Lybech - How To Learn Greenlandic - Preview (01.04.2022)
Lybech - How To Learn Greenlandic - Preview (01.04.2022)
Lybech - How To Learn Greenlandic - Preview (01.04.2022)
I Sound rules 1
1 Preliminaries 3
1.1 Morphemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Join markers and morpheme class/type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Travelling to Greenland 21
3.1 Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2 A new ending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.3 Verbalisation of the allative N{mut} and N{nut} . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.4 An affix for ability: V{sinnaa}V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.5 The fricative rule again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.6 Necessarily truncative morphemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.7 The contemporative mood and sandhi epenthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.8 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4 Coming to Nuuk 37
4.1 Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.2 Spelling of assimilated /q/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.3 A sound rule for /ð/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
i
Contents
5 Geography of Nuuk 51
5.1 Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.2 A sound rule for /g/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.3 The iterative mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.4 The go-to affix V{gi’jaqtuq}V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.5 A sound rule for [a] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.6 Plural of nouns and verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.7 Verbalisation of the locative: Being in N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.8 Comparing things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.9 There is N: N{-qaq}V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.10 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Bibliography 87
A Glossary 89
A.1 Bases and particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
A.2 Affixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
ii
Part I
Sound rules
1
CHAPTER 1
Preliminaries
In chapter 1 of the AITWG I describe a system of notation for morphemes, join patterns,
phonemes and levels of language description, which I employ throughout the rest of the
book. In the present book I use the same notation, so this short chapter is meant as a
brush-up and (rather terse) summary of the most important points. You can safely skip it
and read chapter 1 of the AITWG instead, if you prefer more detailed explanations.
1.1 Morphemes
Greenlandic is a polysynthetic language, meaning that you construct words on-the-fly, as
you speak (or write), by joining many ‘bits’ of words together, to form complete words.
These ‘bits’ are called morphemes in the linguistic, technical jargon I have dubbed ‘Gram-
maric’; and a morpheme is defined as an element with a meaning that cannot be subdivided
any further. This is the reason why Greenlandic words can be so long, compared to e.g.
English words: they consist of many morphemes – 5-6 per word is not unusual – whilst
English words usually just consist of one or two morphemes. Here is a simple example,
where I have indicated the morpheme boundaries with a | symbol:
pi|si|niar|fim|mu|ka|rusuk|kalua|ra|ma
meaning because I actually wanted to go to the store (but …) Each segment contributes a
specific meaning to the word, so for example -rusuk- means want to, and the segment -si-
means to buy something.
You cannot find this word in any Greenlandic dictionary, because I just constructed
it. To translate such a word, you must instead be able to take it apart again, to find the
3
1. Preliminaries
constituent morphemes which you then can translate, e.g. with the aid of a dictionary.
And conversely, to learn to speak or write Greenlandic, you must learn the rules for how
to join morphemes together.
This can be difficult, because morphemes change their shape and sound, depending on
the other morphemes surrounding them. For example, -rusuk- can also come to be spelt
-kusup- or -kuso- and several other variants. To abstract away from all this variation, I
instead write morphemes in a special ‘canonical’ form, from which you can then derive the
final, context dependent form, by applying a small number of rules. I write this canonical
form of each morpheme in curly braces; so taking the previous example again, I would
write it thus:
{pi}{si}{niaq}{(v)vik}{mut}{-kaq}{(q)gusuk}{galuaq}{ga}{ma}
• bases, which must appear at the start of a word; i.e. the left-most position.
• affixes, which can only appear after a base; i.e. in the middle of a word.
• endings, which must appear at the end of a stem. The ending completes the stem,
turning it into a full word.
• enclitics, which can only appear at the end of a completed word; i.e. after the ending,
or at the end of a particle.
4
1.2. Join markers and morpheme class/type
• A noun or verb must have one, and only one base, and one and only one ending. Both
must always be present to yield a complete, well-formed word.
• A noun or verb can contain zero to many affixes, and it can have zero to many encl-
itics added onto the end. Both affixes and enclitics are optional (for the purpose of
building a syntactically well-formed word).
I encode the type of a morpheme by adding one of the symbols N, V and * onto the left
side of a morpheme. I collectively call these symbols join markers, because they denote the
stem class that the morpheme will join onto. If {morf} is an arbitrary morpheme, then
• {morf}N and {morf}V are both bases. No join marker appear at their left-hand side,
because bases cannot be joined onto anything. They must appear at the head (start)
of a word.
• N{morf}N, N{morf}V, N{morf}V and V{morf}V are all affixes. They join onto
stems of the class indicated by the left-hand join marker, and they yield stems of the
class denoted by the right-hand join marker.
• N{morf} and V{morf} are both endings. No join marker appear at their right-hand
side, because an ending completes the stem, yielding a full word.
• *{morf} is an enclitic. It can be joined onto any complete word (including particles),
and it yields again a complete word. Thus no join marker appears on the right-hand
side.
When I partition a word into a string of morphemes, I may do it in either of two ways:
I can either write each morpheme separately, with spaces in between; or I can write them
as joined on their join markers. Here is an example of both:
{qikmiq}N{-qaq}V{vuŋa}*{lu}
As you can see, the latter is more succinct (and compact), whilst still preserving all infor-
mation about both type and class of the morphemes.
5
1. Preliminaries
1.3 Transformations
The symbols written within the curly braces represent phonemes. A phoneme is an abstrac-
tion over one or several sounds, which the phoneme can come to have once the final word
is pronounced. For example, the phoneme /t/ can take either a d-like sound as in door
(which is the most common), or a t-like sound as in time (whenever it is followed by an
/i/), as well as a few others. Which sound is ultimately chosen is determined by a handful
of sound rules, which are the topic of the entire part I of this book.
Phonemes are written between forward slashes; either a single phoneme like /t/, or a
string of phonemes like
/pisiniaqvikmukaqgusukgaluaqgama/
which is the string of phonemes we would obtain by joining the morphemes of my initial
example. By applying the sound rules to this string of phonemes, we obtain the actual
pronunciation of the word, which is written in hard brackets:
[pisiniɑffimmukɑrusukkaluɑrama]
And finally, given the pronunciation of a word, we can also write it down, by applying the
spelling rules of the New Orthography.1 I have no special symbol to denote the spelling of
a word, but I indicate the final form of a (written) word in italics. Thus:
pisiniarfimmukarusukkaluarama
1
Which are not numerous, because the New Orthography (for better or worse) aims to follow pronunci-
ation very closely (i.e. so-called phonetic spelling).
6
CHAPTER 2
How to introduce yourself
One of the most obvious things to learn first, when you are studying a new language, is
undoubtedly to learn how to introduce yourself; to state some basic facts about who you
are, where you are from, where you live, and so on. The focus of the present chapter is
to review some fundamental sound rules, but I shall do so in the context of examples of
how to introduce yourself. This will also provide you with some very basic vocabulary,
consisting of some very common bases, affixes and endings that you will likely encounter
countless times in everyday Greenlandic.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to construct just a single word, let alone a whole, mean-
ingful sentence, without using at least 4-5 different sound rules. Yet my aim is here to
introduce as few new rules as possible, to allow you to focus on learning and understand-
ing just a single rule (or maybe two) at a time. The examples will therefore necessarily
be very simple and somewhat artificial for now. I will also have to skip lightly over some
details and defer some explanations to later.
1
Or is (an) N, or am (an) N, or are (an) N. There is no distinction in Greenlandic.
7
2. How to introduce yourself
• {tuttu}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
I am a reindeer
• {igacuq}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
I am a cook
• {inuk}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
I am a human
A note on spelling: /c/ is always spelt s in the new orthography, and /ŋ/ is written
as ng.
8
2.3. A sound rule for vowels
/kv/ ⟹∗ pp
/tv/ ⟹∗ pp
/qv/ ⟹∗ rp ← Note!
With the help of this sound rule you can now also add V{vuŋa} to consonant stems.
• {nuuk}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
I move (to some place)
• {najugaqaq}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
I live (in some place)
• {tikit}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
I arrive (at some place)
9
2. How to introduce yourself
However, when the vowel phonemes are followed by an uvular such as /q/, their
pronunciation change. Here I just use /q/ for illustration, but /r/ would cause the same
change:
Now, [a], [i] and [u] (i.e. the non-uvularised pronunciations) are just straightfor-
wardly spelt as a, i and u. For example, the word [uia], her husband, which contains
all three vowel phonemes with non-uvularised pronunciation, is written simply as uia.
However, two of these three vowels are spelt differently when they are uvularised; namely
[ɜ] and [ɔ]:
• [ɜ] is written e.
• [ɔ] is written o.
• However, [ɑ] is still just written as a.3
Thus, whenever you see written words like igasoq, cook, and ateq, name, you have to
remember that these e’s and o’s are really /i/ and /u/ that just have come to have a special
pronunciation, because they are followed by an uvular (here /q/), which is then reflected
in the spelling.4 This is important, because if the /q/ is ever removed, e.g. if you add a
truncative affix like N{-u}V onto these stems, then these vowels will of course revert to
their normal (non-uvularised) pronunciation. And then they will, of course, just be written
as i and u again.
3
And this is the inconsistency. It would have been more consistent, if either all three or none of them
used a different spelling for the uvularised pronunciation.
4
Actually, the e in ateq is not really an /i/ but a /ə/, which is the fourth vowel I mentioned. However, it
behaves just like an /i/ here, so we can safely treat it as such for now.
10
2.4. How to have an N: N{-qaq}V
• igasoq ⟹∗ igasuuvunga
cook
• ateq ⟹∗
name
• ilisimasalik ⟹∗
person with scientific knowledge (of something)
• qarasaasialerisoq ⟹∗
computer scientist
Nuummioq ⟹∗
A person from Nuuk
a
DAKA is short for Dansk/Kalaallisut, i.e. a Danish/Greenlandic (and Greenlandic/Danish) dicti-
onary. You can access it online at https://iserasuaat.gl/daka/daka , or just by clicking on
the name DAKA anywhere in this book.
