Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {qatəgak}N |
| New orthography: | qatigak, qatiggat |
| Old orthography: | ĸatigak, ĸatiggat |
| Sources: | [22] |
| Combinations: | View list |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none |
| Inflection sandhi: | Geminating |
| Stem type(s): | Weak k-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
The meaning of this stem is 'back' (of human or animal). According to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [22], the stem derives from {qatəɣ}, 'chest'. However, the final /ak/ is unexplained.
Inflection sandhi:
This stem declines with gemination of /g/ ⇒ [xx] (written 'gg') according to several sources [14, 18, 17], i.e. qatigak, qatiggap, qatiggat etc. Note also the special ABS.4sg/sg possessive form qatiggi, 'his (own) back' with N{'-i}.
However, according to Schultz-Lorentzen [8], /g/ regularly geminates to [kk] instead (written 'gk' in the old orthography, i.e. ĸatigaĸ, ĸatigkap, ĸatigkat etc.). This pattern is not recorded anywhere else, so it may simply be a mistake; especially since Schultz-Lorentzen [17] in his dictionary records the other pattern. Thus, in the absence of further evidence, we do not record the inflection with gemination of /g/ ⇒ [kk] here.
Inflection
Declension pattern:
| Stem type: | Weak k-stem |
| Declension type: | p-declined |
| Declension sandhi: | Geminating |
| Gemination type: | g⇒gg |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | qatigga | qatiga | qatigak, qatiggap, qatiggat, qatiggi, |
| Old orthography | ĸatigga | ĸatiga | ĸatigak, ĸatiggap, ĸatiggat, ĸatiggi, |
| Phonemic orthography | qatəgga | qatəga | qatəgak, qatəggap, qatəggat, qatəggi, |
Notes on declension:
This is the inflection with gemination of /g/ ⇒ [xx], recorded in several sources.
Meanings and examples
I.e. of the body, of animals (incl. humans) and clothes.