Inuit grammar

The Inuit languages, like other Eskimo–Aleut languages, exhibit a regular agglutinative and heavily suffixing morphology. The languages are rich in suffixes, making words very long and potentially unique. For example, in Nunavut Inuktitut:

ex:

ᑐᓵᑦᓯᐊᕈᓐᓇᖖᒋᑦᑐᐊᓘᔪᖓ

tusaatsiarunnanngittualuujunga

ᑐᓵᑦᓯᐊᕈᓐᓇᖖᒋᑦᑐᐊᓘᔪᖓ

tusaatsiarunnanngittualuujunga

I can't hear very well.

This long word is composed of a root word tusaa-to hear – followed by seven suffixes (a vowel-beginning suffix always erases the final consonant of the preceding consonant-ending suffix):

  • -tsiaq-: "well"
  • -junnaq- (or -gunnaq-): "be able to"
  • -nngit-: negation
  • -tu(q): indicative third-person singular (in fact a nominal form)
  • -alu(k)-: augmentative ("very")
  • -u-: "be"
  • -junga: indicative first-person singular (itself composed of the indicative morpheme -ju- and the first person marker -nga)

Note the consonant sandhi (see Inuit phonology): The /q/ from -tsiaq- followed by the /j/ from -junnaq- becomes ‹r› [ʁ], a single consonant taking its point of articulation from /q/ and its manner of articulation from /j/. The /q/ from -junnaq- is assimilated into the /ŋŋ/ of -nngit-, because Inuktitut forbids triple length consonants, and because the morphophonological rules attached to -nngit- require it to delete any consonant that comes before it.

This sort of word construction is pervasive in Inuit languages and makes it very unlike English. In one large Inuktitut corpus – the Nunavut Hansard – 92% of all words appear only once, in contrast to a small percentage in most English corpora of similar size. This makes the application of Zipf's law quite difficult.

Furthermore, the notion of a part of speech can be somewhat complicated in Inuit languages. Fully inflected verbs can be interpreted as nouns. The word ilisaijuq can be interpreted as a fully inflected verb – "he studies" – but can also be interpreted as a noun: "student".

Because of the languages’ rich and complicated morphology, this article can present only a limited and unsystematic sample of its features. It is based largely on the Inuktitut dialects of north Baffin Island and central Nunavut. The morphology and syntax of Inuit language varies to some degree between dialects, but the basic principles will generally apply to all of them and to some degree to Yupik as well.

Verbs in main clauses

Inuktitut verbs fall into two major categories with different morphological properties: non-specific verbs and specific verbs. Many verbs belong in both categories, and can take either set of endings depending on the type of information about the verb's arguments that speakers intend to communicate. Others are restricted to one category or require a morphological change in order to move between categories.

Every fully inflected Inuktitut verb can act alone as a proposition. No other words are required to form a syntactically correct sentence.

This section will only cover two of the most common sets of endings for these two verb classes and a small selection of verbal modifiers. Inuktitut has a large and diverse set of verbal inflections, of which this article can only cover a small portion designed to give some sense of how the Inuktitut language works.

Non-specific verbs

Non-specific verbs are verbs that either are intransitive (they have no direct object), or have an indefinite noun as their object. In English, an indefinite noun is marked by the lack of the article the or, if the noun is singular (and countable) the article a(n). In Inuktitut, when it is the object of a verb, it is distinguished by the use of a non-specific verb and particular suffix described below. A definite noun, in contrast, requires the use of a specific verb when it is the object of a verb.

Non-specific indicative conjugation

As a general rule, a correctly formed Inuktitut verb must start with a root and end with a suffix that indicates the grammatical person of its subject:

ex:
ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ
Quviasuktunga

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ

quviasuk-

to be happy

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ ᑐᖓ

quviasuk- -tunga

{to be happy} 1SG

I am happy

ex:
ᐊᓂᔪᖅ
Anijuq

ᐊᓂ

ani-

to go out

ᔪᖅ

-juq

3SG

ᐊᓂ ᔪᖅ

ani- -juq

{to go out} 3SG

he/she/it has just now gone out.