11
2. How to introduce yourself
Add N{-qaq}V{vuŋa} to the following nouns to say I have an N. Use your knowl-
edge of the vowel rule to write the correct form of the final vowel in each stem, and
remember the rule for /qv/ when you join V{vuŋa} onto N{-qaq}V:
• illu ⟹∗
house
• biili ⟹∗
car
• nuliaq ⟹∗
wife
• ui ⟹
husband
• meeraq ⟹∗
child
• najugaq ⟹∗
place to live/address
• ateq ⟹∗
name
• ukioq ⟹∗
year
There is one other thing to note about N{-qaq}V. Like all other affixes, this affix is of
course added to the stem, rather than the final form of the word (even though the stem and
the final form of all the nouns in the previous example actually coincide). This is important,
because the stem of a noun does not include information such as number. In other words,
{miiraq}N means child, but not e.g. one child; and when you add N{-qaq}V{vuŋa} onto
this stem, you obtain a word that means I have child, and not I have one child. The resulting
word can mean both I have a child and I have children, and this is the case for all the
previous examples. You use the same word, whether you have one or several cars, houses,
wives, husbands, children, addresses, names or years etc. Without further information, we
cannot tell whether the noun should be understood as singular or plural, and thus whether
12
2.5. Weak q-stems and endings
you have one or several children. I shall return to this point in a little while.
You can safely ignore the fancy Grammaric name in parentheses for now. The impor-
tant thing here is the form and meaning of these endings. As you can see, they all begin
with a consonant, namely /m/; so they are consonant initial endings.
You have also seen three different types of nouns (or rather, noun stems):
Most 5 of the q-stems you have seen so far are called weak q-stems. This means that
they will automatically throw away their final /q/ before consonant initial endings6 such
as N{mi}, N{mut} and N{mi}, regardless of whether the ending is truncative or not. As
you can see, none of these endings are truncative (they do not have the ‘−’ symbol in
front of them); they are additive, meaning they will attach to both vowels and consonants.
Yet the weak q-stems will still throw away their final /q/ before them, and thus in a sense
behave like vowel stems. This will of course again trigger a reversal of the vowel rule, since
the final /q/, that caused uvularisation of the preceding vowel, no longer is present.
5
But not all: ateq is not a weak q-stem.
6
Only ending, not affixes!
13
2. How to introduce yourself
A good number of Greenlandic city names are weak q-stems. Add the endings
N{mi}, N{mut} and N{mit} to say in/to/from that city, and use you knowledge of
the vowel rule to choose the correct spelling for the final vowel. To create whole
sentences, you can use {city name}N{mi} najugaqarpunga to express I live in
(city name); and {city name}N{mut} nuuppunga to say I move to (city name):
• Qaanaaq ⟹∗
• Maniitsoq ⟹∗
• Qaqortoq ⟹∗
• Narsaq ⟹∗
• Tasiilaq ⟹∗
• Isortoq ⟹∗
𝑐1 𝑐2 → 𝑐2 𝑐2
This rule has wide-ranging implications, but for now we shall just consider it in the con-
text of k-stems with nouns. The rule says that whenever we have a k-stem like {inuk}N,
and we add an ending like N{mut}, we get a consonant cluster /km/, which by this rule
becomes [mm], and which is also spelt as mm. The second consonant is /m/, and by this
rule, we end up with two consonants of the second type. /km/ becomes mm. Thus
which means to the human. This rule is important, because many morphemes, both affixes
and ending, are additive and consonant initial; and whenever any of these are added to a
consonant stem, the combination will therefore trigger this rule.
14
2.6. A sound rule for k-stems
• Nuuk ⟹∗
• Nanortalik ⟹∗
• Upernavik ⟹∗
• Arsuk ⟹∗
• Kulusuk ⟹∗
You can again use najugaqarpunga resp. nuuppunga to create whole sentences.
The plural forms of N{mi}, N{mut}, N{mit} are, respectively, N{ni} (in/on/at Ns),
N{nut} (to Ns) and N{nit} (from Ns). Thus e.g. illumut means to the (single) house,
but illunut means to the (several) houses. The consonant rule of course still applies;
so if you end up with /kn/, then the combination becomes [nn].
Some Greenlandic towns have names in plural; and thus to say in, to, from such a
city, you therefore have to use the plural forms of these endings. However, since
endings are added to stems (and not to complete words), you therefore need to know
the stem form of these city names (i.e. without the plural marker), in order to add
these new, plural endings onto it. Here are some examples: some of them are k-
stems, and others are weak q-stems, and I have added the stem form in parenthesis.
Add the plural version of the endings to the stem forms:
• Sisimiut ({Sisimiuq}N) ⟹∗
• Paamiut ({Paamiuq}N) ⟹∗
• Aasiaat ({Aasiak}N) ⟹∗
• Qasigiannguit ({Qasigiannguaq}N) ⟹∗
• Kapisillit ({Kapisilik}N) ⟹∗
15
2. How to introduce yourself
• To express I am N years old, you literally say I have (several) years using ukioq and
N{-qaq}V, and then you specify the number of years by adding N{nik} to the num-
ber. You use the plural ending, because you presumably are more than a single year
old (although if you were just a single year old, you would of course use the singular
ending N{mik} instead).
2.8 Text
You are now ready for the last exercise of this chapter: a text in Greenlandic. It ties together
everything you have learned so far, and specifically it reuses many of the glossaries and
constructions you have hitherto seen in the previous exercises of this chapter.
7
These endings belong to a class called the instrumental case; thus N{mik} is the unmarked singular
instrumental, and N{nik} is the unmarked plural instrumental.
16
2.8. Text
Glossary:
• aamma, and, also, furthermore
• tarnip pissusiinik ilisimasalik, psychologist
• Aalborg, a city in Northern Jutland, Denmark
• N{miŋŋaanniiq}V, is from N; comes from N
• kisianni, but, however
• Kalaallit Nunaannut, to Greenland
• taava, then
• {utiq}V, returns (to some place)
• ullumikkut, now, today, nowadays
• Reykjavík, the capital city of Iceland
• maanga, hither (to here)
One last detail: You may have noticed an /i/ that appears at the end of some of the
loan-word in exercise 8, such as Aalborgimut and 2016-imi. It does not mean anything,
but is just added to loan-words (including names such as mine), if the word does not al-
ready end on a vowel, or one of the consonant sounds [t], [k] or [q]; because that is the
shape of all Greenlandic words. The /i/ is thus used to ‘greenlandize’ foreign words. As
you may also notice, 2011-mit and 2021-mi do not have this greenlandizing /i/. This
is because Greenlandic uses the Danish numerals for numbers larger than 12, and 2011
(totusindogelleve) and 2021 (totusindogenogtyve) actually do end on a vowel in Danish,
so the extra /i/ is not needed.
17
2. How to introduce yourself
• {tuttu}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗ tuttuuvunga
• {igacuq}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗ igasuuvunga
• {inuk}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗ inuuvungaa
a
inuuvunga also means I am alive.
• illu ⟹∗ illoqarpunga
• biili ⟹∗ biileqarpunga
• nuliaq ⟹∗ nuliaqarpunga
18
2.8. Text
• ui ⟹∗ ueqarpunga
• meeraq ⟹∗ meeraqarpunga
• najugaq ⟹∗ najugaqarpunga
• ateq ⟹∗ ateqarpunga
• ukioq ⟹∗ ukioqarpunga
19
2. How to introduce yourself
20
CHAPTER 3
Travelling to Greenland
In the previous chapter I mentioned that I moved to Greenland in 2011. In this chapter, I
will elaborate more on that story, by describing my journey from my previous hometown,
Aalborg, in Northern Jutland, to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Apart from that, the aim
of this chapter is to introduce a few more affixes and endings, and to add another case
to the so-called fricative rule that you saw in the previous chapter. You will also get a
glimpse of the important concept of mood for verbs, and a new type of sandhi behaviour
called epenthesis.
3.1 Review
Let us just briefly review what you learnt in the previous chapter:
• Morphemes have different preferences for what they will join onto: The additive
morphemes like N{mi}, N{mut} etc. will join onto both consonant and vowel pho-
nemes. This is the default behaviour, and additive morphemes are therefore written
without any special symbol in front. In contrast, truncative morphemes like N{-u}V
and N{-qaq}V will only join onto vowel phonemes and therefore they remove any
final consonant phoneme of the preceding stem that stands in their way.
• There are different types of noun stems: vowel stems, k-stems and q-stems. Within
the latter group, most q-stems are weak q-stems, meaning that they will automati-
cally throw away their final /q/ before consonant-initial endings (not affixes!), re-
gardless of whether the ending itself is additive or truncative.
21
3. Travelling to Greenland
Figure 3.1: The view from Kangerlussuaq Airport, while I waited for the plane to Nuuk. The large
aircraft (center) is the Atlantic aircraft, nicknamed Norsaq.
• The vowel rule stipulates that vowels have an open pronunciation before uvulars (/r/
and /q/), and that /i/ and /u/ are also spelt differently when they have become
uvularised, namely as e and o respectively.
• Lastly, you got a partial glimpse of the fricative rule, which (amongst other things)
determines that /qv/ comes to be spelt as rp; and for all other consonant phonemes
𝑐 that /𝑐v/ comes to be spelt pp. This rule is particularly important when joining
v-initial endings such as V{vuŋa} onto the various types of verbal stems.
22
3.2. A new ending
This is already quite a list of abstract rules that you need to manage, just to be able to
understand and construct even the most basic words and sentences.
Rewrite the text from exercise 8 to the 3rd person by using V{vuq} instead of
V{vuŋa}, such that it now instead means His name is Stian. He is 36 years old. He
is a computer scientist … and so on. Here is the original text:
Stianimik ateqarpunga. 36-nik ukioqarpunga. Qarasaasialerisuuvunga. Aamma
tarnip pissusiinik ilisimasaliuvunga. Aalborgiminngaanneerpunga, kisianni
2011-mi Kalaallit Nunaannut nuuppunga. 2011-mit 2016-imut Nuummi
najugaqarpunga. Taava 2016-imi Aalborgimut uterpunga. Kisianni ullumikkut
Reykjavímmi najugaqarpunga. 2021-mi maanga nuuppunga.
