Details
General
| Morphemic form: | V{niraq}V |
| New orthography: | +nerarpaa |
| Old orthography: | -nerarpâ |
| Combinations: | Click here |
| Left sandhi: | Default,
|
| Right sandhi: | Default/none,
|
| Inflection sandhi: | Default/none,
|
| Stem type: | q-stem |
| Diathesis: | Reflexive |
| Valency change: | Increasing |
| Valency: | Divalent,
|
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
This affix is one of the few that may even follow the sentential segment of a verb. It is seemingly never used with a HTR-morpheme.
It can be added to both monovalent and divalent stems, which however affects the meaning slightly differently:
On a avalent/monovalent stem, this affix will mean '
Agentsays thatPatient=ActorVb' with the newPatientbeing equal to theActorof the monovalent stem. If used with an intransitive ending, the meaning becomes reflexive: 'Agentsays that he (himself) Vb'.On a divalent stem (
Agent1VbPatient1), this affix will mean 'Agent1=Agent2says that he=Agent2) Vb'edPatient1=Patient2'. Or in other words, the Agent who did the Vb'ing (Agent1) and the Agent who does the saying (Agent2) is the same person (Agent1=Agent2), and thePatientin both the stem and this affix is also the same (Patient1=Patient2).It is also possible to use this affix in a sense, where the two Agents do not coincide, such that the
Agentwho does the Vb'ing in the stem (Agent1) is different from theAgentwho does the saying in the affix (Agent2). This would be a so-called double transitive construction, and in this case, the meaning will be 'Agent2says thatPatient2=Patient1was Vb'ed (by someone =Agent1)'. Here, the previousAgentof the stem (Agent1) is left unspecified ('by someone') and is not mentioned in the ending. It can, however be added in the allative case, as an argument to the verb.
You will have to rely on context to decide whether the twoAgents coincide or not.Lastly, if the stem is agentive, it is also possible that the underlying stem first drops its
Patientrole, such that theAgentbehaves like anActor, which then is equated with thePatientrole of the affix.
Meanings and examples
- apinerarpaa, he says it is snowing
[8]
The 3sg object is here the 'dummy' object 'it', which refers to the
Actorof the underlying, avalent stem apivoq, 'it is snowing'. - suli tikissimannginnerarpaat, they say (that) he has not arrived yet
[4]
Here 3sg object 'he' refers to the
Agentof the underlying divalent, agentive stem tikippaa, 'he arrives at it'. Hence, the reading here is that the stem first drops itsPatientrole and thus behaves like a monovalent stem tikippoq, 'he has arrived'. Then the subject of this stem (Agent=Actor) is then mapped to thePatientrole of the affix. - takunerarpara, I said that I saw him
From the underlying divalent stem taku-, i.e. takuara, 'I saw him'. Here the
Agents coincide and thePatients coincide. - ilinnut takunerarpara, I said that he was seen by thee
A double-transitive construction where the underlying
Agentof the stem (Agent1) is different from theAgentof the affix (Agent2), and hence is not specified in the verb ending. Instead, it is added in the allative case (ilinnut).
when used with intransitive endings
- Nuumminngaanneernerarpoq, he said that he (himself) was from Nuuk
References
- [4] C.W. Schultz-Lorentzen (1958): Den Grønlandske Ordbog.
- [8] Christian Berthelsen, Birgitte Jakobsen, Robert Petersen, Inge Kleivan & Jørgen Rischel (1997): Oqaatsit.