Details

General


Morphemic form: {ailisaq}N
New orthography: aalisaq, aalitsat
Old orthography: âlisaĸ, âlitsat
Sources: [13, 17, 8, 16]
Combinations: View list
Right sandhi: Default/none
Inflection sandhi: Geminating
Stem type(s): Weak q-stem

Description and behaviour


Form and usage:

This stem denotes 'wall skin', i.e. skin used for covering the walls in a traditional house. From this is then derived the newer meaning, 'wallpaper, tapestry' etc.

The stem is listed in all the older dictionaries [13, 16, 17], but not in Oqaatsit [19] or newer dictionaries, so it might not be commonly used (in the sense of 'wallpaper') nowadays.

According to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [21], the reconstructed historical form of this stem is {ailitaq}. The modern form derives from this, because the /t/ was assibilated to /s/ because of the preceding true /i/.


Inflection


Declension pattern:

Stem type: Weak q-stem
Declension type: p-declined
Declension sandhi: Geminating
Gemination type: s⇒tc

Stem before consonant Stem before vowel Notable forms
New orthography aalitsa aalisa aalisaq, aalitsap, aalitsat,
Old orthography âlitsa âlisa âlisaĸ, âlitsap, âlitsat,
Phonemic orthography ailitca ailisa ailisaq, ailitcap, ailitcat,


Meanings and examples