Details

General

Morphemic form: N{caq}N
New orthography: +saq
Old orthography: -ssaĸ
Combinations: Click here
Variants: N{taq}N,
See also: V{nəq}N, N{(l)liq}N,
Left sandhi:
Default,
Right sandhi:
Default/none,
Inflection sandhi:
Default/none,
Stem type: Weak q-stem

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

This affix is possibly a variant of the partitive affix N{taq}N, used to denote a part/member of some larger whole. However, the present affix is only used in combination with V{nəq}N in the comparative/superlative sense to denote 'the most Vb'ing' of a group, or the comparative/superlative affix N{(l)liq}N used with spatial nouns. Thus, see the combinations V{nəqcaq}N and N{(l)liqcaq}N for usage examples.

This affix is not recorded independently in any of the dictionaries, although the combination -nerssaĸ is recorded in Ordbogêraq. Hence we know that the initial phoneme indeed is /c/, and not /s/.

The morpheme is not described in the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary. However, given the meaning, the affix seems to be a variant of N{taq}N, although the change of the initial /t/ to /c/ is unexplained. It cannot have been caused by assibilation of /t/ for two reasons:

  1. /ə/ does not trigger assibilation, so it should still have had an initial /t/ when following V{nəq}N. However, the form could have been generalised from the combination with N{(l)liq}N, which does contain a true /i/.
  2. Even if it were generalised from combination with N{(l)liq}N, assibilation causes /t/ to become /s/, and not /c/.

Thus the hypothesis that this morpheme is a variant of N{taq}N must be taken with some caution.


Inflection

Declension pattern
Declension type: p-declined
Declension sandhi: Default/none

Notes on declension:

This affix is only used with possessive endings with possessor in plural. Hence, we do not give a full declension pattern.


References