Details

General


Morphemic form: V{ssa}V (Combinations)
New orthography: -ssaaq, -ssapput
Proto-eskimoic root: tya-
Morpheme type: Verbal modifier
Left sandhi: Default (additive, epenthetic or phonotactically truncative)
Right sandhi: None

Description


Form and usage:

Verbal future affix. Note: Although this affix can be used on stems of any valency, it will always occur after any HTR-morpheme, hence there is no HTR-stem.

This affix has a small right-sandhi irregularity, i.e. when it is the last morpheme before the ending: In intransitive indicative (and only in this mood!), it removes the single /v/ from the mood marker {vu}, which thus yields {ssa}{vu} ⇒ /ssau/, which then regularly becomes [ssaa] by the a-rule. However, the geminated /(v)v/, occurring with IND.3pl is not affected. Thus, this affix changes five of the six endings in transitive indicative as follows:

Morphemes Phonemes Spelling
1sg: V{ssa}V{vuŋa} /ssauŋa/ -ssaanga
2sg: V{ssa}V{vutət} /ssautət/ -ssaatit
3sg: V{ssa}V{vuq} /ssauq/ -ssaaq
1pl: V{ssa}V{vugut} /ssaugut/ -ssaagut
2pl: V{ssa}V{vusi} /ssausi/ -ssaasi
3pl: V{ssa}V{(v)vut} /ssavvut/ -ssapput (no irregularity)

In all other moods, including transitive indicative (i.e. mood marker {va}), this affix is completely regular. Thus e.g. with V{vara} (transitive IND.1sg/3sg) we get -ssavara, without any specialities.


Verb stem


Right sandhi: Irregular changes to mood marker (see description)
Valency: Valency-preserving
Diathesis: Unaltered (same as the stem)

Meaning(s)


Meaning Notes
future, 'shall' Vb The meaning of this affix is to denote that the verbal action is future (rather than past/present, which is the default for verbal stems without a special future marking). English does not have a verbal inflection for future, so this affix may perhaps best be translated as 'shall Vb' or 'will Vb'. However, note that 'shall' in English also may denote a command or obligation etc., but this is not normally the case with V{ssa}V. Examples
without Vb'ing when used in the negative contemporative mood, i.e. -ssanani etc.