Concatenation of morphemes

You concatenate the two first morphemes in the row and obtain a complex stem. This procedure is repeated again and again until the result is a single word: iga:2.Toq4.#°t0 -> igaso:q4.#°t0 -> igasu:t0 -> "igasut" (f,). (Here I have written ":" instead of a space between the constant part and the variable part of the stem at each step.) The signs and rules (to be) applied depend somewhat on the class of the stem. As explained in [Grammar]Class digits, inflexions and affixes, I use 0 for a word, 4 for a noun stem and 2 for a verbal stem.

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0 = word

A 'stem' with 0 on its right is a word. It may end in a vowel or in a short stop consonant. A few inflexions end in k resp. t but may have t resp. k instead: :K0 resp. :T0. The word final vowel may also be ai.

To words may be added a few ('enclitic') conjunctions and interjections like .lu 'and ..' and .una '(it is) that ..'. And also some nominal affixes like .kasik 'the poor ..', with deletion of a word final consonant before the velar. Two adjacent vowels or consonants at the morpheme border may fuse according to the rules explained in [Grammar]Sounds and orthography: "anullu" = "anut" (f,) or "anup" (e,g) + .lu . Adjacent consonants always fuse.

A hyphen is inserted between a vowel and aa: "una-aasiit" u6.na0.aasiit0 (e,n) 'so it always is (.aasiit) with him/that (una)'. Word final (stop) consonant before a vowel -> the corresponding nasal, but you may write the stop consonant with a hyphen after instead: "inunguna = inuk-una" inuk4.¤0.una0 (e,n) 'the person there'.

G (in .Gooq 'it is said that ..') -> "g" after a vowel; q + G -> "r", k + G -> "g" or "nng", p,t + G -> "nng". .ttaaq 'also ..' after i often has the form .ssaaq . Initial V (in .Vrpoq 'says/shouts: ..') stands for the same (short) vowel as in the stem.

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4 = noun stem

Noun stems may end in a vowel (anu:4) or in :q, :k (inu:k4), :T.

The vowel may also be :I (= i.2), which -> "a" before a vowel (and sometimes disappears before a consonant). An i < i.2 doesn't change a neighbouring t into s.1 . :k and :q usually disappear before a vowel and before a velar consonant, see [Grammar]Sounds and orthography. They are deleted by the sign "-" (before another consonant). T adds a protecting I: "angutaa" anguT4.a0 (e,3ie,n). There is also an S < T after i.1 or after aa < a+i: "ikitsit" ikitsiS4.¤0 (e,n) 'a/the match', "ikitsiseqarpit" ikitsiS4.qaq2.Pi1.t0 (inte,2e) 'do you have a match / matches ?'. :ttI -> :tta before a vowel, otherwise :tsi.

Many noun inflexions begin with the sign "#" which deletes a final :q in noun stems. If there is a short consonant and a vowel (a/e/o) in the variable part of the stem (:CVq4.#), the result may also be :CC1V with CC1 = geminated C. Ordbogeeraq (P) will in most cases indicate what CC1 you get by gemination, compare [Grammar]Abbreviations in (Ose)P. Most consonants are simply prolonged, g,r -> kk resp. qq, and j,s(.1) -> ts as in "natsat" na:saq4.#°t0 (f,) 'caps'. S -> ss (i.e. long s.2) or zero (""): "aarnussat" aarnuSaq4.#°t0 (f,) 'charms'.

The most complicated noun inflexions are .#°t0 (f,) and .#°p0 (e,g). "°" indicates that they add an i resp. u if the stem still ends in a consonant when "#" has applied and T,S have added a protecting I; a final k will then be deleted: "inuit" inu:k4.#°t0 (f,) 'mennesker'. Final Q is a q which is not deleted by "#": "alliup" alle:Q4.#°p0 (e,g) 'of the lower'; but K and t are deleted like q: "ammassat" ammassa:K4.#°t0 (f,) 'caplins', "Kaalap" Kaala:t4.#°p0 (e,g) 'of Karen'. Final (aq), (aQ) and (Saq) all disappear before a vowel.

There are also noun stems in :Eq4 and :Ik4, and in :CEq4 and :CIk4. E,I (= i.2) avoid a neighbouring vowel; so here q is not deleted by "#", and q,k are not deleted before a vowel. E,I may disappear if the consonants (C and q,k) are allowed to fuse. If not, q,k are weakened into fricatives or into nasals (if C is short m or n), and E,I may disappear if the consonants now are allowed to fuse. In [Grammar]Sounds and orthography we saw the examples "ernerup" ern:Eq4.#°p0 (e,g) (q -> r) and "karra" ka:ngEq4.a0 (e,3ie,n) (ng + q is impossible, but ng + r -> rr). Compare also "ermup" (m + q) = "erngup" (m + [nr]) i:mEq4.#°p0 (e,g) 'of water'.

