| When you put the
parts of a word together into a more complex unit, there are often sound
changes: when two sounds are next to each other, one or both sounds might
change. |
When the sound s
shows up in front of the sounds l, n
and t, it changes to  .
These three sounds l, n
and t all have something in common: they're
pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the back of the front teeth,
so it makes sense that s becomes
in front of all three of them. |
The arrow points
to the result of the change: s 
|
| Here are some examples
of the person marker s– becoming –
when the word after it begins with l, n
or t. |
 |
s–tu
 tu |
"his ear," her ear,"
"its ear" |
 |
 |
| |
s–nono
nono |
"his grandather," her grandfather" |
| |
s–lukumel
lukumel |
"it is straight, goes straight" |
| |
s–nowon
nowon |
"he/she/it stands, is standing" |
| |
|
|
|
|
| There are a few
words in which s shows up before t,
but this s is part of the word, not the person
marker s–, so this is not an exception
to the rule. |
| |
step |
"flea" |
|
|
| |
stuk
|
"wooden
bowl"
|
|
|
|
before
l, n
and t
