Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {inu(g)aq}N |
| New orthography: | inuaq, inukkat |
| Old orthography: | inuvaq, inuvkat |
| Sources: | [13, 8, 16] |
| Combinations: | View list |
| Variants: | {inu(j)ak}N |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none |
| Inflection sandhi: | Geminating |
| Stem type(s): | Weak q-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
This stem is an older variant of {inu(j)ak}N; see that for etymological notes. The present form is given in older dictionaries such as Kleinschmidt [13] and Schultz-Lorentzen [16]; but not in newer dictionaries such as Ordbogeeraq [17] and Oqaatsit [19], which instead contain the variant form.
The basic meaning of this stem is 'toe'. According to Kleinschmidt [13], it can (rarely) also be used to denote 'fingers', in a possessive construction with assak, 'hand', i.e. assaap inuai etc. Lastly, as a derived meaning, it can also denote 'draughtsman; checker piece', because the finger bones of seals used to be used as game pieces. From this, a further meaning seems to have developed: 'a deck of playing cards' when used in plural. This is the only meaning of this stem that appears in the Oqaatsit [19] dictionary, and therefore presumably the only one that is in use today. For the other meanings, the variant form {inu(j)ak}N is used.
Note that the present stem is spelt inuvaĸ in the old orthography, but this 'v' is not written in the new orthography, because it appears between /u/ and /a/. However, according to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [21], this phoneme is historically a /g/, and it behaves like a /g/ during inflection, cf. the inflection-sandhi section below. Therefore, this unwritten consonant is here indicated in the morphemic form as (g).
Inflection sandhi:
The stem declines as a weak q-stem with gemination of the unwritten consonant (g) to [kk]. Note that, according to Schultz-Lorentzen [8], this consonant was written as 'v' in the old orthography, and the geminate form was written 'vk'. Thus, this stem follows a similar pattern as other stems ending in -vaĸ.
Inflection
Declension pattern:
| Stem type: | Weak q-stem |
| Declension type: | p-declined |
| Declension sandhi: | Geminating |
| Gemination type: | g⇒kk |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | inukka | inua | inuaq, inukkap, inukkat, |
| Old orthography | inuvka | inuva | inuvaq, inuvkap, inuvkat, |
| Phonemic orthography | inugga | inua | inuaq, inuggap, inuggat, |
Meanings and examples
When used in plural, i.e. inukkat. This is the only meaning of this stem recorded in Oqaatsit [19], and therefore likely the only meaning in use today.
This is the most common meaning in older language. However, it is not used nowadays, and instead {inu(j)ak}N would be used.
In the possessive noun phrase assaasa inuaat, 'the fingers of his hand' (literally 'the toes of his hands') according to Kleinschmidt [13]. However, this meaning is uncommon; normally assai would just be used.
I.e. the game pieces in a game of draughts/checkers. According to Kleinschmidt [13], this meaning derives from the fact that the finger/toe bones from a seal previously were used as game pieces. This meaning is likely not used nowadays.