Details

General

Morphemic form: V{-(cc)utə}N
New orthography: -ut, -at, -ssut
Old orthography: -ut
Combinations: Click here
Variants: V{ccutə}N, V{'-tə}N,
See also: V{-(cc)ut(ə)}V,
Left sandhi:
Truncative,
/aq/ deleting,
Right sandhi:
Default/none,
Inflection sandhi:
Default/none,
Stem type: tə-stem

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

The general meaning of this affix is 'tool for Vb'ing'. However, it also has two other meanings:

Both of these meanings are actually verbal, despite the resulting stem being nominal. They are seemingly always with possessive endings, with Possessor indicating the Subject of the underlying verbal stem; i.e. the Actor in the case of a monovalent stem, and the Agent in the case of a divalent stem. These usages do not seem to be productive today, but they may be found in a number of lexicalised constructions, including other compound affixes containing this affix.


Left sandhi:

This affix is truncative and may cause a stem-final /aq/ to drop. Furthermore, it seemingly prefers to inject /cc/ rather than the usual /j/ whenever a consonant is required by phonotactics, i.e. following a long vowel /VV/ (/uu/ or /aa/ in this case). According to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary, this may also happen on t-stems, but I have not found any examples attesting this.

Note also that this affix will not remove a final /q/, but rather weaken it to /r/, if the stem ends in /əq/. This may also happen, if the stem ends in /VVq/, and thus be an alternative to injecting /cc/. Thus, the forms are:

In general, the left-sandhi behaviour of this affix seems to mirror that of the affix V{-(cc)ut(ə)}V.


Inflection

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

Stem before consonant Stem before vowel Notable forms
New orthography -uti -uta
-ut
-utip
-utit
Phonemic orthography -(cc)utə -(cc)utə
-(cc)utə
-(cc)utəp
-(cc)utət


Meanings and examples

  • misissuut, a tool/means for examining something

    From misissorpaa, 'he examines it'. Note that V{-(cc)utə}N can even be used on divalent stems, as in this case, without first requiring the addition of a HTR-morpheme.

  • ilinniutit, study-material(s), textbook

    From {əlitniaq}V, 'Actor studies/does homework' and with plural ending N{t}. Here we see the affix causing /aq/ drop on the stem. Note: the meaning can be singular (textbook), even though the form is plural.

  • imerterut, watering can

    From {əməq}N{təq}V, 'Agent sprinkles Patient with water'. Here we see V{-(cc)utə}N attaching to /q/, and weakening it to /r/, rather than removing it.

  • inuussut, means to live

    From {inuu}V, 'Actor is alive'. Here the form with /cc/ is used following a long vowel (here /uu/).

This seems to be the meaning in some older texts, but nowadays the variant V{ccutə}N seems to be preferred for this meaning.

  • anniutaa, the cause of his suffering

    With ABS.3sg/sg possessive ending N{-a}. From anniarpoq, 'he suffers', with drop of the final /aq/.

This also seems to be an old usage. It is mentioned in Schultz-Lorentzen (1958) but does not seem to be productively used in this sense nowadays.

  • aggiutaa, the time of his arrival
    [4]

    With ABS.3sg/sg possessive ending N{-a}.


References