Details
General
| Morphemic form: | {kamək}N |
| New orthography: | kamik, kammit, kanngit, kamiit |
| Old orthography: | kamik, kangmit, kavngit, kamît |
| Sources: | [MFSJLK10], [SK71], [JP67], [CWSL51], [CWSL58], [CBBJRPIKJR97] |
| Combinations: | View list |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none |
| Inflection sandhi: | Strong stem, Metathesis, up-declined, Cək⇒kC, Regular stem, Default/none |
| Stem type: | k-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
Originally, this stem denoted a traditional Inuit skin boot, but nowadays it is also just used in the general sense of 'boot'.
Inflection
Inflection pattern:
| Stem type: | k-stem |
| Inflection sandhi: | Strong stem, Metathesis, up-declined, Cək⇒kC |
| Sources: | [JP67], [CWSL51], [SK71] |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | kamik, kamma | kamm, kanng | kamik, kammup/kanngup, kammit/kanngit, kammakka, kammatit, kammi/kanngi |
| Old orthography | kamik, kangma | kangm, kavng | kamik, kangmup/kavngup, kangmit/kavngit, kangmáka, kangmatit, kangme/kavnge |
| Phonemic orthography | kamək, kakma | kakm, kamŋ | kamək, kakmup/kamŋup, kakmit/kamŋit, kakmakka, kakmatət, kakmi/kamŋi |
Notes on inflection:
According to several different sources [JP67], [CWSL51], [SK71], this stem is up-declined and inflects with metathesis. There are even two different ways in which this can be realised:
- /mək/ ⇒ /km/ is the usual way, where the /k/ moves all the way to the other side of /m/. In this case, /km/ will assimilate to [mm] as usual, written 'ngm' in the old orthography (where the 'ng' reflects the /k/, assimilated by the following nasal /m/).
- /mək/ ⇒ /mŋ/ is the alternative way. In this case, /ə/ is just deleted, so /k/ does not actually move. Instead, it is nasalised, likely by the following vowel from the ending, thus becoming /ŋ/. In this case, /mŋ/ will assimilate to [ŋŋ] as usual, written 'vng' in the old orthography (where the 'v' reflects the labial /m/, assimilated by the following velar /ŋ/).
We give both alternatives in the inflection recorded here. They may even be mixed nowadays, so a speaker might use the [mm] form e.g. in singular, but the [ŋŋ] form in plural.
Note also the special absolutive 4sg/sg form, with the archaic ABS.4sg/sg ending N{'-i}.
Dual forms
We also provide a few dual forms, mentioned by Kleinschmidt [SK71] and also listed in Ordbogeeraq [JP67], since 'boots' is a natural pair. These forms also display metathesis, resulting in /km/, but here with consonant-initial endings, and /ə/ furthermore takes the sound [a] here. Thus- /mək/ ⇒ /kma/
becoming [mma], and spelt 'ngma' in the old orthography, where the 'ng' again reflects the assimilated /k/.
It is actually difficult to ascertain whether this truly is metathesis, or whether it rather is a form of gemination triggered by the dual marker. The old orthography spelling 'ngma' indicates metathesis, but this could also just be an artefact of Kleinschmidt's spelling, trying to show the etymology of the word. In support of the gemination-hypothesis are two facts:
- /ə/ normally drops in metathesis, but it does not do so in these dual forms.
- Gemination in a stem would historically make a following /ə/ take the sound [a], as it indeed does here.
If it in fact were gemination, and not metathesis, the form should be written as /mma/, rather than /kma/. However, in the absence of further evidence, we retain the notation indicating metathesis here.
Inflection pattern:
| Stem type: | k-stem |
| Inflection sandhi: | Regular stem, Default/none, up-declined |
| Sources: | [FAJN19] |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | kamik | kami | kamik, kamiup, kamiit |
Notes on inflection:
Nielsen [FAJN19] mention the alternative forms kamiup and kamiit, indicating an alternative inflection, where the stem behaves as a regular k-stem, which would be the most common inflection for k-stems. This is likely a newer phenomenon, caused by regularisation by younger speakers who no longer remember the strong inflection.
Meanings and examples
Search the corpus for further examples.
Tags
References
- [MFSJLK10] Michael Fortescue, Steven Jacobson, Lawrence Kaplan (2010): Comparative Eskimo Dictionary (2ED).
- [SK71] Samuel Kleinschmidt (1871): Den grønlandske Ordbog.
- [JP67] Jonathan Petersen (1967): Ordbogêraĸ.
- [CWSL51] C.W. Schultz-Lorentzen (1951): Det Vestgrønlandske Sprog.
- [CWSL58] C.W. Schultz-Lorentzen (1958): Den Grønlandske Ordbog.
- [CBBJRPIKJR97] Christian Berthelsen, Birgitte Jakobsen, Robert Petersen, Inge Kleivan & Jørgen Rischel (1997): Oqaatsit.
- [FAJN19] Flemming A.J. Nielsen (2019): Vestgrønlandsk Grammatik.