Dialogue: Weekend plans
Vocabulary
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sulaaqqit?
ᓱᓛᖅᑭᑦ?
What will you be doing? (tomorrow or further in the future)
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sila piuppat
ᓯᓚ ᐱᐅᑉᐸᑦ
if the weather is good
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qaniqqat
ᖃᓂᖅᑲᑦ
if it snows
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illuralaaq
ᐃᓪᓗᕋᓛᖅ
cabin
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pisuttuq
ᐱᓱᑦᑐᖅ
walking (she/he is...)
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umiaqtuqtuq
ᐅᒥᐊᖅᑐᖅᑐᖅ
boating (he/she is...)
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ullulimaaq
ᐅᓪᓗᓕᒫᖅ
all day
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pinasuarusiup nunngua
ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕈᓯᐅᑉ ᓄᙳᐊ
weekend
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ikani
ᐃᑲᓂ
there (in that spot...)
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uvani
ᐅᕙᓂ
here (in this spot...)
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maani
ᒫᓂ
here (in this area...)
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unani
ᐅᓇᓂ
down there (in that area...)
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qamutaujakkut
ᖃᒧᑕᐅᔭᒃᑯᑦ
by snowmobile
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Grammar
32 » If and when...
Inuktut has a series of endings to talk about events that have not yet happened:
| Uqaalaguvit, qailangajunga. |
| if / when you call, I will come. |
Depending on the context, these endings can be translated in English as "when something happens..." or "if something happens..."
You will notice that these endings are very similar to those used to express the idea of “because”:
uqaala - to call someone on the phone
| uqaalaguma | if when I call |
| uqaalagunnuk | if / when we (2) call |
| uqaalagutta | if / when we (3+) call |
| uqaalaguvit | if / when you call |
| uqaalagutsik | if / when you (2) call |
| uqaalagutsi | if / when you (3+) call |
| uqaalaguni / uqaalappat * | if / when he/she calls |
| uqaalagutik / uqaalappatik * | if / when they (2) call |
| uqaalagutik / uqaalappata * | if / when they (3+) call |
* -guni, and -gutik can only be used when the two actions in the sentence will be done by the same person/people:
| Qaiguni, mumiriarunnarniaqtuq. |
| If she comes, she will be able to go dancing. |
If the two verbs in the sentence will be done by different people, then -ppat / -ppatik / -ppata must be used:
| lisapi qaippat, Aani mumiriarunnarniaqtuq. |
| If Ilisapi comes, Aani will be able to go dancing. |
Form of these endings following -q:
| natsiq- | to catch a seal |
| natsiruma | if / when I catch a seal |
| natsirunnuk | if / when we (2) catch a seal |
| natsirutta | if / when we (3+) catch a seal |
| natsiruvit | if / when you catch a seal |
| natsirutsik | if / when you (2) catch a seal |
| natsirutsi | if / when you (3+) catch a seal |
| i | |
| natsiruni / natsiqqat | if / when he/she catches a seal |
| natsirutik / natsiqqatik | if / when they (2) catch a seal |
| natsirutik / natsiqqata | if / when they (3+) catch a seal |
Form of these endings following -k or -t
| tikit- | to arrive |
| tikikkuma | if when I arrive |
| tikikkunnuk | if / when we (2) arrive |
| tikikkutta | if / when we (3+) arrive |
| tikikkuvit | if / when you arrive |
| tikikkutsik | if / when you (2) arrive |
| tikikkutsi | if / when you (3+) arrive |
| tikikkuni / tikippat | if / when he/she arrives |
| tikikkutik / tikippatik | if / when they (2) arrive |
| tikikkutik / tikippata | if / when they (3+) arrive |
33 » Locations
Inuktut speakers are precise when talking about where things are located. There is a long list of locations to master. The first thing to remember is that there are different workds to indicate a person or objects is in a specific spot versus a general area:
| uvani | (right) here |
| maani | in this area |
| ikani | over there (specific spot) |
| avani | over there (general area) |
| pikani | up there (specific spot) |
| paani | up there (general area) |
| kanani | down there (specific spot) |
| unani | down there (general area) |
There are no set rules that will help you to decide when to use one term over the other. A lot depends on context. For example, both uvani / maani could refer to very large areas:
| uvani | right here (in Iqaluit) |
| maani | here (in Nunavut) |
or they could each refer to much smaller spaces:
| uvani | right here in this spot |
| maani | in this building |
The best advice is to learn these terms as pairs and then listen carefully to fluent speakers to hear how they are used in coversation.
2. These locational words will often be heard with the prefix ta- which indicates that a location has already been mentioned or implied in the conversation:
| basic form | with ta-prefix | English equivalent |
| uvani | tavvani | right here |
| maani | tamaani | around here |
| ikani | taikani | over there (specific spot) |
| avani | taavani | over there (general area) |
| pikani | tapikani | up there (specific spot) |
| paani | tapaani | up there (general area) |
| kanani | takanani | down there (specific spot) |
| unani | taunani | down there (general area) |
3. Note that all of the terms in the table above end with the affix -ni , meaning that the person/object described is in or at a place.
To talk about motion towards a specific spot we replace the -ni ending with -unga:
| towards a location | English equivalent |
| tavvunga | to here (specific spot) |
| tamaunga | to here (more general area) |
| taavunga | to there (specific spot) |
| taikunga | to there (more general area) |
| tappikunga | up to there (specific spot) |
| tappaunga | up there (general area) |
| takanunga | down to there (specific spot) |
| taununga | down to there (more general area) |
4. If we replace the ending with -anngat, we can talk about motion away from a place:.
| away from a location | English equivalent |
| strong>tavvanngat | from here (specific spot) |
| tamaanngat | from here (more general area) |
| taavanngat | from there (specific spot) |
| taikanngat | from there (more general area) |
| tappikanngat | from to there (specific spot) |
| tappaanngat | from there (general area) |
| takananngat | from down there (specific spot) |
| taunanngat | from down there (more general area) |
5. And, if we replace the ending with -(u)una, we can talk about motion through a space:
| through a location | English equivalent |
| tavvuuna | from here (specific spot) |
| tamauna | from here (more general area) |
| taavuuna | from there (specific spot) |
| taikuuna | from there (more general area) |
| tappikuuna | from to there (specific spot) |
| tappauna | from there (general area) |
| takanuuna | from down there (specific spot) |
| taunuuna | from down there (more general area) |