The indicative is the simplest form of the verb in Inuktitut, and for state verbs – verbs indicating a condition or a situation – this form indicates the present tense: The condition or situation is presently the case. For action verbs, it indicates that the action has recently been completed, mixing tense and aspect. Inuktitut verbs are divided into state verbs and action verbs. However, the distinction may not match how non-Inuktitut speakers would categorise verbs. For example, the verb root pisuk-, meaning "to be walking" – is a state verb in Inuktitut.

pisuktunga – I am walking. (right now)

When the verb root ends in a consonant, the suffixes that indicate the grammatical person all begin with t. For example, pisuk-to be walking – is conjugated as follows:

SingularDualPlural
1st person

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖓ

pisuktunga

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖓ

pisuktunga

I am walking

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᒍᒃ

pisuktuguk

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᒍᒃ

pisuktuguk

we [two] are walking

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᒍᑦ

pisuktugut

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᒍᑦ

pisuktugut

we [more than two] are walking

2nd person

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᑎᑦ

pisuktutit

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᑎᑦ

pisuktutit

you [sing] are walking

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᓯᒃ

pisuktusik

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᓯᒃ

pisuktusik

you [two] are walking

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᓯ

pisuktusi

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᓯ

pisuktusi

you [more than two] are walking

3rd person

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖅ

pisuktuq

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖅ

pisuktuq

he/she/it is walking

ᐱᓱᒃᑑᒃ

pisuktuuk

ᐱᓱᒃᑑᒃ

pisuktuuk

they [two] are walking

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᑦ

pisuktut

ᐱᓱᒃᑐᑦ

pisuktut

they [more than two] are walking

Verb roots that end in a vowel have suffixes that start with a j. For example, ani-to go out:

SingularDualPlural
1st person

ᐊᓂᔪᖓ

anijunga

ᐊᓂᔪᖓ

anijunga

I have just gone out

ᐊᓂᔪᒍᒃ

anijuguk

ᐊᓂᔪᒍᒃ

anijuguk

we [two] have just gone out

ᐊᓂᔪᒍᑦ

anijugut

ᐊᓂᔪᒍᑦ

anijugut

we [more than two] have just gone out

2nd person

ᐊᓂᔪᑎᑦ

anijutit

ᐊᓂᔪᑎᑦ

anijutit

you [sing] have just gone out

ᐊᓂᔪᓯᒃ

anijusik

ᐊᓂᔪᓯᒃ

anijusik

you [two] have just gone out

ᐊᓂᔪᓯ

anijusi

ᐊᓂᔪᓯ

anijusi

you [more than two] have just gone out

3rd person

ᐊᓂᔪᖅ

anijuq

ᐊᓂᔪᖅ

anijuq

he/she/it has just gone out

ᐊᓂᔫᒃ

anijuuk

ᐊᓂᔫᒃ

anijuuk

they [two] have just gone out

ᐊᓂᔪᑦ

anijut

ᐊᓂᔪᑦ

anijut

they [more than two] have just gone out

Note that Inuktitut has a fully productive dual number, present in all three persons.

Alternative form

There is an alternative form of the above conjugation which is used in different ways and to different degrees depending on dialect. Instead of starting with t after a consonant and j after a vowel, this form starts with p after a consonant and v after a vowel. The exact difference varies from dialect to dialect. In western dialects, including Inuinnaqtun and Inupiatun, only the t/j forms are ever used for statements and the p/v form is rarely if ever heard. In Greenland, only the p/v form is used. In the central and eastern Canadian dialects, both forms are used.

Interrogatives

There are additional p/v forms used in Nunavut to indicate interrogative statements – asking questions – although they may indicate other subtle distinctions of aspect. When they are used to ask questions, the last vowel may be doubled to indirectly indicate rising pitch. So, the question "Are we there yet?" can be written as Tikippita? (tikip- – to arrive, and for -pita see the table below) but may also be written as Tikippitaa?

This way, one can very compactly pose and answer simple yes/no questions:

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐱᑦ?

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐱᑦ?

Quviasukpit?

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐲᑦ?

Quviasukpiit?

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐲᑦ?

Quviasukpiit?

Are you happy?

ᐄ,

Ii,

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ.

quviasuktunga.

ᐄ, ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ.

Ii, quviasuktunga.

Yes, I'm happy.

Subjects

The subject of a non-specific verb has no special morphological mark:

ex:

ᐲᑕ

Piita

ᐊᓂᔪᖅ.

anijuq.

ᐲᑕ ᐊᓂᔪᖅ.

Piita anijuq.

Peter just went out.

ex:

ᓗᐃ

Lui

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖅ.

quviasuktuq.

ᓗᐃ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖅ.

Lui quviasuktuq.

Louis is happy.

Objects

The object of a non-specific verb must end in a suffix that indicates its syntactic role:

ex:

ᐲᑕᒥᒃ

Piitamik

ᑕᑯᕕᑦ?

takuvit?

ᐲᑕᒥᒃ ᑕᑯᕕᑦ?

Piitamik takuvit?

Do you see Peter?

