Details

General

Morphemic form: {tac}N
New orthography: tassa, tassani, tassunga, tassannga, tassuuna
Old orthography: tássa, tássane, tássunga, tássánga, tássûna
Sources: [MFSJLK10], [SK71], [CWSL51], [CWSL58], [CBBJRPIKJR97]
Combinations: View list
Right sandhi: Default/none
Inflection sandhi: Default/none
Stem type(s): demonstrative root

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

This stem seems to be the same as the demonstrative prefix {ta-'}*, but here it is itself used as a demonstrative stem. However, it is only used as an exclamation or as a demonstrative adverbial, but never as a demonstrative pronoun. Instead {uv}N or {mat}N would be used. Unlike the other demonstrative stems, is also never used with the prefix {ta-'}*, since that would be a duplication of the morpheme.

As with several of the other demonstrative stems, the present stem also has several meanings, some of which have no obvious demonstrative meaning:

The exclamatory form tassa often has a copula-like meaning, 'it is' or 'that is', which can act as a main clause. In this sense, it is more common than the corresponding form tamassa from {mat}N.


Inflection

Declension pattern:

Stem type: demonstrative root
Declension type: Demonstrative inflection
Declension sandhi: Default/none

Stem before consonant Stem before vowel Notable forms
New orthography tass tass tassa, tassani, tassunga, tassannga, tassuuna
Old orthography táss táss tássa, tássane, tássunga, tássánga, tássûna
Phonemic orthography tacc tacc tacca, taccani, taccuŋa, taccaŋŋa, taccuuna

Notes on declension:

This stem is never used as a demonstrative pronoun, but only as a demonstrative adverbial or as an exclamation. These are regularly formed.


Meanings and examples

Also as a question: 'is it there?'

  • tamarmik tassa?, are they all there? [SK71]

Also as a question: 'is it this one?' and 'is that it?'

  • tassa tamarmik?, is that all? (are there no more?) [SK71]
  • tassa umiarput, this is our boat [SK71]
  • tassa nutaanerit, these are the newest [SK71]
  • tassa pissara?, is this the one I shall have/get? [SK71]
  • tassa piumavallaaqigakku, it is because you have been so overly eager/fixated on it [SK71]
  • ukkusissaq eqqatsinni pitsaaneq tassa Manniup ukkusissaa, the best soap-stone in our area, that is the soap-stone from Mannik [SK71]
  • amissaq tassa ammassaatip naammattup nalinga, a sealskin (for a boat), that is the value of a sufficient (i.e. full) bag of ammassaat [SK71]

To e.g. summarise what was previously said.

  • tassa imaappoq ..., thus it is so that ... [SK71]
  • tassa oqanngisillunga sussanngilat, thus, as long as I don't say anything, you shall not do anything with it [SK71]

Used as a prefix to a new sentence, following a previous sentence.

  • tassa inerput, so, now they are all finished. [SK71]
  • tassa oqaasissakka anippakka, so now, I have said all that I wanted to say [SK71]

    Literally: 'so now, I have spewed out all my future words'.

Used as an exclamation.


Search the corpus for further examples.


Tags

References