I walked out of six-foot grass
and came face to face with a skunk.
At first I thought:
“that’s a cute little animal.”
Then it turned around and clarified the situation 😄
That moment ended up changing how I understood one of the most familiar words in the language.
The same family people often translate as “good”…
is also the one that names that skunk.
🖼️ In the image:
x̌steyy̓ʕ̓ — skunk (outwardly realized, unmistakable presence)
x̌saɬq — scent, aroma (what carries outward)
x̌s — fitting, workable, standing well (the root field)
So the question became:
👉 What is “good” actually doing here?
Two new public docs are now up on the website:
• skunk → opens the question
• x̌es / x̌as → different kinds of good
And the full research journey is now up in Tachini U.
If “good” has ever felt like it was doing too much work…
that’s exactly where this begins.
☕ If you want to support this work, this is what makes it possible.
Every post, doc, and video comes out of long-term language research and time with speakers.
👉 buymeacoffee.com/salishradical
#Salish #SalishRootProject #LanguageRevitalization #IndigenousLanguages #Linguistics #Tachini #x̌s