tún taxʷɨsmí ‘and we do not know how to make things out of dogbane’; kuš mayní aw kú čáw átx̣uta imikíin ‘and in that way I won’t worry about you’; mayníki ‘in what direction? in whatever direction’.

How? why? however, somehow, anyhow, in whatever manner. míšnam míša ‘how are you doing?’; míšnam wá ‘how are you?’; míšmaš wá ‘how is yours?’; míšnam náwa ‘how are you saying?’; míšnamtx̣ata kú wáanaynačtux̣šamš ‘how are you then running back inside?’; anam túman míš pamíta kʷɨ́nki ‘things which they do somehow with that’; ana tún míš áwača ‘anything they somehow had’; kʷata kú míš iwá níix̣ aw míšk̓a iwá mɨlá ‘wonder then whether it is good or whether it is bad’; míškin patmíyuša ‘what are they deciding?’; míšnaš áwɨnta ‘how do I say it?’; čáw míš ‘no way’; ku míš ‘and how, so be it’; míšata kʷá ‘forever more!’; míš ku amúu ~ míškʷa amúu ‘indeed!’ (with irritation). For younger speakers míš functions as a Yes-No question particle: míšnam páykna ‘did you hear me?’. See also watx̣ɨ́n. [NP manáa; manáma; manmaˀí; possibly cognate with the mostly negative NP /míˀs/.]

How? mišnínam áwaničɨnx̣a áswan ‘how do you say “boy”?’; mišnínam íniix̣iya ‘how did he fix it?’; mišníkiiš áwɨnta ‘how should I say…?’.

How many times? a few times. mɨ́laamnam kʷíya ‘how many times did you do it?’; mɨ́laamnam súsusana skúulpa ‘how many times were you calling at school?’. [NP /m´laham/.]

How many? how much? however many, however much. mɨ́łmaš wá ‘how many do you have?’; mɨ́łnam walúukɨn tamíinawit ‘how much do you weigh?’; mɨ́ł áwača x̣áyma natilasanmí ‘how many brothers did my grandfather have?’; ana kú pawɨ́šayčɨnx̣a mɨ́ł anwíčt pútɨmt aw pútɨmt ku nápt ‘when they become about ten or twelve years old’; mɨ́łyaw k̓ʷáy iwá ‘how much is that?’ (how much does it cost?); mɨ́łpan iwá ‘what time is it?’; mɨ́łpan iwá nɨknípa ‘what time is it?’; ana kʷamɨ́łpan anwíčtpa kúušx̣i iwačá k̓sɨ́t čáw táy máan wínatay ‘in however many years was it similarly so cold not for going anywhere?’; mɨ́łmansɨmk̓ataš wá Háwtmipa ‘how many of us are left on McKay Creek?’; inmíkni tilamíkni pawačá kʷamɨ́łman ‘on my grandfather’s side were how many?’; páyš mɨ́ł pútɨmt ku páx̣at anwíčt ‘maybe some fifteen years old’; mɨ́łkin ‘how much (cost)?’; ana mɨ́łman pawínax̣ana ‘however many used to go’. Ablaut: múuł ‘a little bit, a few’. [NP /m´c/.]

With how much? mɨ́łkin iwá čí ‘how much does this cost?’; mɨ́łkinmaš wá waníči tiičám ‘how much is your land priced?’; mɨ́łkinmaš wá imíin tiičám waníči ‘how much is your land priced?’.

Zero ablaut interrogative base. mɨ́n ‘which (of more than two)?’ (Millstein 1990b); mɨ́nkni ‘which (of two)?’ (Millstein 1990b); ímɨn ‘where to?’ (allative); mɨ́ni ‘where from?’ (ablative); mɨná ‘where?’ (locative); mɨ́ł ‘how many? how much?’ (quantity); mún ‘when?’ (temporal). Ablaut: máan ‘toward where?’. [NP /mn/.]

Where? wherever, somewhere, anywhere. Locative case. mɨnánam wá ‘where are you?’; mɨnánam áq̓inušana ‘where did you see them?’; mɨná šín ipáx̣ʷišana tún ‘where was anyone stealing anything?’; pawáta kʷná x̣ʷáami mɨná ‘they will be somewhere high up’; kʷɨ́nki čáw miyánašma pawačá mɨná ‘because of that there were no children anywhere’; ana k̓ʷapɨ́n mɨná iyáx̣ɨnx̣ana ‘the aforementioned which he would find somewhere’; kúuš iwá ƛ̓áax̣ʷpa mɨná ‘thusly they are in every place’; k̓ʷáytaš wá naamí tkʷátat ana mɨná ittáwax̣ša ‘that is our food wherever it is growing’; mɨnánkninam átq̓ix̣ša ‘which one do you want?’; ƛ̓áax̣ʷpa mɨná ‘everywhere’; čáw mɨná ‘nowhere’. [NE also mám; NW mɨnán; NP /m´ne/.]

Where from? somewhere else. mɨnamápa tiičámpa ittáwax̣ɨnx̣a čí ‘in what land does this grow?’; mɨnamá pawiyánawi ‘where have they come from?’; pasɨ́nwisana mɨnamáki sɨ́nwitki ‘they were talking in another language’; mɨnamápata kú áwa ‘where indeed does she have it?’ (said about someone bragging); mɨnamákni tiičámkni ‘from their land’.

Where from? whence? from wherever, from somewhere, from anywhere. Ablative case. mɨ́ninam wiyánawi ‘where have you come from?’; ana kú pawiyánawiša mɨ́ni pawɨ́npša tiičám ‘when they are arriving from somewhere they are getting land’; čáwnam mɨ́ni náčiča ‘you didn’t bring it from anywhere’. [N mɨ́nik; NP /m´nik/.]

When? whenever, sometime, anytime. múnam wínatat̓aša ‘when are you wanting to go?’; ana mún iwáta wánpi ku iwánpta páx̣at anwíčt áw k̓ʷáyk̓a áw uynápt anwíčt ana máal páwaničayisa piiní wánpašin ‘whenever he will be sung he will sing five years or seven years – however long he the song names for him’; ataš mún wínata ‘whenever we go’; ana mún ‘whenever…’; čáw mún ‘never’; pamún ‘sometimes’. [NP /m´wa/.]