The object of a non-specific verb takes one of the suffixes below, depending on its number:

Indefinite suffixes
Singular

ᒥᒃ

-mik

ᒥᒃ

-mik

/m/ nasalises a preceding consonant
Dual

ᕐᓂᒃ

-rnik

ᕐᓂᒃ

-rnik

deletes any preceding consonant and doubles the length of the preceding vowel
Plural

ᓂᒃ

-nik

ᓂᒃ

-nik

/n/ nasalises a preceding consonant

An example using the verb taku-to see – and inuviniqdead person:

Singular:

ᐃᓄᕕᓂᕐᒥᒃ

Inuvinirmik

ᑕᑯᔪᖓ.

takujunga.

ᐃᓄᕕᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᑕᑯᔪᖓ.

Inuvinirmik takujunga.

I see a dead person.

Dual:

ᐃᓄᕕᓃᕐᓂᒃ

Inuviniirnik

ᑕᑯᔪᖓ.

takujunga.

ᐃᓄᕕᓃᕐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔪᖓ.

Inuviniirnik takujunga.

I see two dead people.

Plural:

ᐃᓄᕕᓂᕐᓂᒃ

Inuvinirnik

ᑕᑯᔪᖓ.

takujunga.

ᐃᓄᕕᓂᕐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔪᖓ.

Inuvinirnik takujunga.

I see dead people.

To say "I see the dead person" or "I see the dead people" requires a specific verb, which is described in the section below.

Specific verbs

Specific verbs – verbs whose objects are definite as opposed to indefinite – take suffixes that indicate the grammatical person of both the subject and the object, but not their grammatical number.

Specific indicative conjugation

Specific verb suffixes used after vowels:
Subject
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Object 1st person

ᔭᕐᒪ

-jarma

ᔭᕐᒪ

-jarma

ᔮᙵ

-jaanga

ᔮᙵ

-jaanga

2nd person

ᔭᒋᑦ

-jagit

ᔭᒋᑦ

-jagit

ᔮᑎᑦ

-jaatit

ᔮᑎᑦ

-jaatit

3rd person

ᔭᕋ

-jara

ᔭᕋ

-jara

ᔦᑦ

-jait

ᔦᑦ

-jait

ᔭᖓ

-janga

ᔭᖓ

-janga

Specific verb suffixes used after consonants:
Subject
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Object 1st person

ᑕᕐᒪ

-tarma

ᑕᕐᒪ

-tarma

ᑖᙵ

-taanga

ᑖᙵ

-taanga

2nd person

ᑕᒋᑦ

-tagit

ᑕᒋᑦ

-tagit

ᑖᑎᑦ

-taatit

ᑖᑎᑦ

-taatit

3rd person

ᑕᕋ

-tara

ᑕᕋ

-tara

ᑌᑦ

-tait

ᑌᑦ

-tait

ᑕᖓ

-tanga

ᑕᖓ

-tanga

Note that the suffixes in this table cannot be used for reflexive verbs. That will be discussed separately.

Alternative form

As with non-specific verbs, specific verbs have an alternate v/p form used to the exclusion of j/t forms in Greenland, to some extent interchangeably in Nunavut, and not at all in the west:

Specific verb suffixes used after vowels:
Subject
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Object 1st person

ᕙᕐᒪ

-varma

ᕙᕐᒪ

-varma

ᕚᙵ

-vaanga

ᕚᙵ

-vaanga

2nd person

ᕙᒋᑦ

-vagit

ᕙᒋᑦ

-vagit

ᕚᑎᑦ

-vaatit

ᕚᑎᑦ

-vaatit

3rd person

ᕙᕋ

-vara

ᕙᕋ

-vara

ᕓᑦ

-vait

ᕓᑦ

-vait

ᕙᖓ

-vanga

ᕙᖓ

-vanga

Specific verb suffixes used after consonants:
Subject
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Object 1st person

ᐸᕐᒪ

-parma

ᐸᕐᒪ

-parma

ᐹᙵ

-paanga

ᐹᙵ

-paanga

2nd person

ᐸᒋᑦ

-pagit

ᐸᒋᑦ

-pagit

ᐹᑎᑦ

-paatit

ᐹᑎᑦ

-paatit

3rd person

ᐸᕋ

-para

ᐸᕋ

-para

ᐯᑦ

-pait

ᐯᑦ

-pait

ᐸᖓ

-panga

ᐸᖓ

-panga

Interrogatives

The specific interrogative is also sometimes used to indicate conditional forms or other aspects. It overlaps heavily with the v/p alternative form described above:

After vowels:
Subject
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Object 1st person

