Details
General
Morphemic form: | {isə}N |
New orthography: | isi |
Proto-eskimoic root: | itəɣ |
Morpheme type: | Noun base |
Right sandhi: | None |
Description
Form:
In modern day, there may be some confusion between {əcə}N (eye), {əci}N (drum skin) and {isə}N (boot tip), since all three forms have fallen together into just one, isi, in the New Orthography.
You may therefore hear both e.g. isia and isaa for absolutive 3.sg/sg N{-a}.
Some of the confusion was present already in the Old Orthography, where {əcə}N isse could be distinguished from ise, but the latter could be either {əsi}N or {isə}N, because the Old Orthography did not distinguish between /ə/ and true /i/.
Only in the etymological orthography of the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary can we distinguish all three:
- {əcə}N derives from {əðə} with a regular change of /ð/ to /c/ following a vowel.
- {əsi}N derives from {əciʀ} through a loss of the final /ʀ/.
- {isə}N derives from {itəɣ} through a loss of the final /ɣ/, and then with assibilation of /t/ to /s/.
Noun stem
Stem type: | ə-stem (vowel stem) |
Declension type: | p-declined |
Declension sandhi: | Regular |
| ABS.sg | ERG.sg | ERG.pl | ALL.sg | ABS.3sg/sg | Special forms |
New orthography |
isi |
isip |
isit |
isimut |
isaa |
|
Phonemic notation |
isə |
isəp |
isət |
isəmut |
isəa |
|
Meaning(s)