23
3. Travelling to Greenland
singular). As you will see later, this nice regularity makes it easy to learn whole new sets
of endings (i.e. moods), once you know the person markers, because you can often just
exchange one mood marker for another, but leave the person markers unaltered.
Dictionary entries
Dictionaries such as the DAKA do not list stems and affixes as morphemes as I do. Instead,
verbs (and verbal affixes) are listed with endings, using (usually) the 3rd person indicative
ending.1 In my opinion, it is a deeply impractical (and even counter-productive) way of
doing it, because it means that some affixes, due to the changes caused by the sound rules,
may be listed 3-4 times. And without knowledge of the sound rules (which certainly are
not common knowledge in the teaching of Greenlandic as a foreign language), it can be
extraordinarily difficult to figure out when each of the different forms should be used.
However, now that you know the 3rd person indicative ending V{vuq}, you will hopefully
find it easier to use a dictionary like the DAKA, and understand what needs to be replaced
if you want to say a word with a different ending than precisely the 3rd person indicative.
Use the 3rd person indicative ending V{vuq} and the verbalisation of the allative
endings N{mut} and N{nut} to say he goes to (city name). Remember that some
city names are weak q-stems, and some are inherently plural and therefore require
the use of the allative plural ending N{nut}. You may want to check your answers
1
In the AITWG I dubbed this way of describing the language Graphemism (from the Grammaric word
grapheme, the unit of spelling).
24
3.4. An affix for ability: V{sinnaa}V
• Nuuk ⟹∗
• Paamiut ⟹∗
• Arsuk ⟹∗
• Qaqortoq ⟹
• Illoqqortoormiut ⟹∗
• Aasiaat ⟹∗
• Qasigiannguit ⟹∗
• Isortoq ⟹∗
• Uummannaq ⟹∗
• Kapisillit ⟹∗
I should also mention two other places, you probably might want to go to:
• Kangerlussuaq is the name of a small town on the west coast where the atlantic
airport is located. All flights from Copenhagen go to Kangerlussuaq, and you then
continue on with smaller flights to your final destination. Kangerlussuaq is singular,
but it is not a weak q-stem, so the ending N{mut} attaches directly to the final /q/.
He goes to Kangerlussuaq is therefore Kangerlussuarmukarpoq.
25
3. Travelling to Greenland
Rewrite the following sentences to express that the subject (either ‘I’ or ‘he’) can
perform the action, by injecting V{sinnaa}V before the ending. Remember that
you are now adding the ending onto a vowel stem, to its form may change by the
fricative rule.
• Kalaallit Nunaannukarpoq ⟹∗
He goes to Greenland
• kalaallisut oqarpoq ⟹∗
He says something in Greenlandic
• Københavnimut qimuttuitsorpunga ⟹∗
I travel by train to Copenhagen
• timmisartumut ilaavoq ⟹∗
he is a passenger on an aeroplane i.e. he travels by plane
• Kangerlussuarmut tikippunga ⟹∗
I arrive in Kangerlussuaq
/𝑐g/ ⟹∗ kk
2
What happens when /g/ is joined onto a /q/ is handled by another rule, so we shall save that case for
later.
26
3.6. Necessarily truncative morphemes
The ending V{gama} means when (or because) I Vb’ed. Unlike V{vuŋa}, which
is just used to state a fact, V{gama} is used to express some kind of (past) cause
or condition for another verb, such as for example because I worked I was tired.
Add V{gama} to one of the following stems, and V{vuŋa} to the other, to create
complete sentences:
• {suli}V {qasu}V ⟹∗
(work, be tired ⟹ because I worked, I was tired)
• {tikit}V {isiq}V ⟹∗
(arrive, go inside ⟹ when I arrived, I went inside)
• {nuuk}V {aallaq}V ⟹∗
(move, travel ⟹ because I moved, I travelled)
27
3. Travelling to Greenland
and N{-u}V, you have to actively remember that these affixes are truncative. It is one
more piece of information you have to memorise, along with their form, meaning, and
what type of stem they join onto, and what type of stem they give rise to.
On the other hand, whenever you see a morpheme (either an affix or an ending) that
starts with a double consonant /𝑐𝑐/, then by this rule you know that it is truncative. It
is given directly by the shape of the morpheme. There is no reason to add that little
‘−’ in front of it, and consequently I shall not do so. Thus I write e.g. V{ŋŋit}V rather
than V{-ŋŋit}V, because this affix (which by the way means not Vb) begins in a double
consonant.
(𝑐)𝑣(𝑣)(𝑐)
(𝑐)𝑣(𝑣)(𝑐)|(𝑐)𝑣(𝑣)(𝑐)
I have simply doubled the pattern and added a | to mark the boundary between the
two syllables As you can see, there can at most be two consonant phonemes standing next
to each other, at the boundary. There is simply no way in which you can combine any two
legal instances of the pattern (𝑐)𝑣(𝑣)(𝑐) such that you would ever end up with more than
two consonants standing next to each other.
This means that whenever you join a morpheme {𝑐𝑐𝑣…}, beginning in a double con-
sonant /𝑐𝑐/, onto any kind of stem, then the result still must conform to this pattern of
syllables. Consequently, if the stem itself ends in a consonant, {…𝑣𝑐}, then it must be
removed, because otherwise there wold be three consonants standing next to each other,
which is disallowed by the syllable pattern.
28
3.6. Necessarily truncative morphemes
The affix V{ŋŋit}V negates the meaning of the stem it attaches to. In other words,
it means not Vb. Just as you naturally may want to say that you do something (or
can do something), you may equally well also want to be able to express that you
do not (or cannot) do something.
In this exercise, you rewrite verbs to negate their meaning by joining V{ŋŋit}V
onto the stem. However, for a technical reason, you shall also add yet another affix
after V{ŋŋit}V, which is one of the following:
• V{galuaq}V, which means actually Vb (but …). It can be a little difficult
to describe the meaning, so an example will have to do: sulivunga means I
worked, but suligaluarpunga means I actually worked (but…) something else
happened, that contradicts the overt meaning of the stem {suli}V. Maybe I
did not get much work done, or maybe you did not see me at work, which is
why you might disbelieve that I actually worked.
• V{-vik}V, which means totally/completely. In combination with V{ŋŋit}V
it means not at all.
Add the appropriate combination of V{ŋŋit}V and V{galuaq}V or V{-vik}V to
the following verbs, to match the given translation:
• Nuummukarpunga ⟹∗
(I went to Nuuk ⟹ I didn’t actually go to Nuuk)
• qimuttuitsorpunga ⟹∗
(I went by train ⟹∗ I didn’t actually go by train)
• aallarpunga ⟹∗
(I travelled ⟹∗ I did not travel at all)
• oqarpunga ⟹∗
(I said something ⟹∗ I did not say anything at all)
• tikippunga ⟹∗
(I arrived ⟹∗ I didn’t actually arrive)
• paasivakkaa ⟹∗
(I understood them ⟹∗ I did not understand them at all)
A note on spelling: /ŋŋ/ is spelt nng (and not ngng).
a
The stem is {paasi}V and the ending is V{vakka}
29
3. Travelling to Greenland
Sandhi epenthesis
There is one other detail to note about V{(l)luŋa}: The (l) in parentheses only appears,
when V{(l)luŋa} is added to a vowel stem. When instead it is added to a consonant stem,
(l) just disappears.
This type of morpheme is thus in a way the opposite of truncative: it only joins onto
consonant stems, and if the stem does not have a final consonant, the morpheme just
injects one itself; in this case an extra /l/. Such ‘sound injection’ is called epenthesis in
Grammaric, and I therefore call morphemes with this behaviour (sandhi) epenthetic, and I
denote them by writing the extra consonant in parentheses, as in V{(l)luŋa}.
4
In contrast to an ending like V{vuŋa}, that only means I Vb, because it only contains one person marker,
namely {ŋa}.
30
3.8. Text
• timmisartumut ilaavunga ⟹∗
I’m a passenger on a plane ⟹ I travel, (I) being a passenger on a plane, i.e. I
travel by plane
• qimuttuitsorpunga ⟹∗
I go by train ⟹ I travel, (I) going by train
• Nuummukarpunga ⟹∗
I go to Nuuk ⟹ I travel, (I) going to Nuuk
3.8 Text
At last, I have once again written a longer piece of text (and with much longer words),
using the rules and constructs you have seen in this chapter. This piece is about how I
first travelled to Greenland.
31
3. Travelling to Greenland
Glossary:
32
3.8. Text
33
3. Travelling to Greenland
• Nuummukarpunga ⟹∗ Nuummukanngikkaluarpunga
• qimuttuitsorpunga ⟹∗ qimuttuitsunngikkaluarpunga
• aallarpunga ⟹∗ aallanngivippunga
• oqarpunga ⟹∗ oqanngivippunga
• tikippunga ⟹∗ tikinngikkaluarpunga
• paasivakka ⟹∗ paasinngivippakka
34
3.8. Text
35
CHAPTER 4
Coming to Nuuk
Nuuk is the capital of Greenland, and also the largest town in the country. When I moved
there in 2011, there were some 16.000 inhabitants, which is likely less than most other
capitals in the world (but Greenland is a very sparsely populated country).
This chapter continues the story of my travel to Nuuk, where I had been offered a
position as educational psychologist in the municipal School Administration. The aim of
this chapter is to teach you just a single new sound rule, the ð-rule, an immensely common
affix, V{ðuq}N, and also to provide you with some further insights into the system of
verbal endings and the whole issue of mood and mood markers.
4.1 Review
We begin again by reviewing the rules you have seen thus far:
• Affixes and endings have three different joining strategies (or ‘sandhi’): they can be
additive, truncative or epenthetic.
– Additive morphemes like N{mut} and V{sinnaa}V join onto both vowel- and
consonant stems without further ado.
– Truncative morphemes like N{-u}V and N{-qaq}V will only join onto vowels,
and if the previous stem end in a consonant, it is removed. Morphemes begin-
ning in a double consonant, like V{ŋŋit}V are necessarily truncative, because
of the syllable structure, so I write them without any special symbol to indicate
truncativity.
