Kiap ukua?
In English we have words that we put before nouns to indicate who they belong to:
| my father | our house |
your door |
| ataataga | illuvut | matuit |
In English the words that indicate possession: my, your, our, etc. are fairly straightforward. There is only one form that we use before any noun, be it singular or plural:
| my car |
my cars |
In Inuktitut, though, different endings are used depending on whether the thing that is possessed is singular, dual or plural.
SINGULAR FORMS:
| illuga | my house |
| illuit |
your house |
| illunga |
his / her house |
| illuvuk | our house (two of us) |
| illuvut |
our house (many of us) |
| illusi | your house (many of you) |
| illungat |
their house |
SOME TRICKIER DETAILS...
(i) For nouns that end in vowels, you just add the ending.
If these endings are added to a noun that ends in a consonant, the last consonant is deleted:
|
jaikak + ga = |
jaikaga | my jacket |
| aggak + it = | aggait |
your hand (talking to 1 person) |
| illiq + nga = | illinga | her bed |
| ataatatsiaq + vut = | ataataatsiavut | our grandfather |
| qimmiq + si = | qimmisi |
your dog (talking to more than 2) |
| allavvik + ngat = | allavvingat | their office |
(ii) -ga (my) has a second form, -ra, that is used after any noun that ends in q:
| qajaq + ga= | qajara | my kayak |
| taliq + ga = | talira | my arm |
| nuliaq + ga= | nuliara | my wife |
(iii) If you add -it to a noun that ends in two vowels, or ends in a consonant that is preceded by two vowels, then you drop the i of -it :
| tui + it = |
tuit | your shoulder |
| umiaq + it = | umiat | your boat |
| uasikuaq + it = | uasikuat | your vest |
DUAL FORMS
| paniikkak |
my two daughters |
| paniikkik |
your two daughters (talking to 1 person) |
| paningik |
his or her two daughters |
| panivuk |
our two daughters |
| panisik | your two daughters (talking to more than 2) |
| paningik |
their two daughters |
- An extra i is added before -kkak and -kkik to make pronunciation easier.
- all dual endings delete the last consonant
- the endings for “his / her” and “their” are the same. Context makes it clear what you are speaking of.
PLURAL FORMS
| ilakka |
my friends |
| ilatit |
your friends (talking to 1 person) |
| ilangit |
his or her friends |
| ilavut |
our friends |
| ilasi | your friends (talking to more than 2) |
| ilangit |
their friends |
- all plural possessive endings delete the last consonant of roots they are added to.
- the endings for “her/his” and “their” are the same.
NAMING THE PERSON WHO POSSESSES SOMETHING
In English, when we want to name a person that something belongs to, we add an apostrophe + s to the person's name, followed by the object:
|
Mary's car |
Ilaija's two CD's |
Piita's dogs |
In Inuktitut, these three sentences would be written this way:
|
Mialiup nunasiutinga |
Ilaijaup qilliqtungik |
Piitaup qimmingit |
- Note that the affix -up is attached to the possessor's name, much like apostrophe + s ('s) is used in English.
- the affix -nga is added to the person or thing that is possessed if it is singular; -ngik if it is dual; and -ngit if it is plural.
|
Naullaq + up = |
Naullaup qullinga |
Naullaq's qulliq |
Remember that in Inuktitut you normally don't find more than two vowels in a row. So, if you delete the final consonant and the root ends in two vowels, just add -p instead of -up:
|
qallunaaq + up = |
qallunaap illuralaanga |
the qallunaaq's cabin |
-up works for more than just names. It can be added to any noun, as long as it is singular:
|
angutiup nasanga |
the man's hat |
|
najaup kamingik |
the sister's kamiks |
|
inuup umiangit |
the Inuk's boats |