15 Kiap ukua?

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

my father

our house

your door

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

ataataga

illuvut

matuit

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 Inuktitut, though, different endings are used depending on whether the thing that is possessed is singular, dual or plural.

 

SINGULAR FORMS:

illuga	my house
illuit	your 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 + ga =	jaikaga	my jacket
aggak + it =	aggait	your hand (talking to 1 person)
illiq + nga =	illinga	her bed
ataatatsiaq + vut =	ataataatsiavut	our grandfather
qimmiq + si =	qimmisi	your dog (talking to more than 2)
allavvik + ngat =	allavvingat	their office

 

 

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

qajaq + ga=	qajara	my kayak
taliq + ga =	talira	my arm
nuliaq + ga=	nuliara	my wife

 

 

(iii) For the Inuktitut version of 'your' just add t (instead of -it) to roots that end in two vowels, or in a consonant that is preceded by two vowels:

tui + it =	tuit	your shoulder
umiaq + it =	umiat	your boat
uasikuaq + it =	uasikuat	your vest

 

DUAL FORMS

paniikkak	my two daughters
paniikkik	your two daughters (talking to 1 person)
paningik	his or her two daughters
panivuk	our two daughters
panisik	your two daughters (talking to more than 2)
paningik	their two daughters

• An extra i is added before -kkak and -kkik to make pronunciation easier.
• all dual endings delete the last consonant
• the endings for “his / her” and “their” are the same. Context makes it clear what you are speaking of.

PLURAL FORMS

ilakka	my friends
ilatit	your friends (talking to 1 person)
ilangit	his or her friends
ilavut	our friends
ilasi	your friends (talking to more than 2)
ilangit	their friends

• all plural possessive endings delete the last consonant of roots they are added to.
• the endings for “her/his” and “their” are the same.

NAMING THE PERSON WHO POSSESSES SOMETHING

In English, when we want to name a person that something belongs to, we add an apostrophe + s to the person's name, followed by the object:

Mary's car

Ilaija's two CD's

Piita's dogs

 

In Inuktitut, these three sentences would be written this way:

Mialiup nunasiutinga

Ilaijaup qilliqtungik

Piitaup qimmingit

 

• Note that the affix -up is attached to the possessor's name, much like apostrophe + s is used in English.
• the affix -nga is added to the person or thing that is possessed if it is singular; -ngik if it is dual; and -ngit if it is plural.

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

Naullaq + up =

Naullaup qullinga

Naullaq's qulliq

Remember that in Inuktitut 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

 

-up works for more than just names. It can be added to any noun, as long as it is singular:

angutiup nasanga	the man's hat
najaup kamingik	the sister's kamiks
inuup umiangit	the Inuk's boats