Details

General

Morphemic form: {qaqugu}
New orthography: qaqugu
Old orthography: ĸaĸugo
Sources: [MFSJLK10], [SK71], [CWSL58], [JP67], [CBBJRPIKJR97]
Combinations: View list
Constituents: {?} + N{-gu}N

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

This particle is used to denote 'when' in the future; either for asking a question, or specifying a point in the (not immediate) future. For the corresponding past meaning of 'when', see {qaŋa}.

Etymology
According to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [MFSJLK10], the reconstructed historical form of this stem is {qaku}N, which may be from the same root as {qaŋa} and {qanuq}, although this hypothetical morpheme {*qa} is not attested.

The authors speculate that the second component, {ku}, may be the same as the conditional mood marker morpheme, i.e. {gu} in Kalaallisut. A stem-internal /k/ in Proto-Inuit sometimes becomes /q/ in Kalaallisut, cf. e.g. qeqertaq, compared to qikiqtaq in Inuktitut. Finally, the last part /gu/ seems to be the nominal future marker N{-gu}N.


Meanings and examples

Either used as a question, or as a specification of a future point in time.

  • qaqugu aallassavit?, when will you leave/travel? [SK71]
  • qaqugu takujumaarutsigu, when (some time in the future) we shall see him [SK71]
  • qaqugu utissavit?, when will you return? [CWSL58]
  • qaqugu naapikkukku oqarfigiumaarpara, I will tell him, when I see him (at some point in the future) [CWSL58]

Search the corpus for further examples.


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References