Details

General

Morphemic form: {ənə}N
New orthography: ini, inaa
Old orthography: ine, inâ
Sources: [SK71], [JP67], [CWSL51], [CWSL58], [CBBJRPIKJR97]
Combinations: View list
Right sandhi: Default/none
Inflection sandhi: Default/none
Stem type(s): Weak q-stem

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

This stem has a number of related meanings. According to Kleinschmidt [SK71], the basic meaning is 'place', often with a possessive ending. However, it is more commonly used in a more specific sense of 'room', and also 'apartment; place to live', and (likely from older times), 'place to stay/lie', maybe e.g. a bed in an old inuit house. Another, related meaning is 'a bird's nest'.

Furthermore, it is also used for the place, where something has sat/lain and where it has left a mark, e.g. when someone has fallen in the snow. From this then derives a related meaning, 'tracks' left in the snow. However, these other meanings do not seem common nowadays; for example, Oqaatsit [CBBJRPIKJR97] only records the first set of meanings: 'room; nest; living space'.


Inflection

Declension pattern:

Stem type: Weak q-stem
Declension type: p-declined
Declension sandhi: Default/none

Stem before consonant Stem before vowel Notable forms
New orthography ini ina ini, inip, init
Old orthography ini ina ine, inip, init
Phonemic orthography ənə ənə ənə, ənəp, ənət

Notes on declension:

Note that /ə/ has taken the sound [i] in this stem, when it is not followed by another phoneme, because /ə/ could not have avoided taking a sound in this context, since no word in Kalaallisut can end on the sound [n]. However, the /ə/ still takes the sound [a] by the ə-rule, whenever it is followed by a vowel; especially the vowel-initial endings.


Meanings and examples

E.g. in a room house or an apartment, but also e.g. a bird's nest. This meaning is the one used today.

  • illu pingasunik initaqarpoq, The house has three rooms.
  • nerlerit inaat, The nest of the geese.

    This is also the name of an airbase close to Illoqqortoormiut in East Greenland.

  • aaqqatit assannut inillit, mittens with space for the fingers [SK71]

    I.e. gloves.

Or 'the space where something has been, and has left an impression', for example in the snow. This meaning does not seem to be used nowadays.


Search the corpus for further examples.


References