Dialogue: Birthdays
Vocabulary
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ilagiit
ᐃᓚᒌᑦ
family
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ila
ᐃᓚ
relative; family member
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anaana
ᐊᓈᓇ
mother
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ataata
ᐊᑖᑕ
father
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uik
ᐅᐃᒃ
husband
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nuliaq
ᓄᓕᐊᖅ
wife
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panik
ᐸᓂᒃ
daughter
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irniq
ᐃᕐᓂᖅ
son
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anik
ᐊᓂᒃ
brother of a female
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najak
ᓇᔭᒃ
sister of a male
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angijuk
ᐊᖏᔪᒃ
older sibling (same sex)
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nukaq
ᓄᑲᖅ
younger sibling (of the same sex)
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ataatatsiaq
ᐊᑖᑕᑦᓯᐊᖅ
grandfather
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anaanatsiaq
ᐊᓈᓇᑦᓯᐊᖅ
grandmother
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attak
ᐊᑦᑕᒃ
aunt (father’s sister)
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ajak
ᐊᔭᒃ
aunt (mother’s sister)
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angak
ᐊᖓᒃ
uncle (mother’s brother)
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akkak
ᐊᒃᑲᒃ
uncle (father’s brother)
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sakik
ᓴᑭᒃ
parents-in-law
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ukuaq
ᐅᑯᐊᖅ
daughter-in-law; sister-in-law (brother’s wife)
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sakiaq
ᓴᑭᐊᖅ
sister-in-law (husband’s sister)
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ningauk
ᓂᖓᐅᒃ
son-in-law; brother-in-law (of the same sex)
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airaapik
ᐊᐃᕌᐱᒃ
brother-in-law (sister’s husband)
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airaapik
ᐊᐃᕌᐱᒃ
sister-in-law (brother’s wife)
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sakiqpaaq
ᓴᑭᖅᐹᖅ
grandparents-in-law
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Grammar
35 » Going to someone’s house
In the dialogue for this lesson we see one way of talking about going to someone's house:
anaanakkutinnuulauqtunga | I went to my mother's house. |
nukakkutinnuulauqtunga | I went to my younger sibling's house. |
Both of these words feature the affix -kkut. Among its various meanings, -kkut can be used to describe households:
Piitakkut | Peter’s house |
Qajaakkut | Qajaaq’s house |
To this affix we can add other affixes:
Qajaakkunni | at Qajaaq’s house |
Qajaakkunniittuq | He/she is at Qajaaq’s house. |
Piitakkunnut | to Peter’s house |
Qajaakkunnuuqtunga | I am going to Peter’s house. |
Now we will add an extra layer of complexity:
anaana | mother |
anaanakkutinni | at my mother’s place |
anaanakkusinni | at your mother’s place |
piqati | friend |
piqatikkuttinni | at my friend’s place |
anaanakkusinni | at your friend’s place |
The ending -tinni comibnex the idea of being somewhere with the possessive ‘my’ or ‘our'
The ending -sinni comibnex the idea of being somewhere with the possessive ‘your’.
Look at these two very common expressions
uvatinni | at my place; at our place |
ilitsinni | at your place |
But there are many more possibilities here:
uvatinnut | to my place |
uvatinnit | from my place |
ilitsinnut | to your place |
ilitsinnit | from your place |
Or, if we want to speak more completely:
anaanakkusinnuuqqit? | Are you going to your mother’s place? |
anaanakkuttinnuuqtunga | I am going to my mother’s place? |
nukakkusinninngaaqqit? | Are you coming from your younger sibling’s place? |
nukakkusinninngaaqtunga | I am coming from my younger sibling’s place. |
piqatikkusinniippit? | Are you at your friend’s place? |
piqatikkuttinniittunga | I am at my friend’s place. |
36 » Birthdays
Some notes on birthdays.
nalliutijuq | She has a birthday (that very day). |
nalliutisuuq maimi. | She has his/her birthday in May. |
You will remember the affix -suuq (meaning “someone who does something regularly”) from such expressions as:
immulisuunguvit? | immuliusuungujunga. |
Do you take milk (with your coffee)? | I take milk. |
Inuktitusuunguva? | ii, inuktituusuuq. |
Does he/she speak Inuktitut? | Yes, he/she speaks Inuktitut. |
Remember that when making a simple statement in the third person (he / she / it), -suuq can appear, on its own, at the end of the word.
Sitipirimi nalliutisuuq. |
His/her birthday is in September. |
In any other situation, you normally add the verb -u-/-ngu- (meaning ‘to be’) after -suuq- followed by the appropriate ending:
Tisipirimi nalliutisuunguvit? | Is your birthday in December? |
Aagga, nalliutisuungujunga iipurimi. | No, my birthday is in April. |
Maatsimi nalliutisuunguva? | Is his/her birthday in March? |
ii, maatsimi nalliutisuuq. | Yes, his/her birthday is in March. |
Let’s say we want to ask someone how old they are:
qatsit? | how many? |
qatsiuvit? | How old are you (literally, how many are you?) |
In answering, we do like in French and talk about how many years we “have”:
30-nik + arraagu + qaq + tunga | |
30-nik arraaguqaqtunga. | I am 30 (literally, I have 30 years.) |
Remember that when -qaq- comes together with -tuq-, we get the affix -lik :
Qatsiuva? | How old is he/she ? |
24-nik arraagulik. | He/she is 24. |
If, on the day of someone’s birthday, we want to ask them how old they are turning, we use the affix -liq-to express something that is changing:
Qatsinik arraguqaliqqit? | How old are you turning today? |
8-nik arraaguqaliqtunga. | I am turning 8 (today). |
Finally, if you are looking for something to write on a birthday card:
ᐅᓪᓗᒥ ᓇᓕᐅᑎᑦᓯᐊᕆᑦ ! | Happy Birthday! |