Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {sivunəq}N |
| New orthography: | siuneq, siornga, siorngani, siorngatigut, siorngaak |
| Proto-eskimoic root: | civunəʀ |
| Constituents: | {sivu}N + V{nəq}N |
| Morpheme type: | Noun base |
| Right sandhi: | None |
Description
Form:
This stem is a non-standard, lexicalised combination of {sivu}N and V{nəq}N.
Noun stem
| Stem type: | Strong q-stem |
| Declension type: | up-declined |
| Declension sandhi: | Metathesis |
This stem declines with metathesis, especially in the temporal sense. See V{nəq}N for declension examples.
Meaning(s)
| Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| What lies ahead/in front | Especially when used as a spatial noun with possessive endings in the prepositional cases | Examples |
| front of face | ||
| the past (time) | When used with possessive endings in absolutive or vialis cases (which denote time). It can seem strange that 'front' should be associated with 'past', but Greenlandic is an irrealis language, where that which is real (or in this case has happened) is distinguished from that which has not (yet) become real. The past is real, so it is known. It is visible to our eyes, unlike the future, which is unknown. The bodily orientation therefore seems to be that we stand with our backs to the future, staring into the past. The future is behind us, the past is before us. See {kiŋunəq}N for the dual meaning of 'back/future'. | Examples |