37
4. Coming to Nuuk
• Vowels have an open (uvularised) pronunciation before uvulars (/r/ and /q/), and
open /i/ and open /u/ are spelt as e and o, respectively.
• By the fricative rule, [vv] becomes [pp], [gg] becomes [kk], and [ll] becomes [ɬɬ],
and they are spelt pp, kk, ll respectively. However, if the first consonant is a /q/,
that has been assimilated by the consonant rule, i.e. /qv/ or /ql/, they are instead
spelt rp and rl, respectively.
{kaŋiqluk}N{(q)cuaq}N{mut}
⟹ /kaŋiqlukcuaqmut/
⟹∗ [kaŋɜɬɬuccuɑmmut]
⟹∗ kangerlussuarmut
38
4.3. A sound rule for /ð/
who Vb’s. It is ‘strange’ because it has no associated pronunciation of its own. Instead,
it always changes into another phoneme (which then determines its pronunciation), but
which phoneme it changes into depends on the context. It is determined by the following
rule:
/𝑣ð/ → /𝑣c/
/𝑐ð/ → /𝑐t/
where 𝑐 is any consonant phoneme, and 𝑣 any vowel phoneme as usual. In other words,
the rule says that /ð/ becomes /c/ whenever it follows a vowel, but it becomes /t/ whenever
it follows a consonant.2
• In the former case, /c/ is pronounced as [ʃ] (an sh-like sound, as in she), and [ʃ] is
always spelt as s, just like an ordinary [s] is.3
• In the latter case, we then end up with a consonant cluster /𝑐t/, which then of
course by the consonant rule becomes [tt] and is also spelt tt (or rt, if the assimilated
consonant is /q/).
Thus, you can also just choose to learn a ‘short-circuited’ version of this rule, namely that
/𝑐ð/ is spelt tt (or rt if 𝑐 = /q/); and /ð/ is spelt s whenever it follows a vowel.
V{ðuq}N (a weak q-stem) is perhaps the most natural way to turn any verb stem
meaning ⟨someone⟩ does (something) into a noun stem meaning one who does (some-
thing). It appears in everything from the names of colours to job titles. Add it to
the following stems, using the empty nominal ending N{∅}, to produce a new noun
with the corresponding meaning:
• {iga}V ⟹∗
(cooks food ⟹ one who cooks food = a cook)
• {atuaq}V ⟹∗
(reads, goes to school ⟹ one who reads, goes to school = school pupil )
• {suli}V ⟹∗
(works ⟹ one who works = a worker/employee)
2
I hope the font difference is clear enough that you can distinguish between /𝑐/, which is a symbol I use
to represent an arbitrary consonant phoneme; and /c/, which is a specific consonant phoneme, namely the
one that is pronounced as [ʃ].
3
Actually, a good number of speakers (especially the younger) do not even distinguish between [ʃ] and
[s]; they just say [s] in both cases.
39
4. Coming to Nuuk
• {aakpaluk}V ⟹∗
(is red ⟹ one/something that is red = the colour red)
• {miki}V ⟹∗
(is small ⟹ one/something that is small = small)
• {utaqqi}V ⟹∗
(waits for somebody ⟹ one who waits for somebody)
• {nuuk}V ⟹∗
(moves ⟹ one who moves)
• {qaquq}V ⟹∗
(is white ⟹ one/something that is white = the colour white)
40
4.3. A sound rule for /ð/
• Qallunaatut {uqaluk}V ⟹∗
(Danish, speak ⟹ I speak Danish)
a
Although it sounds somewhat artificial, since English does not consistently distinguish between
one-time and recurring events.
V{ðaq}V is also often combined with V{ðuq}N to create a noun meaning one that
(habitually) Vb; or with another affix, V{(f)fik}Na which means place where one Vb.
Many of these combinations have been lexicalised, i.e. added to the dictionary with
a specific meaning.
Combine the following morphemes to create a noun with the corresponding mean-
ing, and use the ‘empty’ singular ending N{∅} to create a complete noun:
• {tiŋmi}V + V{ðaq}V{ðuq}N ⟹∗
(fly ⟹ one that (habitually) flies = aeroplane)
• {uqaluk}V + V{ðaq}V{(f)fik}N ⟹∗
(speak ⟹ place where one (habitually) speaks = lectern, pulpit)
• {timiqsuq}V + V{ðaq}V{ðuq}N ⟹∗
(do sports ⟹ athlete, sportsman)
• {timiqsuq}V + V{ðaq}V{(f)fik}N ⟹∗
(do sports ⟹ stadium, gym)
• {tikit}V + V{ðaq}V{(f)fik}N ⟹∗
(arrive ⟹ airport terminal (for arrivals))
• {sinik}V + V{ðaq}V{(f)fik}N ⟹∗
(sleep ⟹ place where one (habitually) sleeps = bedroom)
• {mit}V + V{ðaq}V{(f)fik}N ⟹∗
(land (like a bird) ⟹ place where one (habitually) lands = airport)
a
The morphemic form is actually V{(v)vik}N, so this affix is one of a few, very rare examples
where /vv/ does not become [pp] as usual by the fricative rule. Instead, this affix prefers a different,
devoiced sound (that also corresponds to /v/); namely [ff].
41
4. Coming to Nuuk
Add V{ðuq}N and the appropriate endings, N{∅}, N{mit}, N{mut} and V{vuŋa}
to the following stems to obtain a sentence matching the translation:
• {tiŋmiðaqðuq}N, {aakpaluk}V, {niu}V ⟹∗
(aeroplane, is red, disembarks ⟹ I disembarked from the red aeroplane)
• {tikitðaqfik}N, {miki}V, {isiq}V ⟹∗
(terminal (arrivals), is small, enter ⟹∗ I entered into the terminal)
• {iŋlu}N, {qaquq}V, takulerpara ⟹∗
(house, is white, I noticed it ⟹ I noticed the white house)
42
4.5. Persons, mood markers and participial endings
Note in the last sentence, that I have ‘pre-constructed’ the verb takulerpara (I noticed
it) for you here, because it requires one of these endings with two person markers, which
I have also previously mentioned but not yet explained in detail. For now, it suffices to
note that the endings is V{vara} and means I Vb him (or her or it).
• The first (1.) person is I in singular (sg); and we in plural (pl). I abbreviate them as
1.sg and 1.pl.
• The second (2.) person is you in both singular and plural in modern English; but
in Shakespearean times, the singular was called thou, whilst the plural was you. I
abbreviate the singular thou as 2.sg and the plural you as 2.pl.
4
It may often, but not always, make sense to have “that” in the English translation of a participial sentence.
5
Be careful not to confuse V{ðuq} with the nominalising affix V{ðuq}N. Even though they look the
same (especially when the noun carries the empty ending N{∅}), they have different meanings. Most notably,
the former is a verb, and the latter is a noun.
43
4. Coming to Nuuk
• The third (3.) person is he6 in singular, and they in plural; so I abbreviate them as
3.sg and 3.pl respectively.
Henceforth I can therefore just refer to V{vuŋa} as indicative 1.sg, and V{ðuq} as
participial 3.sg. And now that you understand how the two moods are related, you can
learn both of them at the same time. For every new ending you learn from one set, you
get another one for free. For example, the indicative 2.sg ending is V{vutit} (thou Vb);
and the indicative 1.pl ending is V{vugut} (we Vb). But now you can also mechanically
determine their participial counterparts.
In sum, here are the intransitive indicative and participial endings you now should
know:
1.sg V{vuŋa} V{ðuŋa} (I Vb)
2.sg V{vutit} V{ðutit} (thou Vb)
3.sg V{vuq} V{ðuq} (he Vb’s)
1.pl V{vugut} V{ðugut} (we Vb)
Here are some pairs of sentences. Combine each pair into a single sentence, by
rewriting the second sentence to use the participial mood:
• Oqarfigaanga. Suleqatigiippugut. ⟹∗
(He said (something) to me. We work together. ⟹ He said to me (that) we
work together)
Glossary:
6
And she and it, but we ignore them, since that distinction does not exist in Greenlandic.
44
4.6. Transitive endings
Such stems usually require endings with two person markers; one to tell us who the
⟨agent⟩ is, and one to denote who the ⟨patient⟩ is. These endings are correspondingly
called transitive endings, and you have already seen a few of them; for example:
It is not important here what the person markers actually are. The main thing to notice
is that they both start with /va/. This is a morpheme {va}, which is the mood marker
for transitive indicative (like {vu} for intransitive indicative). Most moods use the same
mood marker for both intransitive and transitive endings, but the indicative and participial
moods are two exceptions.
Notice also the notation: With transitive endings I write 𝑥1 /𝑥2 to indicate the two
persons; e.g. ‘1.sg/3.pl’ as I did above. Thus, 𝑥1 is the person taking the ⟨agent⟩ role, and
𝑥2 is the person taking the ⟨patient⟩ role. This also means that whenever you see 𝑥1 /𝑥2
45
4. Coming to Nuuk
in the translation for an ending, you know that it is a transitive ending (and conversely, if
I only mention a single person, then you know it is intransitive).
• {uqaqfigə}V + V{vaatit} ⟹∗
(⟨agent⟩ tells ⟨patient⟩ (something) + he Vb’s you (indicative 3.sg/2.sg))
• {apirə}V + V{vaaŋa} ⟹∗
(⟨agent⟩ asks ⟨patient⟩ (something) + he Vb’s me (indicative 3.sg/1.sg))
With this last difficulty out of the way, you are now ready for the main text of this
chapter. Here I describe my arrival in Nuuk and my first encounter with one of my new
colleagues, a lady named Arnannguaq.
