Details

General

Morphemic form: N{(t)}V
New orthography: -ppoq
Old orthography: -gpoq, '-poĸ
Combinations: Click here
Left sandhi:
Default,
Right sandhi:
Default/none,
Inflection sandhi:
Default/none,
Stem type: t-stem
Diathesis: Subjective
Valency change: None
Valency:
Monovalent,

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

This affix, which consists of a single epenthetic consonant, is used to denote 'catch N' or 'kill N', with N typically denoting an animal traditionally hunted in Greenland. In practice, it therefore often looks like a verbal ending having been added directly onto the noun stem, except in the cases where the noun stem is a vowel stem. In the old orthography, the injected consonant was written as 'g', i.e. this affix would look like -gpoĸ. However, according to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary, the consonant is /t/, so we record the affix as N{(t)}V.


Left sandhi:

The affix is just an epenthetic consonant. There is an example, where it seems to have behaved truncatively instead, and also having caused gemination in the preceding stem: nannuppoq from nanoq, 'polar bear'. However, this does not appear to be regular, so we do not record it as a general behaviour of this affix.


Meanings and examples

Or 'kill N', with noun stems for animals typically hunted in Greenland

  • tuttuppoq, he killed a caribou

    The base is tuttu, so here we see the epenthetic /t/ injected.

  • puisippoq, he caught a seal

    The base is puisi, so the epenthetic /t/ is injected.

  • terianniarpoq, He caught polar fox.

    The base is terianniaq. Here the stem ends in a consonant, so the epenthetic /t/ is not injected. Thus it looks, as if the verbal ending is added directly to the noun stem.

  • nannuppoq, he killed a polar bear
    [4]

    Old orthography nánugpoĸ with spurious /g/. From nanoq, 'polar bear'. This is a lexicalised, irregularly formed word, where the affix has triggered gemination in the stem.


References