Details

General

Morphemic form: *{maanna}
New orthography: +maanna
Old orthography: mãna
Sources: [9, 12, 14]
Combinations: Click here
Left sandhi:
Default,

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

This is originally not an enclitic, but rather a demonstrative. According to the Comparative eskimo Dictionary [16], it is the original equalis case form of the demonstrative root {mað-}, meaning 'now'.

Of its usage as an enclitic, Kleinschmidt [9] writes: "[It is used] when one, in the moment, does not remember what it was that one was trying to remember". This enclitic may be shortened to just *{maa} nowadays.


Meanings and examples

  • qanormaanna oqarpa?, how was it that he said? [9]

    From qanoq 'how'. Nowadays this may also be shortened to just qanormaa oqarpa?

  • siorna takugaluarpakkimmaanna, how is it, didn't I see you last year? [9]

    Note: There is no negation in the Greenlandic sentence; this is just an artefact of the translation, since in English one will tend to add a negation for eliciting confirmation.