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Description

The meaning of this affix is 'inhabitant of N' (in a literal, or sometimes metaphorical sense). This is a very common affix, which also appears in the names of many Greenlandic towns, notably Sisimiut, Paamiut, Kuummiut (EGL: Kuummiit), Illoqqortoormiut (EGL: Ittoqqortoormiit), and also in Savalimmiut, 'the Faroe Islands'. These names all appear in plural, but if another affix is combined with these names - e.g. indeed N{miuq}N itself, to express 'inhabitant of' that town - then the affix must of course, as usual, be added to the morphemic form of the stem, i.e. without the plural ending. As an example, consider the town name Paamiut. The morphemic form is this {Paamiuq}N, and combining it with N{miuq}N we therefore obtain Paamiormioq, 'an inhabitant of Paamiut'.

An alternative form, N{miu}N also exists, but this form is not used in combination with other affixes, so we do not record it.Fortescue et al. (2010) also mention a verbal form N{miu}V, but this form does not seem to be commonly used. Instead, a combination with N{-u}V is preferred nowadays to express 'is an inhabitant of'.

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Meaning(s)