Details

General

Morphemic form: N{-qutaq}N
New orthography: -qutaq, -qqutaq
Old orthography: -ĸutaĸ, -rĸutaĸ
Combinations: Click here
Constituents: N{-qutə}N, N{-aq}N,
Left sandhi:
Truncative,
Irregular,
Right sandhi:
Default/none,
Inflection sandhi:
Geminating,
Stem type: Weak q-stem

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

This affix is an extended form of N{-qutə}N. It is not clear how this extension was created, but I hypothesise that it may be with N{-aq}N, by some old, irregular formation process. In any case, the affix is non-productive, but found in a number of lexicalised words. Its meaning is not entirely clear, but it seems to be 'something that pertains to N' or 'something with the attributes of N'.

There are also a few examples of words formed from verbal stems; most notably

Presumably, a clock is a thing that announces something, namely the time. This formation might suggest that there should also be a nominalising affix V{-qutaq}N of the same form, which may have been formed similar to the present affix, but from V{(q)qutə}N instead of N{-qutə}N. However, in the entire Oqaatsit (1997) dictionary, there are only three words formed in this fashion, and since the affix is non-productive, we shall not record a separate, nominalising form.


Left sandhi:

In most of the words containing this affix in Oqaatsit (1997), the affix appears to be truncative. However, in one case, it appears to have been used additively instead:

This stem ends in /əq/, unlike all the other examples, so one possibility is that this (for some reason) may have caused the affix to join onto the final /q/, rather than removing it. But in the absence of further examples, this is only a hypothesis. Hence, we record this affix as truncative and merely note qiteqqutaq as an irregularity.


Inflection sandhi:

This affix has a rare form of gemination, where /t/ doubles to /tt/. For example:

This is unusual, since /t/ is not a fricative, and therefore normally does not geminate.


Inflection

Declension pattern
Declension type: p-declined
Declension sandhi: Geminating
Gemination type: t⇒tt

Stem before consonant Stem before vowel Notable forms
New orthography -qutta -quta
-qutaq
-quttap
-quttat
Phonemic orthography -qutta -quta
-qutaq
-quttap
-quttat


Meanings and examples

The meaning is unclear, and this translation is only an attempt based on the examples.

  • allequtaq, sleeping pad; base of something; undercoat
    [8]

    From alleq, 'the lowest'.

  • ilaqutaq, family member
    [8]

    From ila, 'member' (of some group/whole).

  • qalequtaq, pillow case; duvet cover
    [8]

    Apparently from qaleq, 'ribbon for decorating packages'. The attribute in this case seems to be 'something covering something else', cf. also qaleraq, 'tarpaulin'.

  • qulequtaq, headline; top part of something
    [8]

    From the spatial noun {qulə}N, 'area above'.

  • sanilequtaq, wife
    [8]

    Or 'woman one lives with', from sanileq, 'neighbour/person next door'. The attribute here seems to be 'being beside something', in the sense that a wife is 'someone who is by one's side'.

  • tunulequtaq, backer; mastermind; hinterlands; backing; rank; support base
    [8]

    From tunuleq, 'hindmost' or 'one (who is) behind something'. This word has several possible translations, but the attribute seems to be 'something behind'. Thus, a mastermind is someone who is 'behind' some grand scheme, and hinterlands are areas that are inland, i.e. behind mountains. The Danish word for this is bagland, which normally does not refer to a physical area, but rather (metaphorically) to one's backing or support base, e.g of a politician.


References