Kaapiturumaviit?

ASKING QUESTIONS

Inuktitut has a series of affixes that are used just for asking questions. To ask a question, we add one of these affixes to the end of a verb. The affix that is used changes depending on who the subject of the verb is. The example below, uses the verb niri- meaning to eat.

nirivit? niriva?
Are you eating? Is he eating?

 

The affixes that are used to ask questions also change, depending on the last letter of the verb stem they are added to. This is done to make pronunciation easier. First, the affixes that are used for verbs that end in vowels.

We will use as our example, the verb ani- meaning to leave (or go out).

anivunga? Am I leaving?
anivit? Are you leaving?
aniva?
Is he/she leaving?
anivinuk?
Are the two of us leaving?
anivita?
Are we (three or more) leaving?
anivisik?
Are you two leaving?
anivisi?
Are you (three or more) leaving?
anivaak?
Are the two of them leaving?
anivat?
Are they (three or more) leaving?

If you want to ask a question with a verb ending in q, you use the same endings as above, replacing the v with a q. The example we'll use is isiq- meaning to come in.
isiqqunga? Am I coming in?
isiqqit? Are you coming in?
isiqqa?
Is he/she coming in?
isiqqinuk?
Are the two of us coming in?
isiqqita?
Are we (three or more) coming in?
isiqqisik?
Are you two coming in?
isiqqisi?
Are you (three or more) coming in?
isiqqaak?
Are the two of them coming in?
isiqqat?
Are they (three or more) coming in?
If the verb ends in any other consonant, you do the following:
  • replace the final consonant of the verb with a p
  • use the same endings above, replacing the v with a p.
As an example, let's use the verb sinik- meaning to sleep.
sinippunga? Am I sleeping?
sinippit? Are you sleeping?
sinippa?
Is he/she sleeping?
sinippinuk?
Are the two of us sleeping?
sinippita?
Are we (three or more) sleeping?
sinippisik?
Are you two sleeping?
sinippisi?
Are you (three or more) sleeping?
sinippaak?
Are the two of them sleeping?
sinippat?
Are they (three or more) sleeping?
YES / NO QUESTIONS

In spoken Inuktitut, when you are asking a question to which you expcet either a yes or no answer, you draw out the last syllable of the question. In written Inuktitut, this is often represented by the doubling of the vowel in the question affix:

Kinauvit?
What's your name? yes or no answer not possible.
Kaapiturumaviit? Do you want coffee?
 		answered with yes or no
Sinippaat? Are the 3 of them sleeping? answered with yes or no

 

 

THE AFFIX -TUQ-

-tuq- is an affix that appears in the middle of Inuktitut words following a noun root. It should not be confused with the verb ending –tuq (meaning he/she/it).


-tuq- is attached to a noun to indicate:

 
i) something that one drinks or eats:		  
 natsiminiqtuqtuq 
 He/she eats seal meat.
 tiituqtugut
 We (3+) are drinking tea.
   
 ii) something that one is using:  
 umiaqtuqtuuk 
The two of them are boating.

 

This affix appears in the name of the lesson Kaapiturumaviit?:
 kaapi + tuq + juma + viit? =  kaapiturumaviit?
   Do you want some coffee?



Watch out for the root imiq- in Inuktitut which can mean either the noun “water” or the verb “to drink”.  If you want to ask someone if they would like some water, do not use the affix –tuq- with the root imiq-.  The correct way to ask the question is:

 imirumaviit?  (literally) Do you want to drink (some water)?
 imiqtuq  He is drinking water.



THE AFFIX -SUUQ

 

-suuq is added to stems in Inuktitut to express the idea of

  • someone who is able to do something
  • someone who does something frequently, or as a matter of habit.

Examples:

uivititut French
Uivititusuunguviit? Do you speak French?
   
immuk milk
immulisuunguviit? Do you take milk?
   
qangata to rise or jump into the air
qangatasuuq airplane (lit. something that frequently goes up into the air)
A couple of points to note:

 

1. –suuq is often followed by the verb –ngu (a variation of –u) which means “to be”.

sukaq + li + suuq + ngu + viit = sukalisuunguviit?
  Do you take sugar?
2. When using –suuq in the third person (it, he, she, they), the verb –ngu is dropped as a short cut:
inuktitusuuq an Inuktitut speaker
inuktitusuut people who speak Inuktitut
3. When –suuq is added to a stem that ends in a consonant, it deletes the final consonant:
miqsuq + suuq = miqsusuuq
  someone who sews

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE VERB -JUMA-

 

In Inuktitut, as you combine roots and affixes to build words, the first letter or the last letter of these elements will often change. These spelling changes allow for smoother pronunciation.

 

Let's look at the verb -juma-. This is a common affix used to express in Inuktitut to want.

Because -juma- is an affix, it must be added to a root. ilau- is a root meaning, to come along, be a companion on a trip

The affix -juma- can be inserted between the root (ilau) and the subject ending:

ilaujumava? ii, ilaujumajuq.
Does he want to come along? Yes, he wants come along.
-juma- works fine when it is added to a root ending in a vowel. If it is added to a root that ends in q, though, a spelling change happens:
kaapituq- kaapiturumavit? ii, kaapiturumajunga.
to have coffee. Do you want some coffee? Yes, I want to have some coffee.

 

If -juma- is added to a root ending in a k, we get a different change:

sinik- sinigumavisi? ii, sinigumajugut.
to sleep Do the three of you want to sleep? Yes, we want to sleep.