46
4.6. Transitive endings
Glossary:
• kufferti, suitcase, borrowed from Danish
• N{ga}, my N
• V{gakku}, when I Vb’ed her (causative 1.sg/3.sg)
• V{(l)luni}, (she) Vb’ing (contemporative 4.sg, but think of it as 3.sg)
• aap, yes
• {aki}V, answer/reply
• kutaa, hello/good day, borrowed from Danish
• uanga, I, can be used for emphasis of 1.sg
• {pisuqtaq}N, boss/chief
• N{ŋŋuaq}N, dear/little, often used for (unironic) endearment
• N{(q)vut}, our N
• V{ssa}V, shall Vb, denotes future
• V{(l)luta}, (we) Vb’ing (contemporative 1.pl)
• *{lu}, and (enclitic)
47
4. Coming to Nuuk
• {iga}V ⟹∗ igasoq
• {atuaq}V ⟹∗ atuartoq
• {suli}V ⟹∗ sulisoq
• {aakpaluk}V ⟹∗ aappaluttoq
• {miki}V ⟹∗ mikisoq
• {utaqqi}V ⟹∗ utaqqisoq
• {nuuk}V ⟹∗ nuuttoq
• {qaquq}V ⟹∗ qaqortoqa
a
This is also the name of a town in South Greenland, Qaqortoq.
48
4.6. Transitive endings
49
4. Coming to Nuuk
School Administration. Our (dear) boss told me that we shall be working together.”
“Did she also tell you where I shall stay (have address)?”
“Yes, she said (that) you shall stay (have address) in Nuniaffik.”
Then Arnannguaq and I went out of the airport and began going to Nuniaffik.
50
CHAPTER 5
Geography of Nuuk
Immediately after I arrived in Nuuk, I moved into a temporary apartment (or rather, a
room) in Nuniaffik, which is in the district of Nuussuaq, approximately midway between
the ‘old town’ of Nuuk proper, and the latest expansion, called Qinngorput. In this chapter,
I will tell you a bit more about the geography of Nuuk, and also introduce two new (but
fortunately quite simple) sound rules, as well as some new endings for both nouns and
verbs.
5.1 Review
We begin, as usual, with a review of what you already know. But as there are quite a
number of rules now, I have separated them into four distinct topics:
Sandhi rules:
• Affixes and endings display three distinct types of sandhi or ‘joining’ behaviour:
They can be additive, truncative or epenthetic (‘sound injecting’).
• Affixes beginning in a double consonant like V{ŋŋit}V and V{ssa}V are necessarily
truncative, because of the syllable structure.
Sound rules:
• The ð-rule: /𝑐ð/ → /𝑐t/, whilst /𝑣ð/ → /𝑣c/. Or less abstractly, that /ð/ becomes
/t/ when added to a consonant, but /c/ (pronounced [ʃ] and spelt s) on a vowel.
• The vowel rule: Vowels have an open pronunciation before uvulars (/r/ and /q/).
51
5. Geography of Nuuk
Atuarfeqarnermut
Ingerlatsivik
Nuussuaq Nuniaffik
Nuup Qeqqa
Qinngorput
Figure 5.1: A map of Nuuk and the three major city areas: Nuup Qeqqa, Nuussuaq and the newest
expansion, Qinngorput. I have also added the location of Nuniaffik, where I (initially) stayed, and
also the location of Atuarfeqarnermut Ingerlatsivik where I went to work.
52
5.2. A sound rule for /g/
• The fricative rule: [vv] → [pp]1 ; [gg] → [kk]; and [ll] → [ɬɬ].
Spelling rules:
• Open (uvularised) /i/ and /u/ (that is, [ɜ] and [ɔ]) are spelt as e and o; but an open
/a/ (that is, [ɑ]) is still just spelt a, like the non-uvularised [a].
• [ŋ] is spelt ng, but double [ŋŋ] is just spelt nng (and not ngng)
Grammar:
• Verbal endings consist of a mood marker and one or two person markers. The mood
markers you have seen thus far are
– {vu}/{va} (indicative)
– {(l)lu} (contemporative)
– {ðu} (participial)
– {ga} (causative)
• The mood marker indicates the type of expression: direct statement (indicative);
Vb’ing or several things in the same sentence (contemporative); (that) … Vb when
the two subjects differ (participial); and when/because … Vb’ed for past cause/reason
(causative).
• Intransitive endings have a single person marker, whilst transitive endings have two
person markers; one denoting the ⟨agent⟩ and the other denoting the ⟨patient⟩.
/qg/ → /r/
1
Or, in rare cases like V{(v)vik}N, /vv/ → [ff]
53
5. Geography of Nuuk
In other words, whenever you have the combination /qg/, they merge and become a
single /r/. Thus, in this case, you do not have to worry about consonant assimilation and
the fricative rule: The g-rule is unconditional and thus quite simple; /qg/ always become
/r/, with no exceptions.
• {itiq}V, {kaffisuq}V ⟹∗
wake up, drink coffee ⟹ whenever I wake up I drink coffee
• {sinnaqtuuq}V, {bussiq}V ⟹∗
oversleep, take the bus ⟹ whenever I oversleep, I take the bus
• {suliffimnukaq}Va , {pisuk}V ⟹∗
go to my workplace, walk ⟹ whenever I go to my workplace, I walk
a
This stem is of course made with the allative verbalisation N{ALL}{-kaq}V. The allative ending
is N{mnut}, to my N, added onto the noun suliffik, built from {suli}V, work, and V{(f)fik}N, place
where one Vb’s.
54
5.4. The go-to affix V{gi’jaqtuq}V
Add V{gi'jaqtuq}V to the following stems, to explore the many possible forms,
this affix can end up having in a completed word. How many different forms are
there? Use indicative 3.sg V{vuq} (for intransitive verbs) or 3.sg/3.sg V{vaa} (for
transitive verbs) to create complete sentences:
• {kaffisuq}V ⟹∗
drink coffee ⟹ he goes (somewhere) to drink coffee
• {sinik}V ⟹∗
sleep ⟹ he goes (somewhere) to sleep
• {ilitniaqtit}V ⟹∗
⟨agent⟩ teaches ⟨patient⟩ ⟹ he goes (somewhere) to teach him (something)
• {iga}V ⟹∗
cook food ⟹ he goes (somewhere) to cook food
• {suli}V ⟹∗
work ⟹ he goes (somewhere) to work
55
5. Geography of Nuuk
• {taku}V ⟹∗
⟨agent⟩ sees ⟨patient⟩ ⟹ he goes (somewhere) to see him
[a𝑣] → [aa]
or, in other words: any vowel sound 𝑣, that follows the sound [a], will itself become [a].
The vowel phoneme /a/ does of course have the sound [a]2 but the sound [a] can also
arise in other ways. That is why this rule has to be expressed at the level of sounds, rather
than phonemes. But in any case, it is a simple rule without any special conditions.
• {ila}N ⟹∗
part/member ⟹ he is a part/member (of something)
• {aqnaq}N ⟹∗
woman ⟹ she is a woman
• {tacca}N ⟹∗
that ⟹ it is that; that is
2
[a] may of course subsequently be uvularised to [ɑ] by the vowel rule, but that happens later in the
process, so we do not need to deal with that here.
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5.6. Plural of nouns and verbs
• The plural ending for nouns is N{t} for vowel stems and weak q-stems; and N{-it}
for k-stems and some (non-weak) q-stems, most notably N{-innaq}N just N and
{utuqqaq}N an old/elderly person.
Here are some nominal and verbal stems. Add the plural ending N{t} or N{-it} to
the nominal stem(s), and the indicative 3.pl ending V{(v)vut} to the verbal stem to
create full sentences:
3
Here the nice correspondence with the participial mood partly breaks down, because the corresponding
3.pl participial ending is just V{ðut} (and not *V{(ð)ðut}). This is because /v/ is a type of consonant that
can become doubled, whilst /ð/ is not. The cause of the doubling is here the person marker {t}.
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5. Geography of Nuuk
• {aqnaq}N, {iga}V ⟹∗
woman, cooks food ⟹ the women cook food
• {iŋlu}N, {aŋi}V ⟹∗
house, is big ⟹ the houses are big
• {inuk}N, {sinik}V ⟹∗
person, sleeps ⟹ the people sleep
• {ausiak}N, {miki}V ⟹∗
(spider, is small) ⟹ the spiders are small
Note: N{-innaq}N is one of the few, rare q-stems that also take N{-it} as its plural
ending, and in the last example you (of course) has to add a plural ending to both
{inuk}N and N{-innaq}N.
Verbalise the following nouns (in the locative case) by adding N{LOC}{it}V. Use
the indicative 3.sg ending V{vuq} to create complete verbs:
• Nuummi ⟹∗
in Nuuk ⟹ it is in Nuuk
• Nuussuarmi ⟹∗
58
5.7. Verbalisation of the locative: Being in N
in Nuussuaq ⟹ it is in Nuussuaq
• Qinngutsinni ⟹∗
in Qinngorput ⟹ it is in Qinngorput
You can also use the locative verbalisation on an entire noun phrase consisting of
several words, as long as the final word carries a locative ending. Here are some
examples of so-called possessive noun phrases, where one noun ‘owns’ the next, like
the construction X of the Y in English. Add N{LOC}{it}V and V{vuq} as before,
but add it only onto the last word, carrying a locative ending.
• Nuussuup kitaani ⟹∗
in the area west of Nuussuaq ⟹ it is in the area west of Nuussuaq
• Nuussuup kangiani ⟹∗
in the area east of Nuussuaq ⟹ it is in the area east of Nuussuaq
• Nuniaffiup saninnguani ⟹∗
in the area right beside Nuniaffik ⟹ it is in the area right beside Nuniaffik
• Endings like N{mi}, N{ni}, N{mut}, N{nut}, N{∅}, N{t} and so on. These are are
called the unmarked case endings (of locative, allative, absolutive and so on).
• Endings like N{ga} (my N ), N{(q)vut} (our N ), N{mnut} (to my N ), N{-i} (his Ns)
that are used to denote that someone owns the noun. These are called the possessive
(or ‘marked’) case endings.
The point is that for each of the sets locative, allative, ablative, absolutive etc., you
have two unmarked endings (one for singular, and one for plural), and then you also have
endings for each possible person who can own the noun. Thus for example N{∅} and N{t}
are the unmarked absolutive endings, whilst N{(q)vut} is the 1.pl/sg possessive absolutive
ending; i.e. the absolutive ending meaning ‘first person, plural owns singular N’ or, less
59
5. Geography of Nuuk
formally, our N. Similarly, N{mut} and N{nut} are the unmarked allative endings, and
N{mnut} is the 1.sg/sg possessive allative ending; i.e. the ending meaning to my N.
