Details

General

Description

Passive participle.

This affix has idiosyncratic sandhi rules: Today, the rules are as follows:

• On vowel stems it regularly becomes /caq/.
• on q-stems it removes /q/ and becomes /gaq/ contrary to all rules; this form also shows (regular) gemination -gaq, -kkap, -kkat and so on.
• On the other consonant stems /ð/ regularly becomes /t/, but at the same time it removes the consonant.
• On ut(ə)-stems it attaches to /ə/, becoming /caq/, but /ə/ then disappears, so we get

/-ut(ə)ðaq/ ⇒ /-utəcaq/ ⇒ /-utcaq/ ⇒ [-uccaq] ⇒ -ussaq

Following V{ŋŋit}V we get /ŋŋitaq/ ⇒ /ŋŋisaq/ by the t-to-s rule. This is historically a highly irregular affix, so you can find many lexicalised words containing this affix that do not follow these rules, e.g. ornigaq from {uqnək}V; allagaq from {aglak}V; and errortat (pl) from {ərruq}V. On a few old, lexicalised stems, it even appears as just -aq, e.g. sanaaq, 'a product; something made', from {sana}V, Agent produces/processes Patient.

A further speciality: When this affix follows the affix V{ðaq}V (habitually) on a vowel stem, where the initial /ð/ becomes /c/, that affix will be duplicated, such that we get

V{ðaq}V{-ðaq}N ⇒ V{ðaq}V{ðaq}V{-ðaq}N ⇒ +sartagaq.

Noun stem

Meaning(s)