Details

General


Morphemic form: {naalagaq}N
New orthography: naalagaq, naalakkat, naalakki
Old orthography: nâlagaĸ, nâlagkat, nâlagki
Sources: [14]
Combinations: Click here
Constituents: {naalak}V, V{-ðaq}N,
Right sandhi:
/aq/ drop,
Inflection sandhi:
Geminating,
Stem type: Weak q-stem

Description and behaviour


Form and usage:

This stem is the passive participle of {naalak}V, 'obey', so the meaning is literally 'one who is obeyed'. This is often translated as 'master', 'lord', 'captain' etc. The word was also previously used for the Danish official administrator for Greenland (Landsfoged). It can even still be heard used for a school's Principal.

The stem is formed in the old way, with V{-ðaq}N attaching to the stem-final consonant as {aq}, rather than removing it.


Right sandhi:

Right sandhi is inherited from the right-most component, V{-ðaq}N. See this for details.


Inflection


Declension pattern:

Declension type: p-declined
Declension sandhi: Geminating
Gemination type: g⇒kk

Stem before consonant Stem before vowel Notable forms
New orthography naalakka naalaga
naalagaq
naalakkap
naalakkat
naalakki
Phonemic orthography naalagga naalaga
naalagaq
naalaggap
naalaggat
naalaggi


Meanings and examples


Or 'captain', 'lord', etc. It is also used to refer to the (Christian) god. The literal meaning is 'one who is obeyed'.

  • timmisartup naalagaa, captain (of an aircraft).
  • sakkutuut naalagaat, captain/commander (of a group of soldiers).