Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {inu(g)aq}N |
| New orthography: | inuaq, inukkat |
| Old orthography: | inuvaq, inuvkat |
| Sources: | [13, 8, 16] |
| Combinations: | View list |
| Variants: | {inu(j)ak}N |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none |
| Inflection sandhi: | Geminating |
| Stem type(s): | Weak q-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
The basic meaning of this stem is 'toe'. According to Kleinschmidt [13], it can (rarely) also be used to denote 'fingers', in a possessive construction with assak, 'hand', i.e. assaap inuai etc. Lastly, as a derived meaning, it can also denote 'draughtsman; checker piece', because the finger bones of seals used to be used as game pieces.
This stem is an older variant of {inu(j)ak}N; see that for etymological notes. The present form is given in older dictionaries such as Kleinschmidt [13] and Schultz-Lorentzen [16]; but not in newer dictionaries such as Ordbogeeraq [17] and Oqaatsit [19], which instead contain the variant form.
Note that the present stem is spelt inuvaĸ in the old orthography, but this 'v' is not written in the new orthography, because it appears between /u/ and /a/. However, according to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [21], this phoneme is historically a /g/, and it behaves like a /g/ during inflection, cf. the inflection-sandhi section below. Therefore, this unwritten consonant is here indicated in the morphemic form as (g).
Inflection sandhi:
The stem declines as a weak q-stem with gemination of the unwritten consonant (g) to [kk]. Note that, according to Schultz-Lorentzen [8], this consonant was written as 'v' in the old orthography, and the geminate form was written 'vk'. Thus, this stem follows a similar pattern as other stems ending in -vaĸ.
Inflection
Declension pattern:
| Stem type: | Weak q-stem |
| Declension type: | p-declined |
| Declension sandhi: | Geminating |
| Gemination type: | g⇒kk |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | inukka | inua | inuaq, inukkap, inukkat, |
| Old orthography | inuvka | inuva | inuvaq, inuvkap, inuvkat, |
| Phonemic orthography | inugga | inua | inuaq, inuggap, inuggat, |
Meanings and examples
This is the most common meaning.
In the possessive noun phrase assaasa inuaat, 'the fingers of his hand' (literally 'the toes of his hands') according to Kleinschmidt [13]. However, this meaning is uncommon; normally assai would just be used.
I.e. the game pieces in a game of draughts/checkers. According to Kleinschmidt [13], this meaning derives from the fact that the finger/toe bones from a seal previously were used as game pieces.