Dialogue: Caribou hunting
Vocabulary
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ilagiit
ᐃᓚᒌᑦ
family
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iqqanaijariiruvit
ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᕇᕈᕕᑦ
when you are done work
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mikigaq
ᒥᑭᒐᖅ
raw meat
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nanuq
ᓇᓄᖅ
polar bear
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nikku
ᓂᒃᑯ
dried meat
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palaugaaq
ᐸᓚᐅᒑᖅ
bannock
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qairulik
ᖃᐃᕈᓕᒃ
harp seal
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qajuq
ᖃᔪᖅ
broth
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qanuq?
ᖃᓄᖅ?
how?
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qatsimuuqqat?
ᖃᑦᑎᒨᖅᑲᑦ?
at what time? (in the future)
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qilalugaq
ᕿᓚᓗᒐᖅ
beluga (also, narwhal in some dialects)
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quaq
ᖁᐊᖅ
frozen meat
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sanianiittuq
ᓴᓂᐊᓃᑦᑐᖅ
beside (it is...)
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suli
ᓱᓕ
still
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tasiq
ᑕᓯᖅ
lake
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tikittut
ᑎᑭᑦᑐᑦ
arrived (they have...)
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tuttuliaqsimava?
ᑐᑦᑐᓕᐊᖅᓯᒪᕙ?
caribou hunting (Is he out ...?)
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tuttuliaqtuq
ᑐᑦᑐᓕᐊᖅᑐᖅ
caribou hunting (He has gone...)
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tuttuminiq
ᑐᑦᑐᒥᓂᖅ
caribou meat
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tuttuniqqa?
ᑐᑦᑐᓂᖅᑲ?
caribou (Did he get a ...?)
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tuugaalik
ᑑᒑᓖᒃ
narwhal
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ujjuk
ᐅᔾᔪᒃ
bearded seal
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ukaliq
ᐅᑲᓕᖅ
hare (Arctic)
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umimmak
ᐅᒥᒻᒪᒃ
musk ox
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ungataani
ᐅᖓᑖᓂ
far side (on the...)
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uujuliuqtuq
ᐆᔪᓕᐅᖅᑐᖅ
boiled meat (she makes...)
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uujuq
ᐆᔪᖅ
boiled meat
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Grammar
above, beside, underneath...
Let’s start with this sentence:
| Piita illuup sanianiittuq. |
| Piita is beside the house. |
This is a complex structure, but not a difficult one. Let’s break it down:
1. There is the subject of the sentence. In this case it is Piita. Nothing special happens to the subject. We can change the subject and have a very similar sentence:
| Qimmiq illuup sanianiittuq. |
| The dog is beside the house. |
2. There is the object that the subject is positioned around. In our sentence, it is illu or house. If this object is singular, it takes the ending –up. Remember that –up deletes final consonants:
| qajaq + up = | Piita qajaup sanianiittuq. |
| Piita is beside the kayak. |
3. There is the element that tells us where the subject is located:
| Piita illuup sanianiittuq. |
sania litterally means, 'it's side', in this case 'the side of the house'. By inserting different words here, we can change the location we are talking about:
| sania | the side of (the house) |
| qulaa | the area above (the house) |
| qaanga | the top of (the house) |
| ataa | the underside of (the house) |
| sivuraa | the front of (the house) |
| ungataa | the far side of (the house) |
| tunua | the back of (the house) |
4. There is the verb –niit:
| Piita illuup sanianiittuq. |
-niit is a close relative of the affix –miit meaning to be at or in something:
| Piita namiippa? |
| Where is Peter? |
| illumiittuq. |
| He is in the house. |
| illuup sanianiittuq. |
| He is beside the house. |
| Piita illuup sanianiittuq. |
| Peter is beside the house. |
| Qimmiik illuup sanianiittuuk. |
| The two dogs are beside the house. |
| Timmiat illuup sanianiitut. |
| The birds are beside the house. |
We could also say:
| Umiap sanianiittunga. |
| I am beside the boat. |
| Nunasiutiup qaanganiittutit. |
| You are on top of the car. |
| illuup tunuaniittuguk. |
| We (2) are behind (at the back of) the house. |