Details

General

Morphemic form: +{gaa}V, +{gaə}V
Phonemic orthography: ɣaa-, ɣai-
Sources: [MFSJLK10]
Combinations: View list
Ancestor(s): +{ðar}V (PE), +{ar}V (PE)
Stem type: Vowel stem

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

According to the authors of [MFSJLK10], the meaning of this morpheme is 'whenever'. It seems, from the entry for +{ðar}V (PE), that these authors view the present (PI) morpheme as a blend of that affix and +{ar}V, but at the same time also being suppletive to the former in Proto-Inuit. How this blend should have given rise to the forms of the present affix is, however, unexplained.

PE/PI initial /ð/ does seem to alternate between /t/ and /g/ (and later /t/ and /j/) in several of the daughter languages, albeit generally not in Kalaallisut, where it instead alternates between /t/ and /c/. Thus, it is not impossible that /ðaqə/ could have become /gaqə/, /garə/ or even /gaə/ with a loss of the inter-vocalic /r/. However, the alternative form given in the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [MFSJLK10] is /gai/, and the source of this /i/ is entirely unexplained.

Furthermore, as these authors note, the present affix has (and had, in PI) special forms in the causative mood, with the mood marker {ga} becoming {ŋa} when following the present affix; i.e. ŋama, ŋavət, ŋat, ... etc. This too seems more indicative of a final /ə/ than an /i/. Thus, we record the secondary form here as /gaə/, rather than /gai/, even though this deviates from the form given in [MFSJLK10].


Meanings and examples


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References