A few affixes added to noun stems begin with .Li-, which means .-li- or .#i- with gemination (if the variable part is CV[C1]) and loss of V[C1], or just .i- with loss of E,I between consonants: "ilerfiorpoq = iliviliorpoq" ili:vEq4.Lioq2.Poq1.¤0 (indi,3e) 'makes a grave'; "aasivoq" aas:aq4.Li2.Poq1.¤0 (indi,3e) 'spends the summer'. :T4.Li- -> :tili- or :si- (with s.1 < t as neighbour to the i.1 of the affix). There is also an inflexion .Ni0 (e,3re,n) with similar behaviour (but :T4.Ni0 -> :tini0 or :nni0).

Some noun stems in I may add a k which -> ng before a vowel: "assi = assik" assi:ng4.¤0 (e,n), "assia = assinga" assi:ng4.a0 (e,3ie,n). :g4 is a k which may -> g (instead of disappearing) before .#°p0 (e,g) and .#°t0 (f,): "saarulligit = saarulliit". The affixes .-tsiaq and .atsiaq are written with a final :r which indicates that they have forms with a long a: .-tsiaamik .-tsia:r4.#mik0 (e,nik). Initial .A (in .Araq 'small ..') means .a or the same (short) vowel as in the stem.

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2 = verbal stem

Verbal stems may end in a vowel or in :q, :k, :t, :T. The vowel may also be I (i.2), which fuses into an "a" with the first consonant letter in the mood morphemes Poq1, Paq1 (indi[cative]) and vlu1 (cont[emporative]): "ajoralugu" ajor:I2.vlu2.gu0 (cont,,3ie). The final I of verbal stems does not -> a before a vowel, but we have u in the one form "piguuk = pigiguk" pi4.g:I2.guk0 (impe,2e,3e) 'take possession of it!'.

After i.1 you have :c instead of :t : "nunaatsoq" nuna4.ic2.Toq4.¤0 (e,n) 'who has no land'. But in ".nngilaq" 'not ..' you have :l instead: .nngi:l2.Poq1.¤0 (indi,3e), ".nngitsoq" .nngil2.Toq4.¤0 (e,n). The affix ".tippaa" has I = i.2, which will not change a neighbouring t to s.1 and :c : .t:It2.Paq1.a0 (indi,3e,3e).

:q, :k, t (also in :It, and :c, :l) are in general dropped before a vowel and before a velar consonant (see [Grammar]Sounds and orthography), and they are deleted by the sign "-". T adds a protecting I, which -> i (not a) before a vowel (which always is i). [There are also verbal stems with more (up to :CVC1 or :CCV) in the variable part.]

Some of the affixes that are added to verbal stems have shorter forms with a sign "#" in front, i.e. with gemination in the stem. Something is left out in the shorter affix form; if there is a vowel in this material, a stem vowel (V =) i.2 in general -> "a": "pannarippoq" pa:nEq2.#rik.Poq1.¤0 (indi,3e) '(it) is bone-dry'(.#rippoq '.. is clever at ..ing / particularly' < .#q [< .neq] + .gippoq 'has/is a good/fine ..'). A long consonant (CC) is not changed by the gemination.

The affixes .Fvik, .Ut and .Uppaa also have forms without f resp. u, which may be added with gemination to stems ending in :CV. With .Fvik you sometimes have both possibilities: "neriffik" 'a place for eating', "nerrivik" 'dining table' ne:ri2.Fvik4.¤0 (e,n). Before .Ut and .Uppaa V = i may disappear instead, in a few old forms without gemination: "aput" 'sne' < ap:i2.UT4.¤0 'means for snowing'. The so-called 'half-transitive' affix .(T)ivoq (and a few others) add the shorter form of .Fvik without gemination: "ilisivik" ili2.(T)i:v2.Fvik4.¤0 (e,n) 'a shelf (= place where something is placed'. (This stem final v is in the lexicon only.)

I have also used other capital letters initially in the affixes and inflexions added to verbal stems. G,K,J,K',P,T -> g,g,j,j,v,s(.2) after a vowel, -g/k,k,k,ki,p,t after a consonant, but q + G,K,J,K' -> r,r,r,ri, c,l + T -> ts, and T.T -> ss(.2). Initial cs -> ts after a vowel and with T,t (etc.), otherwise ss,rs. Screen forms may end in -aeq or -ai in order to indicate that a following t may -> s(.1) though the stem vowel is aa (< a+i). Verbal stems too may end in an (aq) which often will disappear before a vowel.

One deverbal affix begins with ".%l" and a few with ".%s"; the sign "%" may delete a final I in the stem. .(u)m means .um, .im (often when the stem vowel is i) or .-m .

The so-called 'half-transitive' (with suppressed Object) is usually formed with .(T)ivoq, but with .nnippoq when the stem ends in I (and in a few other cases). .(T)ivoq is in general .ivoq after k,q and .sivoq (with s.2) after a vowel; with -T we usually get -ssivoq (s.2), with -t and -c : -tsivoq (s.1 as always in ts). With stem final -aaq or -eeq we usually get -aarivoq resp. -eerivoq. Other forms are indicated in the lexicon in each case. You will see that the 'half-transitive' of .qquppaa is .qqutsivoq , and that .ersivoq often is used as 'half-transitive' of .erpaa .