ᕕᖓ

-vinga

ᕕᖓ

-vinga

ᕚᙵ

-vaanga

ᕚᙵ

-vaanga

2nd person

ᕙᒋᑦ

-vagit

ᕙᒋᑦ

-vagit

ᕚᑎᑦ

-vaatit

ᕚᑎᑦ

-vaatit

3rd person

ᕕᒍ

-vigu

/

/

ᕙᕋ

-vara

ᕕᒍ / ᕙᕋ

-vigu / -vara

ᕕᐅᒃ

-viuk

ᕕᐅᒃ

-viuk

ᕙᐅᒃ

-vauk

ᕙᐅᒃ

-vauk

After consonants:
Subject
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Object 1st person

ᐱᖓ

-pinga

ᐱᖓ

-pinga

ᐹᙵ

-paanga

ᐹᙵ

-paanga

2nd person

ᐸᒋᑦ

-pagit

ᐸᒋᑦ

-pagit

ᐹᑎᑦ

-paatit

ᐹᑎᑦ

-paatit

3rd person

ᐱᒍ

-pigu

/

/

ᐸᕋ

-para

ᐱᒍ / ᐸᕋ

-pigu / -para

ᐱᐅᒃ

-piuk

ᐱᐅᒃ

-piuk

ᐸᐅᒃ

-pauk

ᐸᐅᒃ

-pauk

Subjects

The subject of a specific verb requires a specific suffix to indicate its syntactic role:

ex:

ᐲᑕᐅᑉ

Piitaup

ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

takujaatit

ᐲᑕᐅᑉ ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

Piitaup takujaatit

Peter sees you

The subject of a specific verb takes the following suffixes, depending on its grammatical number:

Singular -up /u/ disappears when it is preceded by a double vowel
Dual -k doubles the preceding vowel, if it is not already double
Plural -it /i/ disappears when it is preceded by a double vowel

All of the suffixes above delete any consonant that immediately precedes them. For example, qajaq becomes qajaup in the singular, qajaak in the dual, and qajait in the plural when it is the subject of a specific verb.

So, as an example:

ᐸᓖᓯᐅᑉ

Paliisiup

ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

takujaatit

ᐸᓖᓯᐅᑉ ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

Paliisiup takujaatit

A policeman sees you.

ᐸᓖᓰᒃ

Paliisiik

ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

takujaatit

ᐸᓖᓰᒃ ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

Paliisiik takujaatit

Two policemen see you.

ᐸᓖᓰᑦ

Paliisiit

ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

takujaatit

ᐸᓖᓰᑦ ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

Paliisiit takujaatit

Some policemen (more than two) see you.

Objects

The object of a specific verb needs no particular suffix at all. Thus, we can contrast Inuviniq takujaraI see the dead person – with the table for non-specific verbs above. Continuing the example from above:

ᐲᑕᐅᑉ

Piitaup

ᐸᓖᓯ

paliisi

ᑕᑯᐸᐅᒃ?

takuvauk?

ᐲᑕᐅᑉ ᐸᓖᓯ ᑕᑯᐸᐅᒃ?

Piitaup paliisi takuvauk?

Does Peter see the policeman?

ᐋᒃᑲ,

Aakka,

ᐸᓖᓯᓂᒃ

paliisinik

ᐲᑕ

Piita

ᑕᑯᔪᖅ.

takujuq.

ᐋᒃᑲ, ᐸᓖᓯᓂᒃ ᐲᑕ ᑕᑯᔪᖅ.

Aakka, paliisinik Piita takujuq.

No, Peter sees some policemen.

Changing verb classes

Some verbs are automatically both specific and non-specific verbs, depending only on which suffixes they receive. The verb taku-to see – is one example. However, other verbs require an additional suffix to shift classes.

Many action verbs that specifically involve an actor performing an action on another are specific verbs that take the suffix -si- in order to become non-specific verbs:

Specific Non-specific

ᖁᑭᖅᑕᕋ

Qukiqtara

ᕿᒻᒥᖅ

qimmiq

ᖁᑭᖅᑕᕋ ᕿᒻᒥᖅ

Qukiqtara qimmiq

I just shot the dog.

ᖁᑭᖅᔪᖓ

Qukiqsijunga

ᕿᒻᒥᕐᒥᒃ

qimmirmik

ᖁᑭᖅᔪᖓ ᕿᒻᒥᕐᒥᒃ

Qukiqsijunga qimmirmik

I just shot a dog.

