Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {taknəq}N |
| New orthography: | tanneq, tannerit |
| Old orthography: | tangneĸ, tangnerit |
| Sources: | [14] |
| Combinations: | Click here |
| Constituents: | {takə}V, V{nəq}N, |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none,
|
| Inflection sandhi: | Weakening,
Metathesis,
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| Stem type: | Strong q-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
This is the comparative/superlative form of {takə}V, 'is long', with elision of /ə/. This form is lexicalised, but the productive (regular) combination takineq is also possible.
Besides just generally denoting 'the longest', this word also has special usage in relation to telling the time in Kalaallisut, where it is used to refer to the longest of the two clock-hands, on an old-fashioned (analog) clock.
Right sandhi:
Right sandhi is inherited from the right-most component, V{nəq}N. See this for details.
Inflection sandhi:
Inflection sandhi is inherited from the right-most component, V{nəq}N. See this for details.
Meanings and examples
This is the general meaning.
This is a special usage in relation to telling the time in Kalaallisut. It is used in time expressions with a verb constructed from a numeral + N{ŋŋuq}V 'become N', to tell the number of minutes to/past the hour, by stating what number the longest of the clock-hands points to.
- pingasunut tanneq aqqaninngorpoq, five minutes to three
From aqqaneq '(the number) eleven'. The logic is that if the longest clock-hand is pointing to 11, then it is five minutes to the hour.
- pingasunut tanneq pingasunngorpoq, a quater past three
From pingasut 'three'. The logic is that if the longest clock-hand is pointing to 3, then it is a quarter past.