s- nominal

Nominalization is a process of making a verb into a noun. In Salish, nominalization can be done with a prefix or a suffix. In English, this is done by adding an ending to the verb or changing the verb into a noun form. For example, the verb “create” can be nominalized to “creation.”

Prefix s- changes a verb to a nominal form.

• sʕiɬn, food, something that is eaten.
  • ʕiɬn, s/he/it ate something.
• sxʷist, the walk.
  • xʷist, s/he/it walked.
• sʕitš, the sleep.
  • ʕitš, s/he/it slept.

Morphology

When a word starts with s-

The letter n is dropped before s.

• i-snsustn, my cup
  • in-luk̓ʷ, my wood
• a-snsustn, your cup
  • an-luk̓ʷ, your wood

The letter ɬ is dropped before s

• epsnčɬemutn, she has a chair
  • epɬčluk̓ʷc̓eɁ, she has a box