Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {aŋŋijaq}N |
| New orthography: | anngiaq, anngissat |
| Old orthography: | ángiaĸ, ángíssat |
| Sources: | [13, 14, 17, 8, 16, 19] |
| Combinations: | View list |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none |
| Inflection sandhi: | Geminating |
| Stem type(s): | Weak q-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
According to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [21], the root of this stem is actually a verbal stem {aŋŋi-}, which these authors suggest means 'to conceal a secret'. The second component therefore appears to be a form of the passive participle {ðaʀ}, i.e. V{-ðaq}N. However, as the root {aŋŋi-} does not appear to exist in Kalaallisut as an individual verbal stem, we record the compound here as a single morpheme, rather than as a combination.
- According to Kleinschmidt [13], the stem also has a more specific (derived) meaning: A malicious spirit from Greenlandic mythology, which "... arises from a child born in secrecy [i.e. after a concealed pregnancy] [which was set out/abandoned to die]; a monster which is said to roam around at night, using the skull of a dog as kayak, and which has the ability to kill people, if they see it [...]; but otherwise there are many diverse ideas of its behaviour (e.g. that it persecutes people in the shape of a feather/mitten etc.)."
- According to Rasmussen [14], the mythological meaning is rarely used now, and instead the stem is just used to denote 'a child born in secrecy/after a concealed pregnancy'.
- The newer dictionaries, e.g. Oqaatsit [19] list both the general meaning 'a secret', and also the same meaning as Rasmussen, i.e. 'child born in secrecy', but not the mythological meaning described by Kleinschmidt.
Inflection
Declension pattern:
| Stem type: | Weak q-stem |
| Declension type: | p-declined |
| Declension sandhi: | Geminating |
| Gemination type: | j⇒cc |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | anngissa | anngia | anngiaq, anngissap, anngissat, |
| Old orthography | ángíssa | ángia | ángiaĸ, ángíssap, ángíssat, |
| Phonemic orthography | aŋŋijja | aŋŋija | aŋŋijaq, aŋŋijjap, aŋŋijjat, |
Meanings and examples
Mythological creature: the spirit of a child born in secrecy after a concealed pregnancy. Note: this meaning is archaic and likely rarely used nowadays.
After a concealed pregnancy.