By using these possessive endings, you can create possessive noun phrases, consisting
of several words. For example, Kalaallit Nunaat is one such noun phrase, consisting of
Kalaallit (the Greenlanders’) and Nunaat (their (singular) land). The latter word is built
from the base {nuna}N (land) and the absolutive 3.pl/sg ending N{-at} (their N ).
Possessive endings are extensively used in Greenlandic, so I will have much more to
say about them later on.
• V{nicarə}V, ⟨patient⟩ is the most Vb of the ⟨agents⟩. This affix yields a transitive
verb, so it must have a transitive ending. Furthermore, you are here comparing the
object against a group of subjects, so the ending must have a plural subject. This
is the affix you would use to express that the house (object) is the biggest of all the
houses in town (subjects)
Here are sets of two nouns and an adjectival verbal stem. Use the first noun as
subject, and add the unmarked ablative singular ending N{mit} to the second. Use
V{niru}V and V{vuq} on the verbal stem to create the Greenlandic sentence cor-
responding to the translation:
60
5.9. There is N: N{-qaq}V
Now try with V{nicarə}V: For each of the points below, the first noun is the object,
and the second is the subject (in plural). Leave them unaltered, but add V{nicarə}V
to the verbal stem, and use the 3.pl/3.sg ending V{vaat}, they Vb him. Remember
that this is a ə-stem, so delete /əv/ when you add the ending:
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5. Geography of Nuuk
Here are some pairs of nouns. Use the locative case and N{-qaq}V{vuq} to create
sentences corresponding to the translation:
• igaffik, arnaq ⟹∗
kitchen, woman ⟹ there is/are woman/women in the kitchen
• aqqusineq, biili ⟹∗
road, car ⟹ there is/are car(s) on the road
Note: aqqusineq and kingulleq are both non-weak q-stems; and Nuniaffiup sanin-
ngua is a possessive noun phrase, so add {ni} onto saninngua and leave Nuniaffiup
unaltered.
5.10 Text
The main text of this chapter contains some sentence constructions that deserve a few
extra comments to make sense:
Impersonal sentences
The base {taa}V means ⟨agent⟩ calls ⟨patient⟩ (something). With V{ðaq}V and indicative
3.pl/3.sg ending V{vaat} you obtain a word meaning they (habitually) call it (something).
If ‘they’ are not further specified by an explicit noun in the sentence, then the meaning is
impersonal, somewhat like the impersonal use of ‘you’ or ‘one’ in English.
Consider for example the sentence One does not simply walk into Mordor. Here ‘one’
refers to anybody and nobody in particular; the meaning is impersonal. And the same
impersonal meaning is expressed in Greenlandic by using the 3.pl (‘they’) as subject.
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5.10. Text
That-clauses of that-clauses
Recall that you use the participial mood to express sentences of the form that (subject) Vb,
such as for example you told (that) I travelled to Nuuk. Here you told (something) is the so-
called main clause, and I travelled is the ‘that-clause’ (or subordinate clause in Grammaric).
We would therefore use the participial mood on {aullaq}V, so the sentence becomes
oqaluttuarputit Nuummut aallartunga
Recall also that the participial only can be used if the two persons doing something in
the sentence are different. Here ‘you’ ≠ ‘I’, so this is fine. But what if instead the sentence
was I told (that) I travelled to Nuuk? Here ‘I’ is the subject of both the main clause and the
subordinate clause, so we cannot use the participial mood.
Instead we must use the contemporative mood, because we have the same person doing
several things in the same sentence (here ‘telling’ and ‘travelling’). Thus the sentence now
becomes
oqaluttuarpunga Nuummut aallarlunga
Consider now the sentence you recall (that) I told (that) I travelled to Nuuk. This
sentence combines the two previous cases: you recall (something) is the main clause, and I
told (something) is the subordinate clause, so it should use the participial ending V{ðuŋa}
since ‘you’ ≠ ‘I’. But I told (something) is itself also a main clause for the subordinate clause
(that) I travelled to Nuuk, so I travelled should use the contemporative ending V{(l)luŋa}
since ‘I’ am the subject of both clauses.
The base {iqqaima}V means ⟨agent⟩ recalls ⟨partient⟩, and the indicative 2.sg/3.sg
ending is V{vat}, you Vb it. Now try to construct the sentence you recall that I told that I
travelled to Nuuk before you check the answer in the footnote:
4
4
eqqaamavat oqaluttuartunga Nuummut aallarlunga.
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5. Geography of Nuuk
Glossary:
• *{li}, but (this enclitic is an alternative to kisianni)
• taamaammat, thus/therefore
• assut, very/much
• Nuup ilai, Nuuk’s parts (or ‘areas’)
• {piŋasuq}N, the number three (only with plural endings)
• immaqa, maybe/perhaps
• {iqqaima}V, ⟨agent⟩ recalls/remembers ⟨patient⟩
• V{vat}, thou Vb it (indicative 2.sg/3.sg)
• {qanik}V, is close (to something in allative case)
• V{(l)luni}, contemporative 4.sg (but think of it as 3.sg)
• ajoraluartumik, unfortunately. A lexicalised word, built from {ajuq}V, is
bad/broken + V{galuaq}V + V{ðuq}N + N{mik}.
• V{-laaq}V, somewhat Vb
• ullaakkut, in the morning
• V{ðariaqaq}V, has to Vb
• inortuiumananga, in order (for me) not to be late
• V{gajuk}V, Vb often
• qujanartumik, fortunately/thankfully. A lexicalised word, built like
ajoraluartumik but with {quja}V, is thankful, as base instead.
• {unikðaqfik}N, (bus) stop, built from {unik}V, stops + V{ðaq}V +
V{(f)fik}N.
• N{-qaq}V + any 3.sg ending: there is N <–
64
5.10. Text
• {kaffisuq}V ⟹∗ kaffisoriartorpoq
• {sinik}V ⟹∗ sinikkiartorpoq
• {ilitniaqtit}V ⟹∗ ilinniartikkiartorpaa
• {iga}V ⟹∗ igajartorpoq
• {suli}V ⟹∗ suliartorpoq
• {niu}V ⟹∗ takujartorpaa
There are thus four different forms: -kiartor- on k-stems and t-stems, -riartor- on
q-stems, -jartor- on a-stems and u-stems, and -artor- on i-stems.
65
5. Geography of Nuuk
Note: Both V{niru}V and V{nicarə}V contain a morpheme V{nəq}N, which can
66
5.10. Text
delete a final /ə/ from a stem. The bases {aŋi}V, {miki}V are actually ə-stems,
{aŋə}V and {mikə}V, so you may also see the forms anneruvoq, annersaraat,
minneruvoq, minnersaraat, where /ə/ has been deleted, and /n/ has assimilated
the consonant in the verbal base.
67
CHAPTER 6
The new apartment
The room in Nuniaffik was only a temporary place where I could stay, until my furniture
and other possessions arrived in Greenland. And fortunately, because it was a very small
room. But after about a month, a new (and larger) apartment was ready for me, so I had
to move once again. Not far, though, because the new apartment was located right on the
other side of the road across from Nuniaffik, in Atertaq, close to the small grocery store
Brugseneeraq. Quite convenient.
This chapter continues the story of the previous chapters, describing the move to my
new (and permanent) apartment in Atertaq. It also introduces a new, important sound
rules; the schwa-rule, which accounts for the behaviour of the mysterious fourth vowel
phoneme, /ə/, that shows up in several different guises in both nominal and verbal stems.
This rule is the last of the major, important sound rules in Greenlandic, and with that in
place, you should finally be able to understand all the common sound changes that occur
whenever you join morphemes together.
6.1 Review
As always, we begin with a short review of what you have learned so far, with sandhi and
sound rules again presented in order of application:
Sandhi rules:
• Affixes and endings display three distinct types of sandhi or ‘joining’ behaviour:
They can be additive (no symbol); truncative (denoted by −) or epenthetic (denoted
by a consonant in parentheses).
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6. The new apartment
Figure 6.1: A view of the iconic Mt. Sermitsiaq behind Nuuk, taken near my new apartment in
Atertaq.
• Affixes beginning in a double consonant like V{ŋŋit}V and V{ssa}V are necessarily
truncative, because of the syllable structure.
Sound rules:
• The ð-rule: /𝑐ð/ → /𝑐t/, whilst /𝑣ð/ → /𝑣c/ (/c/ is pronounced [ʃ]).
• The a-rule: Any vowel [𝑣] following [a] will itself become [a]; i.e. [a𝑣] → [aa].
• The vowel rule: Vowels have an open pronunciation before uvulars (/r/ and /q/).
• The consonant rule: All consonant clusters [𝑐1 𝑐2 ] are assimilated to [𝑐2 𝑐2 ].
• The fricative rule: [vv] → [pp] or (rarely) [ff]; [gg] → [kk]; and [ll] → [ɬɬ].
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6.1. Review
Spelling rules:
• Open (uvularised) /i/ and /u/ (that is, [ɜ] and [ɔ]) are spelt as e and o; but an open
/a/ (that is, [ɑ]) is still just spelt a, like the non-uvularised [a].
• [ɬɬ] is spelt ll (or rl as noted below).
• Whenever a /q/ is assimilated by the consonant rule, it is always spelt as r. So all
clusters /q𝑐/, which become [𝑐𝑐] by the consonant rule, are spelt as r𝑐.
• [ŋ] is spelt ng, but double [ŋŋ] is just spelt nng (and not ngng).
• [ʃ] (i.e. /c/) is spelt s, as is ordinary [s].
• [ij] is just spelt i, since [j] becomes inaudible after an [i] anyway (but it is still
there!).
