MOFO - Details

Details

General

Morphemic form:	{ki}N
New orthography:	kina, kia, kikkut
Old orthography:	kina, kia, kíkut
Sources:	[9, 11, 14]
Combinations:	Click here
See also:	{su}N,
Right sandhi:	Default/none,
Inflection sandhi:	Irregular,
Stem type:	Vowel stem

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

This stem is used to form the interrogative pronoun kina, 'who', that is used to inquire about persons. See also the base {su}N, which forms a different interrogative pronoun suna, 'what', that is used to inquire about things.

The base is used with all the usual case markers, but it is never used with affixes directly. The form kina can be incorporated with N{-u}V, and this verbal stem can be expanded with more affixes. However, apart from this construction, the form kina is not used with affixes either. It is used with enclitics, though, and some of these combinations have special meanings; especially *{luunniit}, cf. {kinaluunniit}.

Right sandhi:

The stem is never used with affixes, so right-sandhi is irrelevant.

Inflection sandhi:

This stem has a highly irregular inflection:

The absolutive singular marker is {na}, like the demonstrative pronouns.
The ergative singular marker is {a}, and the plural marker is {kkut}. Both of these also seem to be related to the inflection of demonstrative pronouns.
In the prepositional cases, the singular case endings are normal and joins onto the stem {ki} as expected, except that equative singular does not exist. The plural endings are also normal, but are joined onto the plural marker; i.e. the plural stem is {kikkut}. All n-initial endings join onto the /t/, but t-initial endings (vialis and equative) remove it.
The stem is never used with possessive endings.

Inflection

Declension pattern:

Declension type:	p-declined
Declension sandhi:	Irregular

	Stem before consonant	Stem before vowel	Notable forms
New orthography	ki(kkut)	ki	kina kikkut kia kikkut kimik kikkunnik kimi kikkunni kimut kikkunnut kimit kikkunnit kikkut kikkutigut - kikkutut
Phonemic orthography	ki(kkut)	ki	kina kikkut kia kikkut kimək kikkutnək kimi kikkutni kimut kikkutnut kimət kikkutnət kikkut kikkutəgut - kikkutut

Notes on declension:

Note that some people today will say kiap for the ergative singular, adding the usual ergative singular marker on top of the ergative singular form. However, we do not record this alternative, pleonastic form.

Meanings and examples

Interrogative pronoun used to inquire about persons.

kina piviuk?, who do you mean? [9]

Here, kina is the object, so it is used in the absolutive case.
kia peqqummatit?, because who bid thee do (something)? [9]

Or: 'who ordered you to do (something)?'. Kia is the subject here, so it is in the ergative case.
kia paatai atorpigit?, whose oar did thou use? [9]

Here, kia is the possessor, so it is in the ergative case.
kina taamaaliortoq naluara, I don't know (the one) who did it [9]

Here kina is the subject of the object clause kina taamaaliortoq.
kia arlassi takuguniuk ..., when who(ever) of you see him, ... [9]

In English, one would likely say 'when one of you see him'.
kinaavit?, who are you? [11]

With N{-u}V added directly to the absolutive singular form. This is commonly used to ask a person to introduce himself.
kinaagaluarpat soqutiginngilara, whoever he is I don't like him [11]

With N{-u}V + V{galuaq}V and the intransitive conditional 3sg ending. Thus literally: 'if he is actually who(ever), ...'.
kinaana? kikkunuku?, who is that? Who are they? [11]

Also written kina-una, kikkut-uku, with the enclitic *{una}.
kiaana qimmia?, whose dog is that? [11]

Also written kia-una, with the enclitic *{una}.
kiatoq aapparilinga?, Wish someone would accompany me! [11]

Literally: 'wish who would accompany me!' with the enclitic *{tuq}, expressing 'wish' and the transitive 3sg/1sg optative mood ending. Here kia is the subject, so the ergative form is used. The sentence is phrased as a wish, but is actually a question (i.e. 'would anyone...?').