Dialogue: One chair, two chairs
Vocabulary
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allavvik
ᐊᓪᓚᕝᕕᒃ
office
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allavvimmi
ᐊᓪᓚᕝᕕᒻᒥ
office (in/at the...)
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paippaaq
ᐸᐃᑉᐹᖅ
paper
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titiraut
ᑎᑎᕋᐅᑦ
pen; pencil
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itsivautaq
ᐃᑦᓯᕙᐅᑕᖅ
chair
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titirautiqaqqit?
ᑎᑎᕋᐅᑎᖃᖅᑭᑦ?
Do you have a pen?
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titirautiqaqtunga
ᑎᑎᕋᐅᑎᖃᖅᑐᖓ
I have a pen.
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titirautiqangittunga
ᑎᑎᕋᐅᑎᖃᖏᑦᑐᖓ
I don't have a pen.
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uqaalaut
ᐅᑳᓚᐅᑦ
telephone
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uqaalautiralaaq
ᐅᑳᓚᐅᑎᕋᓛᖅ
cell phone; mobile phone
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qarasaujaq
ᖃᕋᓴᐅᔭᖅ
computer
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qarasaujaralaaq
ᖃᕋᓴᐅᔭᕋᓛᖅ
laptop
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kikiatsijjut
ᑭᑭᐊᑦᓯᔾᔪᑦ
stapler
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allirujaak
ᐊᓪᓕᕈᔮᒃ
scissors
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sanikkuvik
ᓴᓂᒃᑯᕕᒃ
garbage can
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Grammar
14 » To Have
If you want to talk about having something in your possession, you add the affix -qaq- directly to the end of a noun:
ulu + qaq + qit? = | |
uluqaqqit? | Do you have an ulu? |
ulu + qaq + tunga = | |
uluqaqtunga | I have an ulu. |
When -qaq- is added to a noun ending in a consonant, it deletes the final consonant:
umik + qaq + qa = | |
umiqaqqa? | Does he have a beard? |
Watch out for singular nouns that end in -t. Many of them add an -i before being put together with affixes:
titiraut + i + qaq + tunga = | |
titirautiqaqtunga | I have a pen. |
If you want to talk about not having something, remember that both -qaq- and -nngit- delete any consonant that appears immediately before them:
umik + qaq + nngit + tuq = | |
umiqanngittuq | He doesn't have a beard. |
When we want to say "he or she has something", Inuktitut speakers avoid the construction ...qaqtuq, and use the affix -lik instead:
qarasaujaqaqqa? | Does he/she have a computer? |
ii, qarasaujalik. | Yes, he/she has a computer. |
Note that -lik is not used to make a negative sentence:
qarasaujaqanngittuq | He/she does not have a computer. |
15 » There is / There are
kaapitaqaqqa? | Is there coffee? |
When we want to say "there is...", Inuktut speakers avoid the construction -taqaqtuq, and use the affix -talik instead:
ii, kaapitalik. | Yes, there is coffee. |
Note that -talik is never used to make a negative sentence. Instead -taqaq- + -nngit + tuq is used.
kaapitaqanngittuq | There is no coffee. |
-taqaq- deletes final consonants of any nouns it is added to:
paippaaq | paper |
paippaataqaqqa? | Is there any paper? |
ii, paippaatalik | Yes, there is paper. |
aagga, paippaataqanngittuq | No, there is no paper. |
16 » The Dual
one door | two doors | three doors |
In Inuktut, we use different endings to distinguish between two of something and more than two of something:
matu | one door |
matuuk | (two) doors |
matuit | (3+) doors |
saak | (two) tables |
uqaalautiik | (two) telephones |
illuuk | (two) buildings |
Here's how to change a noun from its singular form to the dual:
- if the object ends in a vowel, double the last vowel and add -k:
nuvuja | cloud |
nuvujaak | (two) clouds |
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if the object ends in a -t, add the ending -iik:
uqaalaut | phone |
uqaalautiik | (two) phones |
- if it ends in any consonant other than -t, delete the last consonant, double the last vowel, and add -k:
kamik | skin boot |
kamiik | (two) skin boots |
qarasaujaq | computer |
qarasaujaak | (two) computers |
Remember that in Inuktut, you almost never put together more than two vowels in a row. So if you drop the final consonant and find you already have two vowels, just add -k:
qarasaujaralaaq | laptop |
qarasaujaralaak | (two) laptops |
17 » The Plural
inuk | person |
inuit | people (3+) |
The plural form always ends in -t. Depending on the speaker, the plural ending used may be -it or just -t:
ilisaiji | teacher |
ilisaijit / ilisaijit | teachers (3+) |
itsivautaq | chair |
itsivautat / itsivautait | chairs (3+) |
iqaluk | fish |
iqalut / iqaluit | fish (3+) |
In nouns where the last vowel sound is a long vowel or a double vowel, the plural is formed by replacing the last consonant sound (if there is one) with -t:
uqaaluutiralaaq | cell phone |
uqaaluutiralaat | cell phones (3+) |
umiaq | boat |
umiat | boats (3+) |
With nouns that end in -t, the ending -it or -iit is added directly to the end of the word to form the plural:
angut | man |
angutit / angutiit | men (3+) |
uqaalaut | phone |
uqaalautit / uqaalautiit | phones (3+) |
titiraut | pen |
titirautit / titirautiit | pens (3+) |