Note also the order of the sandhi, sound and spelling rules; I have written them in the
order in which you must apply them, since some rules naturally must be applied before
others to yield the correct result. For example, the a-rule must be used before the vowel
rule, to ensure that e.g. [a𝑣q] becomes [ɑɑq]. This is usually quite obvious, so you need
not be overly concerned about memorising the exact order; just beware that the order
sometimes does matter. You will see further examples of this in the present chapter.
Grammar:
• Verbal endings consist of a mood marker and one or two person markers. Here are
the mood markers with their Grammaric names and meanings:
– Indicative: {vu}/{va}, statements.
– Contemporative: {(l)lu}, multiple (parallel or consecutive) actions by the same
person; also that … Vb.
– Participial: {ðu}, that … Vb, when subject differs from subject of main clause.
– Causative: {ga}, when/because for (past) cause or reason.
– Iterative: {gaaŋ}, whenever for repeated condition, and with V{ðaq}V on the
main verb.
• Intransitive endings have a single person marker, whilst transitive endings have two
person markers; one denoting the ⟨agent⟩ and the other denoting the ⟨patient⟩.
• Nominal endings are divided into sets, called cases, based on their usage/meaning,
and they come in two types: unmarked and possessive (or ‘marked’). The unmarked
endings only contain a case marker; but the possessive endings also contain a per-
son marker that denotes the person who owns the noun. Here are the cases, their
Grammaric names, and the usages you have seen so far:
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6. The new apartment
/ə𝑐/ → [i𝑐]
/ə𝑣/ → [a𝑣]
In other words: Whenever /ə/ is followed by any consonant phoneme /𝑐/, it takes the
sound [i]; and whenever /ə/ is followed by any vowel phoneme /𝑣/, it takes the sound [a].
However, /ə/ can also occur as the final phoneme in a word, and in that case, there are a
few extra possibilities:
/𝑣tə/ → [𝑣t]
/𝑐ə/ → [𝑐i] where /𝑐/ ≠ /t/
In other words: If /ə/ is last and follows a single /t/, it disappears; but if it follows any
other consonant than a single /t/, then it also takes the sound [i]. Note that this implies
that /ə/ also will take the sound [i] if it follows a double consonant; even if it is a double
/t/. It can only disappear before a single /t/.
1
And N{-it} for k-stems and some non-weak q-stems.
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6.2. A sound rule for /ə/
Here are some ə-stems with affixes and/or endings. In particular, there is also a
new absolutive possessive ending, N{-a}, his N (3.sg/sg). Use the ə-rule (and all of
the other sound rules as necessary) to produce the correct form of the final word:
• {aŋutə}N{t} ⟹∗
man, ABS.pl ⟹ men
• {aŋutə}N{-qaq}V{vuq} ⟹∗
man, there is/are N ⟹ there is/are a man/men
• {aŋutə}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
man, I am an N ⟹ I am a man
• {aŋutə}N{∅} ⟹∗
man, ABS.sg ⟹ man
• {inə}N{t} ⟹∗
room, ABS.pl ⟹ rooms
• {inə}N{-qaq}V{vuq} ⟹∗
room, there is/are N ⟹ there is/are a room/rooms
• {inə}N{-a} ⟹∗
room, ABS 3.sg/sg ⟹ his room
• {inə}N{-i}a ⟹∗
room, ABS 3.sg/pl ⟹ his rooms
• {inə}N{∅} ⟹∗
room, ABS.sg ⟹ room
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6. The new apartment
• {siunniqsuqðə}N{t} ⟹∗
counselor, ABS.pl ⟹ counselors
• {siunniqsuqðə}N{∅} ⟹∗
counselor, ABS.sg ⟹ counselor
• {siunniqsuqðə}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
counselor, I am an N ⟹ I am a counselor
• {piqutə}N{∅} ⟹∗
(piece of) furniture, ABS.sg ⟹ (a piece of) furniture
• {piqutə}N{t} ⟹∗
(piece of) furniture, ABS.pl ⟹ furniture
• {piqutə}N{kka} ⟹∗
(piece of) furniture, ABS 1.sg/pl ⟹ my furniture
• {atuagautə}N{kka} ⟹
(owned) books, ABS 1.sg/pl ⟹ my books (books owned by me)b
a
Remember that the marker N{-i} is still spelt as i when it is final, even when it has been assim-
ilated by the a-rule.
b
As opposed to books written by me.
74
6.3. Verbal ə-stems with indicative mood
about these changes later; but for now, just beware whenever you see a noun stem ending
in /ə𝑐/. One thing you can be sure of is that whenever you see one of these stems ending
in /əq/, then it is not a weak q-stem.2
• The /tə/ stems are by far the most common type of nominal ə-stem. In fact, every
(singular) noun listed in the DAKA as ending on /t/ is in fact a ə-stem! Or stated
otherwise: there is no such thing as a nominal t-stem. Thus, whenever you see a noun
that appears to end on a t in its singular form, then you can be sure that it actually
is a ə-stem where /ə/ just has disappeared.3
• Stems like {inə}N are quite rare, although several of them are frequently used. Be-
sides {inə}N they include {tipə}N (smell), {nipə}N (voice), {icə}N (eye), {timə}N
(body), {niqə}N (meat) and {puəðə}N (seal). You could simply memorise this list
and it would likely cover most of the ə-stems (apart from the tə-stems) that you will
encounter in the foreseeable future.
• Stems like {siunniqsuqðə}N, with a double consonant before /ə/, are also quite
rare. Most of them are formed with a single affix, V{ðə}N, which means one who
Vb for someone (else), so if you see a noun with something like this meaning, and
which seems to end on i before a double consonant, then it is probably a ə-stem.
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6. The new apartment
and now that you know the ə-rule we can finally do away with it. Here is the real rule for
adding indicative endings onto ə-stems:
In other words, /ə/ just deletes /v/ from the mood marker – both from intransitive
{vu} and transitive {va}. Now by the ə-rule, /ə/ becomes [a] because it is followed by
a vowel; namely either /u/ or /a/. And then we of course in both cases get [aa] by the
a-rule. Quite simple, now that you know the ə-rule and the a-rule, right?
However, there is one small complication: if you ever end up with a triple [aaa], then
this is reduced to just [aa] because of the syllable structure. Greenlandic does not allow a
vowel sound to be longer than two, so [aaa] → [aa].
Practice adding indicative endings onto verbal ə-stems by writing the final form
of the following combinations. Note also a new affix, V{-qə}V, meaning Vb very
/greatly/much, which is commonly used for emphasis:
• {nuannarə}V{vara} ⟹∗
⟨agent⟩ likes/enjoys ⟨patient⟩, 1.sg/3.sg ⟹ I like/enjoy it
• {nuannarə}V{vaa} ⟹∗
⟨agent⟩ likes/enjoys ⟨patient⟩, 3.sg/3.sg ⟹ he like/enjoy it
• {mikə}V{-qə}V{vuq} ⟹∗
is small, Vb very, 3.sg ⟹ it is very small
• {aŋə}V{-qə}V{(v)vut} ⟹∗
is big, Vb very, 3.pl ⟹ they very big
A detail
It is actually not all verbal ə-stems that behave in this way, although most of them still
do. For example, the bases {aŋə}V (is big) and {mikə}V (is small) are actually ə-stems,
but they do not alter the indicative mood marker; i.e. they behave just as ordinary i-stems.
However, most ə-stems still behave according to this special rule, and all of those that do
are listed in the DAKA with ‘contracted’ indicative endings; i.e. -aa for the transitive verbs,
and -aaq for the intransitive.
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6.4. A sound rule (and spelling rule) for /t/
Part of the problem is probably that nobody can actually remember anymore which
of the i’s in a word are actually /ə/, and which are true /i/ phonemes. Thus, a /ə/ that
historically has taken the sound [i], may come to behave more like a true /i/ and lose the
ability to alternate between [i], [a] and no sound. Yet in both of the aforementioned cases,
we know that the final vowel actually is (or, at least historically was) a /ə/, because, as you
saw in the previous chapter, it can still disappear in certain contexts, such as before the
comparation morpheme V{nəq}N, and other morphemes derived from it; e.g. V{nəru}V
(Vb more) and V{nəqcarə}V (⟨patient⟩ is the most Vb’ing of ⟨agents⟩). Thus, you saw e.g.
anneruvoq, minneruvoq (it is bigger, it is smaller), from {aŋə}V, {mikə}V, even though
we say angivoq, mikivoq, and not *angaaq, *mikaaq.
[ti] → [ts i]
and (as you perhaps can imagine) this rule must be applied after the ə-rule, but before the
vowel rule; because a /ə/ that has taken the sound [i] will also trigger this rule, and the
rule remains in effect even if [i] is later uvularised to [ɜ]. In other words, for example
[tiq] will become [ts ɜq].
It sounds complicated, but it is actually quite easy: Just remember to pronounce /t/
as [ts ] whenever it is followed by either [i] or [ɜ]. The rule is unambiguous, so [ts i] and
[ts ɜ] are not even spelt differently; they are just spelt as ti and te respectively. Thus e.g.
{timə}N{∅} (body) is pronounced [ts imi], but it is just spelt timi.
However, there is one annoying complication, which is due to the new orthography:
a double [ts ts i] (and [ts ts ɜ] also) is spelt as tsi (and tse). Thus, the spelling rule is that
[ts ts i] → tsi
[ts ts ɜ] → tse
except if the first consonant is an assimilated /q/. In that case it is just spelt as rti (and rte).
In other words, you have to apply the spelling rule of assimilated /q/ before you apply this
rule. Thus e.g. {əlitniaqtət}{vaa}V (he teaches him) is pronounced [ilinniɑts ts ippaa],
but it is spelt ilinniartippaa.
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6. The new apartment
• {uqalukðə}N{∅} ⟹∗
interpreter, ABS.sg ⟹ an interpreter
• {uqalukðə}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
interpreter, is an N, I Vb ⟹ I am an interpreter
• {najuqðə}N{∅} ⟹∗
(lay) representative, ABS.sg ⟹ a (lay) representative
• {najuqðə}N{-u}V{vuŋa} ⟹∗
(lay) representative, is an N, I Vb ⟹ I am a (lay) representative
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6.6. Numerals
before additive morphemes, but as vowel stems before truncative morphemes, which is
what this epenthetic (ə) in parentheses is mean to to signify.
