8 Naasautiit amiallu

Dialogue: Red pen, blue pen

Ilisapi:
Aupaqtumik titirautiqaqqit? ᐊᐅᐸᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᑎᖃᖅᑭᑦ?Do you have a red pen?
Juana:
Aagga kisiani tungujuqtamik titirautiqaqtunga. ᐋᒡᒐ, ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᑐᖑᔪᖅᑕᒥᒃ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᑎᖃᖅᑐᖓ. No, but I have a blue pen.
Ilisapi:
Kina titirautiqaqqa aupaqtumik ?ᑭᓇ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᑎᖃᖅᑲ ᐊᐅᐸᖅᑐᒥᒃ? Who would have a red pen?
Juana:
Suusaqai titirautilik aupaqtumik.ᓲᓴᖃᐃ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᑎᓕᒃ ᐊᐅᐸᖅᑐᒥᒃ. Suusa has a red pen.
Ilisapi:
Nakurmiik.ᓇᑯᕐᒦᒃ. Thanks.

Vocabulary
qirniqtaq
black
tungujuqtaq
blue
kajuq
brown
nunasiut
car
amiat
colours
panik
daughter
pai
five
pua
four
uujaujaq
green
isuqtaq
grey
nasaq
hat
qatsinik
how many?
pualuuk
mittens (a pair of)
maanna
now
naasauti
number
uan
one
aupajaangajuq
orange
aupajaattuq
pink
tungujuangajuq
purple
aupaqtuq
red
irniq
son
tajan
ten
talii
three
tuu
two
Una qanuittuuva?
What colour is this?
qakuqtaq
white
kina?
who?
quqsuqtaq
yellow

Grammar

15 » The Affix -mik

-mik and its plural form -nik are used very frequently in Inuktut 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. She sees one house.
Quqsuqtumik illumik takujuq. 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. He is wearing a yellow hat.
Tallimaniktuttunik takujunga. 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 child
surusirmik a child
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 person
inummik a person
inuunnik two people
inunnik some (3+) people

When -nik (plural) is added to a root ending in -t, it deletes the final -t:

tallimat five
talimanik five of something

16 » Commands (The Imperative)

The imperative is used to tell someone to do something, or indicate something that you would like to happen.

-git is used when you are speaking to one other person:

niri- to eat
nirigit Eat!

 

-git can be added directly to roots ending in vowels.  When it is added to roots ending in -k or -t, it deletes the final consonant:
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!
When telling someone to do something, there is often an object or another person involved. In which, case we use different endings:
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.