Details
General
| Morphemic form: | V{sinnau}V (Combinations) |
| New orthography: | +sinnaavoq |
| Proto-eskimoic root: | ŋinnaʀ(-) |
| Constituents: | N{-(g)innaq}N + N{-u}V |
| Morpheme type: | Verbal modifier |
| Left sandhi: | Default (additive, epenthetic or phonotactically truncative) |
| Right sandhi: | None |
Description
Form and usage:
Historically apparently a combination of {ŋinnaʀ} and {u-}, according to Fortescue et al. (2010). It is not explained how the initial /ŋ/ became /s/, but it appears to be (or have been) used on q-stems. However, this change seems to be fairly recent: at the time of Otto Fabricius, the form -ginnau- with initial /g/ rather than /s/ was still in use, as seen in his translation of the Old Testament.
Verb stem
| Right sandhi: | Regular |
| Valency: | Valency-preserving |
| Diathesis: | Unaltered (same as the stem) |
Meaning(s)
| Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| can Vb | This affix expresses the ability of the subject to Vb, so it could also be translated as 'is able to Vb'. | Examples |