Many verbs of emotion alternate between the suffixes -suk- and -gi- to change whether or not they are specific:

Non-specific Specific

ᐃᓕᕋᓱᒃᑐᖓ

Ilirasuktunga

ᐃᓕᓭᔨᒥᒃ

ilisaijimik

ᐃᓕᕋᓱᒃᑐᖓ ᐃᓕᓭᔨᒥᒃ

Ilirasuktunga ilisaijimik

I'm intimidated by a teacher

ᐃᓕᕋᔭᕋ

Iliragijara

ᐃᓕᓭᔨ

ilisaiji

ᐃᓕᕋᔭᕋ ᐃᓕᓭᔨ

Iliragijara ilisaiji

I'm intimidated by the teacher

This is important when attributing an emotion to a person without designating the cause. To do so, Inuktitut always uses the non-specific form:

ex:

ᑯᑉᐱᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ

Kuppiasuktunga

ᑯᑉᐱᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ

Kuppiasuktunga

I'm afraid

Reflexive verbs

A reflexive verb is a verb which must have both an object and a subject, but where, in some context, both the object and the subject are identical. In Inuktitut, this situation is expressed by using a specific verb but by affixing a non-specific ending to it.

Specific: Non-specific: Reflexive:

ᓇᓄᖅ

Nanuq

ᖁᑭᖅᑕᕋ

qukiqtara

ᓇᓄᖅ ᖁᑭᖅᑕᕋ

Nanuq qukiqtara

I just shot the polar bear

ᓇᓄᕐᒥᒃ

Nanurmik

ᖁᑭᖅᓯᔪᖓ

qukiqsijunga

ᓇᓄᕐᒥᒃ ᖁᑭᖅᓯᔪᖓ

Nanurmik qukiqsijunga

I just shot a polar bear

ᖁᑭᖅᑐᖓ

Qukiqtunga

ᖁᑭᖅᑐᖓ

Qukiqtunga

I just shot myself

Verbs in secondary clauses

A verb that has been fully inflected as described above is a complete proposition able to stand on its own. However, when clauses are linked in Inuktitut, a number of other morphosyntactic phenomena come into play.

First, many secondary structures use other classes of verb suffixes that those used in main clauses. This article cannot cover the whole of Inuktitut morphology, especially since each class of inflexion has its own set of non-specific and specific endings and they vary significantly from dialect to dialect. The examples below are based on the North Baffin dialect.

Fourth person inflection

In secondary clauses, third person inflexions must make a distinction between instances where the two clauses have the same subject and those where the subject is different. In English, the sentence "He is leaving because he is tired" is ambiguous unless you know whether or not the two "he"s refer to different people. In Inuktitut, in contrast, this situation is clearly marked:

ex:
ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᖃᒐᒪ
Aullaqtuq taqagama.

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅ

aullaq-

to leave

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG NSP

ᑕᖃ

taqa-

to be tired

ᒐᒪ

-gama

3SG NSP CAUS

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅ ᑐᖅ ᑕᖃ ᒐᒪ

aullaq- -tuq taqa- -gama

{to leave} {3SG NSP} {to be tired} {3SG NSP CAUS}

He1 is leaving because he1 is tired

ex:
ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᖃᖕᒪᑦ
Aullaqtuq taqangmat.

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅ

aullaq-

to leave

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG NSP

ᑕᖃ

taqa-

to be tired

ᖕᒪᑦ

-ngmat

4SG NSP CAUS

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅ ᑐᖅ ᑕᖃ ᖕᒪᑦ

aullaq- -tuq taqa- -ngmat

{to leave} {3SG NSP} {to be tired} {4SG NSP CAUS}

He1 is leaving because he2 is tired

The set of suffixes used to indicate the other third person is sometimes called the third person different, but is also often called the fourth person. This additional grammatical person is a pervasive feature of Inuktitut.

Causative

The causative is used to link propositions that follow logically. It is much more broadly used in Inuktitut than similar structures are in English. The causative is one of the most important ways of connecting two clauses in Inuktitut:

ex:
ᖃᓐᓂᕐᒪᑦ ᙯᙱᑦᑐᖓ
Qannirmat qainngittunga

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ

qanniq-

to snow

ᒪᑦ

-mat

4 NSP CAUS

qai-

to come

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG NSP

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᒪᑦ ᙯ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖓ

qanniq- -mat qai- -nngit- -tunga

{to snow} {4 NSP CAUS} {to come} {not} {1SG NSP}

Because it is snowing, I am not coming.

Conditional & subjunctive

This structure has a meaning closer to an "if... then..."' sentence in English than the kind of structure usually referred to as "conditional". It generally involves using an additional marker of the future tense or the conditional mood in the main clause:

ex:
ᙯᒍᕕᑦ ᓂᕆᓂᐊᖅᐱᑦ?
Qaiguvit niriniaqpit?

qai-

to come

ᒍᕕᑦ

-guvit

2SG NSP COND

ᓂᕆ

niri-

to eat

ᓂᐊᖅ

-niaq-

FUT

ᐱᑦ

-pit

2SG NSP INTERR

ᙯ ᒍᕕᑦ ᓂᕆ ᓂᐊᖅ ᐱᑦ

qai- -guvit niri- -niaq- -pit

{to come} {2SG NSP COND} {to eat} {FUT} {2SG NSP INTERR}

If you come, will you eat?

