Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {isəgak}N |
| New orthography: | isigak, isikkat |
| Old orthography: | isigak, isigkat |
| Sources: | [10, 14, 13, 16] |
| Combinations: | Click here |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none,
|
| Inflection sandhi: | Geminating,
|
| Stem type: | Weak k-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
This stem has two related meanings, according to Kleinschmidt [10]:
- The singular form can denote 'toe'. This meaning is likely not productive nowadays, where the singular form is used for the whole foot.
- The singular form can denotes the part of the foot between the heel and the wrist, whereas the plural, isikkat, denotes the whole foot (including the toes), or both feet. However, nowadays the singular is normally used for the whole foot, and the plural denotes 'feet', like in English.
According to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [18], it derives from a morpheme {itəɣaʀ}, which appears to be {itəɣ}, i.e. the root of {isə}N, 'boot tip', and the morpheme {aʀ}, cf. N{-aq}N, which signifies a 'derived' meaning of the base. The affix appears to have attached to the final /ɣ/, which otherwise has been lost in the modern-day form of the base, rather than removing it. We therefore do not record it as a combination of the modern-day morphemes here.
Inflection sandhi:
This is one of the rare weak k-stems that declines with gemination.
Inflection
Declension pattern:
| Declension type: | p-declined |
| Declension sandhi: | Geminating |
| Gemination type: | g⇒kk |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | isikka | isiga |
isigak
isikkap
isikkat
|
| Phonemic orthography | isəgga | isəga |
isəgak
isəggap
isəggat
|
Meanings and examples
According to Kleinschmidt [10]. This meaning is likely not productive nowadays, where the singular form is used for the whole foot.
According to Kleinschmidt [10], in singular it denotes only the part of the foot between the heel and the wrist, whereas the plural, isikkat, denotes the whole foot (including the toes), or both feet. However, nowadays the singular is normally used for the whole foot, and the plural denotes 'feet', like in English.