Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {niaqnaq}N |
| New orthography: | niarnaq, niarnat, niarnga |
| Old orthography: | niarnaĸ, niarnat, niarnga |
| Sources: | [9, 14] |
| Combinations: | Click here |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none,
|
| Inflection sandhi: | Irregular,
|
| Stem type: | Weak q-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
This is an old, non-productive stem found in a few dictionaries. According to Paul Egede [9], the meaning is 'son'. However, nowadays {iqnəq}N is used in this sense instead.
The stem is not found in the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [18], so the origin is unknown. Paul Egede [9] spells it Niárnak in his (highly inconsistent) orthography.
Inflection sandhi:
It is unclear how the stem declines. Petersen, in Ordbogeeraq [14] seems to indicate that it declines like an ordinary weak q-stem with no special inflection sandhi behaviour; i.e. niarnaq, niarnat, niarnaa etc.
On the other hand, Paul Egede [9], in his dictionary from 1750, has a separate entry niárnga, which seems to be an absolutive 3sg/sg possessive form, and this form resembles the forms normally arising from metathesis. However, Egede's orthography is highly inconsistent, so it is not clear whether this form in fact would correspond to a modern-day metathesised form. It is therefore unclear what significance we should ascribe to this second entry.
In the absence of further usage examples, I cannot determine the declension pattern, so I do not record a pattern here.
Meanings and examples