ex:
ᖃᓐᓂᖅᐸᑦ ᐊᓂᓇᔭᙱᑦᑐᖓ
Qanniqpat aninajanngittunga

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ

qanniq-

to snow

ᐸᑦ

-pat

4SG NSP COND

ᐊᓂ

ani-

to go out

ᓇᔭᖅ

-najaq-

COND

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG NSP

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᐸᑦ ᐊᓂ ᓇᔭᖅ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖓ

qanniq- -pat ani- -najaq- -nngit- -tunga

{to snow} {4SG NSP COND} {to go out} {COND} {not} {1SG NSP}

If it were snowing, I wouldn't go out.

Frequentative

The frequentative endings indicate that two propositions routinely occur together. In English, this is expressed with words like usually, often, generally and whenever. It generally involves using an additional marker in the main clause to indicate frequency:

ex:
ᑳᒃᑳᖓᒥ ᓂᕆᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᖅ
Kaakkaangami niriqattaqtuq

ᑳᒃ

kaak-

to be hungry

ᑳᖓᒥ

-kaangami

3SG NSP FREQ

ᓂᕆ

niri-

to eat

ᖃᑦᑕᖅ

-qattaq-

usually

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG NSP

ᑳᒃ ᑳᖓᒥ ᓂᕆ ᖃᑦᑕᖅ ᑐᖅ

kaak- -kaangami niri- -qattaq- -tuq

{to be hungry} {3SG NSP FREQ} {to eat} {usually} {3SG NSP}

When he's hungry, he eats.

Dubitative

The dubitative suffixes express uncertainty or disbelief about a proposition:

ex:
ᓈᓚᖕᒪᙶᕐᒥᑎᑦ ᓇᓗᔪᖓ
Naalangmangaarmitit nalujunga

ᓈᓚᒃ

naalak-

to listen

ᒪᙶᕐᒥᑎᑦ

-mangaarmitit

3.SBJ 2.OBJ SP DUB

ᓇᓗ

nalu-

to not know

ᔪᖓ

-junga

1 NSP

ᓈᓚᒃ ᒪᙶᕐᒥᑎᑦ ᓇᓗ ᔪᖓ

naalak- -mangaarmitit nalu- -junga

{to listen} {3.SBJ 2.OBJ SP DUB} {to not know} {1 NSP}

'I don't know whether or not she listens to you.'

Verb modifiers

In addition to root verb morphemes and inflexions to indicate the number and person of the arguments, Inuktitut has a large inventory of morphemes that modify the verb and may be placed between the root morpheme and inflexions, or at the end of the inflected verb. In pedagogic and linguistic literature on Inuktitut, these infix morphemes are often called verb chunks. These modifiers indicate tense, aspect, manner and a variety of functions that in English require auxiliary verbs, adverbs, or other structures.

This section can only list a small selection of the many verb chunks, in order to give a sense for how the system works:

Modifiers of manner

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

negates the verb This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.
ᖁᕕᐊᓱᙱᑦᑐᖓ
quviasunngittunga

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ

quviasuk-

to be happy

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖓ

quviasuk- -nngit- -tunga

{to be happy} not 1SG

'I am not happy.'

ᓴᓇᙱᑦᑐᖅ
sananngittuq

ᓴᓇ

sana-

to work, to be employed

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG

ᓴᓇ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖅ

sana- -nngit- -tuq

{to work, to be employed} not 3SG

He doesn't work. (= He is unemployed.)

ᓗᐊᖅ

-luaq-

ᓗᐊᖅ

-luaq-

excessively This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.
ᓴᓇᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ
sanaluaqtuq

ᓴᓇ

sana-

to work, to be employed

ᓗᐊᖅ

-luaq-

excessively

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG

ᓴᓇ ᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ

sana- -luaq- -tuq

{to work, to be employed} excessively 3SG

He works too much.

ᓯᓂᓗᐊᖅᑐᑎᑦ
siniluaqtutit

ᓯᓂᒃ

sinik-

to sleep

ᓗᐊᖅ

-luaq-

excessively

ᑐᑎᑦ

-tutit

2SG

ᓯᓂᒃ ᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᑎᑦ

sinik- -luaq- -tutit

{to sleep} excessively 2SG

You sleep too much.

-galuaq- although, but This suffix undergoes consonant sandhi,
depending on the preceding letter context
...(Any Vowel)

ᒐᓗᐊᖅ

-galuaq-

ᒐᓗᐊᖅ

-galuaq-

ᐊᓂᒐᓗᐊᖅᑐᖓ
anigaluaqtunga

ᐊᓂ

ani-

to go out

ᒐᓗᐊᖅ

-galuaq-

although

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG

ᐊᓂ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖓ

ani- -galuaq- -tunga

{to go out} although 1SG

Even though I just went out...

