Dialogue: Red pen, blue pen
Vocabulary
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qirniqtaq
ᕿᕐᓂᖅᑕᖅ
black
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tungujuqtaq
ᑐᖑᔪᖅᑕᖅ
blue
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kajuq
ᑲᔪᖅ
brown
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nunasiut
ᓄᓇᓯᐅᑦ
car
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amiat
ᐊᒥᐊᑦ
colours
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panik
ᐸᓂᒃ
daughter
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pai
ᐸᐃ
five
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pua
ᐳᐊ
four
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uujaujaq
ᐆᔭᐅᔭᖅ
green
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isuqtaq
ᐃᓱᖅᑕᖅ
grey
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nasaq
ᓇᓴᖅ
hat
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qatsinik
ᖃᑦᓯᓂᒃ
how many?
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pualuuk
ᐳᐊᓘᒃ
mittens (a pair of)
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maanna
ᒫᓐᓇ
now
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naasauti
ᓈᓴᐅᑎ
number
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uan
ᐅᐊᓐ
one
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aupajaangajuq
ᐊᐅᐸᔮᖓᔪᖅ
orange
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aupajaattuq
ᐊᐅᐸᔮᑦᑐᖅ
pink
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tungujuangajuq
ᑐᖑᔪᐊᖓᔪᖅ
purple
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aupaqtuq
ᐊᐅᐸᖅᑐᖅ
red
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irniq
ᐃᕐᓂᖅ
son
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tajan
ᑕᔭᓐ
ten
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talii
ᑕᓖ
three
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tuu
ᑑ
two
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Una qanuittuuva?
ᐅᓇ ᖃᓄᐃᑦᑑᕙ?
What colour is this?
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qakuqtaq
ᖃᑯᖅᑕᖅ
white
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kina?
ᑭᓇ?
who?
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quqsuqtaq
ᖁᖅᓱᖅᑕᖅ
yellow
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Grammar
15 » The Affix -mik
-mik and its plural form -nik are used very frequently in Inuktitut and require a detailed explanation. Consider the following two sentences in English:
| He bought the blue car. | He bought a blue car. |
In the first sentence, we are talking about a specific car that is known both to the person who is speaking and the person he is talking with. In the second sentence, the speaker refers to the car very generally. The exact car that was purchased is irrelevant to the conversation they are having.
In Inuktut, when we are speaking very generally about a person or a thing, we attach the affix-mik to the person or thing.
| illumik takujuq. |
| She sees a house. |
Note, too, that -mik is added to words that describe the object:
| Atausirmik illumik takujuq. | Quqsuqtumik illumik takujuq. |
| She sees one house. | She sees a yellow house. |
When -mik is added to a noun ending in q, it normally changes this q to r. An exception, though, happens with the names of colours. When -mik is added to a colour, it deletes final q.
The dual form of -mik is -nik :
| Quqsuqtuunnik pualuqaqtutit. |
| You have two yellow mittens. |
Note above how the word for yellow, quqsuqtuq, changes to quqsuqtuuk in the dual.
The plural form of -mik is also -nik :
| Pingasunik qiturngaqaqtunga. |
| I have three children. |
In the above sentence, the speaker says very generally that she has three children. The person she is speaking to probably doesn't know the children or very much about them.
An easy way to learn -mik and -nik is to use them with numbers and colours
| Ququsuqtumik nasaqsimajuq. | Tallimaniktuttunik takujunga. |
| He is wearing a yellow hat. | I see five caribou. |
-mik is also used frequently with people's names:
| Mialimik nulialik. |
| He has a wife named Mary. |
Note the spelling changes that happen with -mik and -nik are added to roots ending in consonants:
When -mik and -nik (plural) are added to stems that end in q, they change the q to r:
| surusiq + mik = | surusirmik |
| a child | |
| surusiq + nik = | surusirnik |
| some children (3+) |
In the South Qikiqtaaluk dialect, when -mik or -nik (dual or plural) are added to a stem ending in k, the k changes to match either the m or n that follows:
| >inuk + mik = | inummik |
| a person | |
| inuuk + nik = | inuunnik |
| two people | |
| inuk + nik = | inunnik |
| some people (3+) |
When -nik (plural) is added to a root ending in t, it deletes the final t:
| tallimat + nik = | talimanik |
| five of something |
16 » Commands (The Imperative)
-git is used when you are speaking to one other person:
| niri- | to eat |
| nirigit | Eat! |
| tupak- | to wake up |
| tupagit | Wake up! |
| ingit- | to sit down |
| ingigit | Please, sit down. |
With roots that end in -q, use -rit instead:
| uqalimaaq- | to read |
| uqalimaarit | Read! |
| qai- | to come |
| qaigit | Come here! |
| qaiguk | Bring it here! |
like -git, the first letter of -guk changes to r when added to a stem ending in q:
| qiniq- | to look for something |
| qiniruk | Go look for it! |
Finally, if you are talking about more than one object, the affix you use changes:
| qaiguk | Bring it here. |
| qaikkik | Bring the two of them here. |
| qaikkit | Bring them here. |