Details

General


Morphemic form: {ulək}N
New orthography: ulik, ulingit
Old orthography: ulik, ulingit
Sources: [14, 5, 13, 16]
Combinations: Click here
Right sandhi:
Default/none,
Inflection sandhi:
Weakening,
Stem type: Strong k-stem

Description and behaviour


Form and usage:

The meaning of this stem is some kind of cloth covering something else; it is variously used to denote 'tarpaulin', 'blanket', 'shawl', 'bedspread' and so on.

Regarding the form, it derives from a morpheme {uliɣ(-)}, according to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [18]. However, according to Schultz-Lorentzen [5], the stem declines with weakening of /k/, which usually is indicative of a /ə/ in the final syllable. I have therefore decided to record this stem as /ulək/, rather than /ulik/, even though the final vowel historically was /i/.


Inflection sandhi:

According to Schultz-Lorentzen [5], the stem declines with weakening of the final /k/. However, this may not be used nowadays, and for example Ordbogeeraq [14] does not give any indication of the declension.


Inflection


Declension pattern:

Declension type: up-declined
Declension sandhi: Weakening

Stem before consonant Stem before vowel Notable forms
New orthography ulik uling
ulik
ulingup
ulingit
Phonemic orthography ulək uləŋ
ulək
uləŋup
uləŋit


Meanings and examples


I.e., the basic meaning seems to be some kind of cloth that covers something.