Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {əkviaq}N |
| New orthography: | iffiaq, iffiat |
| Old orthography: | igfiaĸ, igfiat |
| Sources: | [16, 19] |
| Combinations: | View list |
| Constituents: | {əvək}N + N{-lijaq}N |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none |
| Inflection sandhi: | Default/none |
| Stem type(s): | Weak q-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
The meaning of this stem is '(rye) bread'. It is presumably derived from {əvək}N, 'grass', and N{-lijaq}N, 'something made from N'. Thus, the intuition behind this combination seems to be 'something made from grass' (or straw).
In this combination, the latter affix has triggered metathesis in the ək-stem, and loss of /l/ in the affix (replacivity). This is visible in the old orthography, where this word is spelt igfiaĸ, where this 'g' reflects the stem-final /k/ from /əvək/.
Inflection sandhi:
Even though the final affix is N{-lijaq}N, this stem does not appear to decline with gemination. Instead, it just declines like a normal weak q-stem.
Inflection
Declension pattern:
| Stem type: | Weak q-stem |
| Declension type: | p-declined |
| Declension sandhi: | Default/none |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | iffia | iffia | iffiaq, iffiap, iffiat, |
| Phonemic orthography | əkvia | əkvia | əkviaq, əkviap, əkviat, |
Meanings and examples
rye bread (dark bread) is a core part of traditional Danish food, which has also become common in Greenland. So-called white bread, made from wheat instead of rye, is called iffiaq-qaqortoq.