• V{vaa} ⟹∗
indicative 3.sg/3.sg ⟹ he sends it (to somebody)
• V{ssa}V{vaa} ⟹∗
shall (future), indicative 3.sg/3.sg ⟹ he shall send it (to somebody)
• V{nəqaq}V{(v)vut} ⟹∗
⟨patient⟩ was/is Vb’ed, indicative 3.pl ⟹ they were sent (to somebody)
• V{qqu}V{vara} ⟹∗
⟨agent⟩ bids ⟨patient⟩ Vb, indicative 1.sg/3.sg ⟹ I bid (someone) send it (to
somebody)
• V{ðariaqaq}V{vakka} ⟹∗
must Vb, indicative 1.sg/3.pl ⟹ I must send them (to somebody)
Note on spelling: [uva] is just spelt ua in the new orthography, because /v/ tends
to become inaudible between [u] and [a]. The same happens between [u] and [i],
so [uvi] is also just spelt ui.
a
Specifically, if the morpheme is truncative, you will see a ti, but if it is additive, you will only
see an assimilated consonant.
6.6 Numerals
The Greenlandic numerals, i.e. the words for one, two, three, etc. are (perhaps not surpris-
ingly) nouns. Thus, you can also use them, just like any other nouns, by adding affixes
and endings to them. The only speciality you need to be aware of here, is that some of the
numerals only make sense with plural endings, which is rather obvious if the number is
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6. The new apartment
greater than one. In other words, you will often see the numerals (greater than one) with
plural endings, but if you want to add affixes to them, you still need to know their mor-
phemic form, which usually corresponds to the singular, even though the singular form
of e.g. the number ‘three’ might not make much sense. Here are the numerals from one to
twelve:
For numbers greater than twelve, the Danish numerals are usually used. Now, as you
can see, there are a few peculiarities to keep in mind with these numerals:
• {atausiq}N, one; {aqvinəq}N, six; and {aqqanəq}N, eleven are all singular. The
number system is based on counting fingers (and toes), so {atausiq}N is the first
finger on the first hand; {aqvinəq}N is the first finger on the second hand, and so
on.
• marluk, two is actually an old dual form, even though the dual number system has
all but disappeared in Greenlandic.4 . The dual marker was {k}, and it also appeared
before case endings; thus e.g. in the instrumental case, we get {maqluq}N{knik}
⟹∗ marlunnik. If this seems confusing, just think of it in this way: {maqluq}N
behaves as if it were a k-stem {maqluk}N when you add endings to it; but as a
(weak) q-stem {maqluq}N when you add affixes to it.
• {piŋasuq}N, three; {sisamaq}N, four; {tatlimaq}N, five are just plain, weak q-
stems. They are always used with plural endings (since they are plural in meaning).
• The words for seven, eight and twelve are compound words (as indicated by the
hyphen, although they can optionally also be written without a hyphen), formed
from the word for the other hand, and the word for two, three. You just treat them as
4
But you can still see it in Inuktitut and other, more western inuit languages
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6.6. Numerals
a single stem; i.e. you only add affixes and endings to the last word in the compound.
This also means that the compounds formed with {maqluq}N take dual endings,
just like marluk.
• The two forms for the word nine, {quləŋiluaq}N and {qulaaluaq}N, can be used
interchangeably.
• The word for ten is qulit, but it was (historically) a /ək/-stem, even though /ə/ today
behaves just like an ordinary /i/.5
•
There are three rooms
•
There is just one apartment
•
There are two mountains
•
I saw three mountains
• sinittarfimmi
in the bedroom there are just two beds
• inissiartaami
in the new apartment there is just one kitchen
• inersuarmi
in the living room there are five chairs
• inissiartaara
my new apartment has just one bathroom
5
But you can see it once was a /ə/ in the second word for nine, where /ŋ/ had disappeared, which yielded
/quləiluaq/ ⟹ [qulailuaq] ⟹ [qulaaluaq] by the ə-rule and the a-rule.
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6. The new apartment
•
the small apartment has just two rooms
•
I stayed/lived just one month in Nuniaffik
Glossary:
• {inə}N, room
• {inəkciaq}N, apartment
• N{-innaq}N, just N. Note: non-weak q-stem. Add this to the numeral.
• {qaqqaq}N, mountain
• {taku}V, ⟨agent⟩ sees ⟨patient⟩
• V{vakka}, I Vb them (indicative 1.sg/3.pl)
• {sinəkðaqvik}N, bedroom
• {sinəkvik}N, bed
• {igavvik}N, kitchen
• N{taaq}N, a new N
• {inəqcuaq}N, living room
• {issiavik}N, chair
• {uvvaqvik}N, bathroom
• N{-araq}N, a small N
• {qaummatə}N, month
6.7 Text
Here at last is the text of the chapter. As usual, I have tried to use as many glossaries from
the previous exercises as possible
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6.7. Text
Glossary:
• imaluunniit, or.
• V{ssa}V{galuaq}V, should.
• aqquserngup akiani, on the other side of the road.
• pisiniarfiup `Brugseneeqqap' eqqaani, in the vicinity of the store ‘Brugse-
neeraq’ (‘the little grocery store’).
• N{-lək}N, equipped with N. The meaning is equivalent to the combination
N{-qaq}V{ðuq}N.
• qamani, outside (of the house).
• {aniiqcuaqðaqvik}N, balcony
• tassanga, thence (from there).
• {icəkkivik}N, view.
• assut, very much.
• soorunami, of course.
• {nassaq}V, bring (something). Note: if explicitly mentioned, the (something)
must carry an instrumental case ending.
• tamarmik, all of them (as subject of a sentence).
• {umiaqcuaq}N, ship. With instrumental ending: by ship.
• uannut, to me.
• V{(m)mat}, when it Vb’ed (causative 3.sg).
• {pi}V, ⟨agent⟩ gets ⟨patient⟩.
• {isəqtəq}V, move into (something). Note: if explicitly mentioned, the (some-
thing) must carry an allative case ending.
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6. The new apartment
• {nuannarə}V{vara} ⟹∗ nuannaraara
• {nuannarə}V{vaa} ⟹∗ nuannaraa
• {mikə}V{-qə}V{vuq} ⟹∗ mikeqaaq
• {aŋə}V{-qə}V{(v)vut} ⟹∗ angeqaat a
a
In V{(v)vut}, /v/ is doubled to /vv/, but since /v/ is deleted by /ə/ there is nothing to double.
In other words, even /(v)v/ is deleted by this rule.
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6.7. Text
• V{vaa} ⟹∗ nassiuppaa
• V{ssa}V{vaa} ⟹∗ nassiutissavaa
• V{nəqaq}V{(v)vut} ⟹∗ nassiunneqarput
• V{qqu}V{vara} ⟹∗ nassiuteqquaraa
• V{ðariaqaq}V{vakka} ⟹∗ nassiuttariaqarpakka
a
Remember, V{qqu}V is necessarily truncative, because of the syllable structure.
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6. The new apartment
86
Bibliography
Fortescue, M., Jacobson, S., and Kaplan, L. (2010). Comparative Eskimo Dictionary With
Aleut Cognates. Alaska Native Language Center, Fairbanks, Alaska, 2 edition.
87
APPENDIX A
Glossary
Through the chapters of this book I have introduced many bases and affixes as glossaries
for the various exercises. Here follows a complete list, together with a translation. I use
the following alphabetisation:
abcdðeəfghijklmnŋopqrstuvwxyzæøå
Particles and similar ‘frozen’ words and phrases are written using the new orthogra-
phy; but otherwise, bases and affixes are given in a morphemic form that generally is
close to the one used by Fortescue et al. (2010) in their Comparative Eskimo Dictionary.
However, I have decided to transcribe historical /ə/ that has become either/i/ or /a/ as
that respective vowel, except when it appears in the final syllable of a morpheme, where
it might affect the final form of the word depending on the following morphemes. Or,
conversely, where the presence of a true /i/ otherwise might affect a following /t/.
89
A. Glossary
inuk, {inuk}N, human; person. It can also Maniitsoq, the uneven, town just north of
refer more specifically to a member of the Nuuk.
ethnic group of inuit. Lastly, it is also a (uni- meeraq, {miiraq}N, child. Weak q-stem
sex) name. with gemination of /r/ to [qq].
Isortoq, the unclear/turbid. A small town
on the East coast, near Tasiilaq. The name
refers to the colour of the waters around the
N
town. najugaqar-, {najugaqaq}V, live/have ad-
dress/residency (in some place), with (place)
90
A.2. Affixes
Sisimiut, the fox-hole dwellers, a town in uter-, {utəq}V, return (to some place), with
Central West Greenland. The name is plu- (place) given in the allative case.
ral, the final morpheme is N{miuq}N.
A.2 Affixes
N{-lək}N, one equipped with N; one that has stem before consonant-initial endings, but
N. Semantically, this affix is equivalent to final /aq/ drops before vowel-initial end-
the combination N{-qaq}V{ðuq}N. It dis- ings and N{-u}V, and it takes N{-up} and
plays a remnant of k-metathesis, so the erga- N{-it} in ergative and plural.
tive, plural and absolutive 2.sg/sg forms are
-llip, -llit, but otherwise it behaves like an
ordinary k-stem. Q
N{-qaq}V, has N. With 3.sg ending and un-
K specified subject, it can also mean there is N.
N{(q)cuaq}N, big/bad N. The meaning
N{ALL}{-kaq}V, go to, verbalisation of the can be big/great without negative conno-
allative case. tations. It behaves as a strong q-stem
before consonant-initial endings, but final
M /aq/ drops before vowel-initial endings and
N{-u}V, and it takes N{-up} and N{-it} in
N{miuq}N, one who lives in N; a citizen of
ergative and plural.
N.
Ŋ S
N{ŋŋuaq}N, dear/little, often used for V{sinnau}V, can Vb.
(unironic) endearment. On spatial noun
stems it means right/just, e.g. qulinnguani,
right/just above it. It behave as a weak q-
U
N{-u}V, is (an) N.
92