15 Kiap ukua?

In English we have words that we put before nouns to indicate who they belong to:

my jacket

your parka

In Inuktut, we add an affix to the end of the noun. The above would be translated:

jaikaga

qulitaujait

The same endings can be used for possessions or relations:

ataataga	my father
irniit	your son

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 Inuktut, though, different endings are used depending on whether the thing that is possessed is singular, dual or plural.  In this lesson we will look at the singular endings. For the dual and plural possessive endings, click here.

 

ONE POSSESSION OR RELATION

illuga	my house
illuit	your (1) house
illunga	his / her house
illuvuk	our (2) house
illuvut	our (3+) house
illusi	your (2+) house
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	jacket
jaikaga	my jacket
qimmiq	dog
qimmisi	your (2+) dog
allavvik	office
allavvingat	their office

 

(ii) -ga (my) has a second form, -ra, that is used after any noun that ends in -q:

nasaq	hat
nasara	my hat
qulitaujaq	parka
qulitaujara	my parka

(iii) For the Inuktut version of 'your' just add -t (instead of -it) to roots that end in two vowels:

tui	shoulder
tuit	your shoulder
qiluaq	belt
qiluat	your belt

 

nukaak	two younger brothers of a boy or younger sisters of a girl
nukaakkak	my two younger siblings (of the same sex)
nukaakkik	your (1) two younger siblings (of the same sex)
nukaangik	his or her two two younger siblings (of the same sex)
nukaavuk	our two younger siblings (of the same sex)
nukaasik	your (2+) two younger siblings (of the same sex)
nukaangik	their two younger siblings (of the same sex)

• The last vowel sound of the root is lengthened before the endings -kkak and -kkik.
• All dual endings delete the last consonant sound of the root to which they are added.
• The endings for “his / her” and “their” are the same. Context makes it clear who you are speaking of.

 

3+ POSSESSIONS OR RELATIONS

irniq	son
irnikka	my sons (3+)
irnitit	your (1) sons (3+)
irningit	his or her sons (3+)
irnivut	our sons (3+)
irnisi	your (2) sons (3+)
irningit	their sons (3+)

• All plural possessive endings delete the last consonant of roots they are added to.
• The endings for “her/his” and “their” are the same. Context makes it clear who you are speaking of.

 

If -up is added to a root that ends in a consonant, it deletes the consonant:

Naullaq + up =
Naullaup qullinga	Naullaq's qulliq
Naullaup pualogik	Naullaq’s mittens (2)
Naullaup Kimingit	Naullaq’s dogs (3+)

 

Remember that in Inuktut 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

 

Note that -up is only used when the possessor is singular. If the possessor of an object or a relation is dual or plural, the ending -up is dropped:

annaup akulinga	the woman's amauti
annâk nasâgik	the two women’s hats
annait inningit	the women’s (3+) sons

MINE, YOURS, THEIRS

To express these concepts in Inuktut, we take the possessive endings that we learned in the previous lesson and add the prefix pi-:

Una piga.	It's mine.
Una piit.	It's yours.
Una pinga.	It's his/hers.
Una pingat.	It's theirs.

 

Dual forms (These are slightly irregular)

Taakkua piikka.	Those two things are mine.
Taakkua piikkik.	Those two things are yours.
Taakkua pingik.	Those two things are his/hers/theirs

 

Plural forms:

Taakkua pikka.	Those are mine.
Taakkua pitit.	Those are yours.
Taakkua pingit.	Those are his/hers/theirs.