...k

ᑲᓗᐊᖅ

-kaluaq-

ᑲᓗᐊᖅ

-kaluaq-

changes the g into k
g + k = kk
ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ
quviasukkaluaqtuq

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ

quviasuk-

to be happy

ᒐᓗᐊᖅ

-galuaq-

although

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ

quviasuk- -galuaq- -tuq

{to be happy} although 3SG

Although she is happy...

...t

ᑲᓗᐊᖅ

-kaluaq-

ᑲᓗᐊᖅ

-kaluaq-

changes the t into k
t + k = kk
ᖃᓐᓂᙱᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ
qanninngikkaluaqtuq

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ

qanniq-

to snow

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᒐᓗᐊᖅ

-galuaq-

although

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᙱᑦ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ

qanniq- -nngit- -galuaq- -tuq

{to snow} not although 3SG

Although it isn't snowing...

...q

ᕋᓗᐊᖅ

-raluaq-

ᕋᓗᐊᖅ

-raluaq-

deletes the q
q + g = r
ᖃᓐᓂᕋᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ
qanniraluaqtuq

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ

qanniq-

to snow

ᒐᓗᐊᖅ

-galuaq-

although

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ

qanniq- -galuaq- -tuq

{to snow} although 3SG

Although it is snowing...

Consequently one can say:

ex:
ᖃᓐᓂᓗᐊᙱᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᓂᙱᑦᑐᖓ
Qanniluanngikkaluaqtuq aninngittunga.

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ

qanniq-

to snow

ᓗᐊᖅ

-luaq-

excessively

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᒐᓗᐊᖅ

-galuaq-

although

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG

ᐊᓂ

ani-

to go out

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᓗᐊᖅ ᙱᑦ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ ᐊᓂ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖓ

qanniq- -luaq- -nngit- -galuaq- -tuq ani- -nngit- -tunga

{to snow} excessively not although 3SG {to go out} not 1SG

Even though it's not snowing a great deal, I'm not going out.

Modifiers of tense

While Indo-European languages tend to make tense distinctions in terms of before or after some reference event, Inuktitut makes a number of somewhat fuzzy distinctions depending on how far into the past or the future the event took place. In English, this distinction requires additional words to place the event in time, but in Inuktitut the tense marker itself carries much of that information.

ᓛᖅ

-laaq-

ᓛᖅ

-laaq-

future, tomorrow or later This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.
ᐅᖃᓛᖅᑕᕋ
uqalaaqtara

ᐅᖃᖅ

uqaq-

to talk

ᓛᖅ

-laaq-

later, after today

ᑕᕋ

-tara

1.SBJ 3.OBJ SP

ᐅᖃᖅ ᓛᖅ ᑕᕋ

uqaq- -laaq- -tara

{to talk} {later, after today} {1.SBJ 3.OBJ SP}

I'll talk to him some other time.

ᓂᐊᖅ

-niaq-

ᓂᐊᖅ

-niaq-

later today This suffix nasalises a preceding consonant.
ᑎᑭᒻᓂᐊᖅᑐᖅ
tikimniaqtuq

ᑎᑭᑉ

tikip-

to arrive

ᓂᐊᖅ

-niaq-

later today

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG NSP

ᑎᑭᑉ ᓂᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ

tikip- -niaq- -tuq

{to arrive} {later today} {3SG NSP}

He is arriving later.

ᓕᖅ

-liq-

ᓕᖅ

-liq-

in process, right now This suffix deletes a preceding consonant. When applied to a state verb, it emphasises that the state holds at the present moment. For action verbs, it means that the action is taking place right now, instead of having just finished.
ᖃᖓᑕᓲ ᒥᓕᖅᑐᖅ
qangatasuu miliqtuq

ᖃᖓᑕᓲ

qangatasuu

airplane

ᒥᓪ

mil-

to land, to touch down

ᓕᖅ

-liq-

right now

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG NSP

ᖃᖓᑕᓲ ᒥᓪ ᓕᖅ ᑐᖅ

qangatasuu mil- -liq- -tuq

airplane {to land, to touch down} {right now} {3SG NSP}

The airplane is landing.

