Grammar
» calling or writing to someone
Inuktitut speakers use a structure that is different than English to indicate that you are calling or writing to someone:
| uqaalavigijaanga | He calls me. |
| titirarvigijanga | She writes to him. |
To build these phrases:
1. Begin with the basic verb:
| uqaala- | to call |
| titiraq- | to write |
2. Add the affix -vik. This is normally used to indicate a place. When it is added to uqaala- or titiraq- it means the person who is being called or written to.
3. Add the affix -gi. This affix is used before double person endings and means "to have."
4. Add a double person ending to indicate who is calling/writing and who is being called or written to:
| uqaalavigiviuk? | Are you calling her? / Did you call her? |
| uqaalavigijara | I am calling her; or I called her. |
| Ippassaq uqaalavigilauqtaatit. | She called you yesterday. |
| titirarvigivauk? | Is she writing to him? |
| titirarvigijanga | She is writing to him. |
| Pinasuarusiulauqtumi titirarvigilauqtarma irngiinaaqtautikkut. | You wrote to me last week by e-mail. |
5. So, when we put all of the pieces together:
uqaala+vi+gi+jara
We get, as a very literal translation:
"I have him as the place I am calling"
or, as we would say in English, "I am calling him."