Cup
As for the Ending of This Word: Both of Lolly’s two versions of this word end in beautiful, naturally spoken, but subtle examples of ejectives. The first version of the word [ pásɪk̯ʼ ] ends with an ejective which is more robust than the ejective at the end of the second version of the word [ kwásɪk̯ʼ ]. The first version of the word also sounds more like it ends with a Front K, in this case an Ejective Front K [ k̯ʼ ].
As for the Beginning of This Word: The two rather different versions of this word meaning ‘cup’, ‘dipper’ that we hear from Lolly Metcalf are both for real. We know to take seriously her version of the word meaning ‘cup’, ‘dipper’ which we hear as [ kwásɪk̯ʼ ], because we know about two different versions of another Milluk word that she has which also invole similar consonants. That other Milluk word which has two versions which we hear from Lolly Metcalf is the Milluk word meaning ‘gun’, in the interview segment “Gun”. In the Milluk texts that word does not translate as ‘gun’, but means ‘large bow for big game’. One of Lolly Metcalf’s versions of that word is the version that we have transcribed as [ kubí·l ], but Lolly also has another version of the same word which is [ gugwí·l ] which closely matches Annie Miner Peterson’s word [ g̣ug̣wí·l ] ‘large bow for big game’, written here in Jacobs’ old-fashioned Americanist phonetic transcription of the word.
Instant Phonetic Englishization: pah_sick!, and kwah_sick!.
A Similar Sound Correspondence: The match up of [ b ] to [ gw ] and to [ g̣w ] with the word meaning ‘gun’, ‘large bow for big game’ is like the match up between [ p ] to [ kw ] within Coos Bay Milluk with the word meaning ‘cup’, ‘dipper’, which matches Annie Miner Peterson’s version of the word with [ p ]. However, Annie Miner Peterson’s Hanis word meaning ‘cup’, ‘dipper’ is | bɛ́ʰsɪk̯ʼ |, so that with the word meaning ‘cup’, ‘dipper’ we actually have a match up of [ p ] to [ kw ] within Coos Bay Milluk corresponding to [ p ] straightforwardly enough with Annie Miner Peterson’s Milluk, but matching [ b ] in Hanis.
Another Similar Sound Correspondence: There is also the Milluk word meaning ‘cradle’. Annie Miner Peterson’s word is [ bi·ɫ ] ‘cradle’, along with Annie’s matching Hanis word which is [ bɪʔí·ɫ ] ‘cradle’, while Lolly Metcalf has the word as [ gwi·ɫ ] ‘cradle’. There is some confusion about a pronunciation of it as [ kwi·ɫ ]. That is the pronunciation that Swadesh asks for, without having an English word to translate into Milluk. He must have gotten that originally from Lolly, in the part of the interview before the tape recorder was turned on. So, with the word meaning ‘cradle’, we have again a match up of [ b ] to at least [ gw ] with the word meaning ‘cradle’, but only between Lolly’s Coos Bay Milluk and Annie Miner Peterson’s Milluk and Hanis.
A Welter of Sometimes Contradictory Sound Correspondences: What we see with the Milluk word meaning 'cup', the one meaning 'gun' or 'large bow', and the one meaning 'cradle' underscores what we see in Coos comparative linguistics in general which is that there are a welter of sometimes contradictory sound correspondences. That has everything to do with languages being in contact with each other over long periods of time. Hanis and Milluk and then Coos Bay Milluk and Lower Coquille Milluk were evidently long in contact with each other, rather than having gone their separate ways. That is a good part of the reason for Lolly Metcalf to have two rather different ways to say the Milluk word that means ‘red ceder root dipper basket’ which came also to mean ‘cup’.