ᕋᑖᖅ

-rataaq-

ᕋᑖᖅ

-rataaq-

immediate past, a moment ago, no more than a few seconds This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.
ᐃᓱᒪᕋᑖᖅᑐᖓ
isumarataaqtunga

ᐃᓱᒪ

isuma-

to think

ᕋᑖᖅ

-rataaq-

just a moment ago

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG NSP

ᐃᓱᒪ ᕋᑖᖅ ᑐᖓ

isuma- -rataaq- -tunga

{to think} {just a moment ago} {1SG NSP}

I was just thinking

ᖅᑲᐅ

-qqau-

ᖅᑲᐅ

-qqau-

just now, a few minutes ago This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.
ᑐᓵᖅᑲᐅᙱᑦᑕᒋᑦ
tusaaqqaunngittagit

ᑐᓵ

tusaa-

to hear

ᖅᑲᐅ

-qqau-

just now

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑕᒋᑦ

-tagit

1.SBJ 2.OBJ SP

ᑐᓵ ᖅᑲᐅ ᙱᑦ ᑕᒋᑦ

tusaa- -qqau- -nngit- -tagit

{to hear} {just now} not {1.SBJ 2.OBJ SP}

'I didn't hear you just now'

ᓚᐅᖅ

-lauq-

ᓚᐅᖅ

-lauq-

more remote past, yesterday or earlier, up to perhaps a year This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.
ᐃᒡᓗᒥᒃ ᓂᐅᕕᐊᓚᐅᖅᑐᖓ
Iglumik niuvialauqtunga

ᐃᒡᓗ

iglu

house

ᒥᒃ

-mik

ACC.SG

ᓂᐅᕕᐊᖅ

niuviaq-

to purchase

ᓚᐅᖅ

-lauq-

recently, in the last year

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG NSP

ᐃᒡᓗ ᒥᒃ ᓂᐅᕕᐊᖅ ᓚᐅᖅ ᑐᖓ

iglu -mik niuviaq- -lauq- -tunga

house ACC.SG {to purchase} {recently, in the last year} {1SG NSP}

'I bought a house recently'

ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ

-lauqsima-

ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ

-lauqsima-

remote past, several years or more ago This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.
ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑐᒻᒥᒃ ᐃᓕᓭᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖓ
Inuktitummik ilisailauqsimajunga

ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ

inuktitut

inuktitut

ᒥᒃ

-mik

ACC.SG

ᐃᓕᓭ

ilisai-

to study

ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ

-lauqsima-

some years ago

ᔪᖓ

-junga

1SG NSP

ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ ᒥᒃ ᐃᓕᓭ ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ ᔪᖓ

inuktitut -mik ilisai- -lauqsima- -junga

inuktitut ACC.SG {to study} {some years ago} {1SG NSP}

I studied Inuktitut some time ago.

Ergativity in Inuktitut

Inuktitut marks the subject of a non-specific verb and the object of a specific verb in the same way – the absence of a specific morphological marker – and marks the subject of a specific verb and the object of a non-specific verb with particular morphological elements. This kind of morphosyntactic structure is often called an ergative structure. However, ergativity in its most clearly defined instances is primarily about transitive and intransitive verbs. This dichotomy is not identical to the specific/non-specific verb distinction in Inuktitut, since Inuktitut usage is also concerned with the definiteness of the objects of verb,

Consequently, the application of the notion of ergativity to Inuktitut, and to many other languages, is somewhat controversial. Regardless, by analogy with more conventionally ergative languages, the -up, -k, -it endings described above are often called ergative suffixes which are taken to be indicative of the ergative case, while the -mik, -rnik, -nik endings (see Non-specific verbs – Objects) are called accusative. This usage is often seen in linguistics literature describing Inuktitut, and sometimes in pedagogic literature and dictionaries, but remains a quite foreign vocabulary to most Inuit.

See also

References

  • Inuktitut Linguistics for Technocrats, Mick Mallon. [covers Inuktitut nominal morphology omitted from this article]
  • Introductory Inuktitut and Introductory Inuktitut Reference Grammar, Mick Mallon, 1991. ISBN 0-7717-0230-2 and ISBN 0-7717-0235-3
  • Inuktitut: A multi-dialectal outline dictionary (with an Aivilingmiutaq base), Alex Spalding, 1998. ISBN 1-896204-29-5
  • Inuktitut: a Grammar of North Baffin Dialects, Alex Spalding, 1992. ISBN 0-920063-43-8
  • Arctic Languages: An Awakening, ed: Dirmid R. F. Collis. ISBN 92-3-102661-5 Available in PDF via the UNESCO website.
  • Textbook Let's Learn Eskimo (2nd Ed.), Donald H. Webster, 1968. Fairbanks, Alaska.

Although as many of the examples as possible are novel or extracted from Inuktitut texts, some of the examples in this article are drawn from Introductory Inuktitut and Inuktitut Linguistics for Technocrats.

Dictionaries and lexica

Webpages

SP:specific NSP:non-specific

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