(no subject)

[moonflower77]

negative form

 

circumfix ɛ-...-kɛ (weak vowels) or a-...-ka (strong vowels)

ɛtitikɛ without the needle, needles [stem: titi ~ tɛtɛ]

ɛjejvɛlkɛ without the orphan, orphans [stem: jejvɛl ~ jajval]

arɨrkaka without the walrus, walruses [stem: rɨrka]

ajatjolka without the fox, foxes [stem: jatjol]

if the stem ends in a cluster of two consonants, the suffixal part of the negative circumfix will be preceded by the connective vowel "ɨ":

ɛpipiqɨlgɨkɛ without the mouse, mice 

ɛtɨŋɛchjɨkɛ without the flower/plant, flowers/plants

achakɛttɨka without the sister, sisters

if the stem begins with a vowel, the prefixal part of the circumfix is dropped: 

uttɨkɛ without the tree, trees [stem: utt ~ ott]

ochochka without the headperson, headpersons [stem: ochoch]

imchjɛchukɛkɛ without the ermine, ermines [stem: imchjɛchukɛ ~ ɛmchjachoka]

where necessary, the plural form is marked with the suffix -(ɨ)r, as with non-negative II and III decl. nouns:

a-Rɨpɛlɨrɨka without the Rypels, without several persons named Rypel

ajeļorɨka without the uncles

aŋotqɛnɨrɨka without these ones

ɛmikɨrɨkɛ? without whom? (pl.)

ɛnirkɛrɨkɛ without them, whats-their-name

 

1) used to refer to the fact that an agent performs an action without a specific physical object or property (used alone). combined with another noun which denotes the entity that lacks the object or property in question, and which takes the nominative or agentive instrumental case: 

 

qol qlävɨl ŋɨtogjɛ apojgɨka the other man emerged from the dwelling without a spear

a'acheka ɛmilgɛrkɛ ninɛgɨnritqin ŋɛlvɨl a young man is guarding the herd without a rifle

qɨnvɛr ɨtlön achakɛttɨka qɨtgji ŋajetɨ at last, we started walking toward the mountain without (his) sister

ɨnqorɨ anpɨnachgɨka mɨttɛjkɨgjɛn ɨ'tvjɛt then (we) made a boat without the old man

 

2) used to refer to the fact that the agent does not possess a particular object or property in general, not only at the present moment (+ ujŋɛ “no, none”). combined with another noun which denotes the entity that lacks the object or property in question, and which takes the nominative case: 

 

in the present tense, one normally uses only ujŋɛ + neg. form, without the help of an aux. verb: 

ŋɛɛkkɛqɛj ujŋɛ ɛ'lüchikɛ the girl has no doll, lit. the girl (is) without a doll

gɨmnin ɛkɨk ujŋɛ ɛmilgɛrkɛ my son has no rifle (lit. my son (is) without a rifle

ŋotqɛn ŋɛlvɨl ujŋɛ achɨmŋaka this herd has no old bulls, lit. this herd (is) without old bulls

muri ujŋɛ ɨ'ttjɨkɛ we have no dogs, lit. we (are) without dogs

ɨtlön ujŋɛ achakɛttɨka he has no sister, lit. he (is) without a sister

ɨnqɛn nɨmnɨm ujŋɛ o'ravɛtļaka that village has no people, lit. that village (is) without people

 

in the past or future tense, one also has to use an auxilary verb in the appropriate tense: 

 

ŋinqɛj ujŋɛ ɛtigɨkɛ gitlin the boy had no skis, lit. the boy was without skis

ɛrgatɨk gɨm ujŋɛ orvɨka tritgjɛ tomorrow i will have no sledge, lit. tomorrow i will be without a sledge

kuprɛn ujŋɛ ɛnnɨkɛ itgji the net turned out to have no fish, lit. the net turned out to be without fish

vɛchjɨm gɨtgɨn nɛmɛ agalgaka ritgjɛ the lake will probably have no fish again soon, lit. soon the lake will probably be without fish again

ɨnkɨ ɨtlön ujŋɛ ɛŋɛvjɛnkɛ gitlin back then he had no wife, lit. back then he was without a wife

muri ujŋɛ ɛtɨletumgɨkɛ mɨtritgjɛ we will have no fellow travellers, lit. we will be without fellow travellers

 

nouns belonging to any lexical or semantic category may have a negative form. however, it is only used with proper names as a euphemistic way of saying that a person has passed away. as a rule, if one wants to say that a person is not present while an activity is being performed, one uses a different structure, such as:

 

igɨr murɨk rɛɛn vanɛvan nɨmigchirɛtɨn Tutuk Tutuk is not working with us today

 

3) refers to the fact that a particular object is not present at a particular location (+ ujŋɛ “no, none”). combined with another noun which refers to a physical location and takes the locative case (always inanimate):

 

igɨr aŋqak ujŋɛ arɨrkaka there are no walruses in the sea today

murɨk kuprɛk ujŋɛ ɛnnɨkɛ there is no fish in our net

qɨtlɨgi tɛjuchgɨk ujŋɛ ɛpiŋvɨtrɨkɛ gitlin as it turned out, there was no flour in the bag

gɨmɨk utkuchjɨk vɛchjɨm ujŋɛ ɛrɛqɨkɛ ritgjɛ there will probably be nothing in my trap

ɨnqɛnak gɨtgɨtkojekvɛk kɨtur ujŋɛ i'tukɛ gitlin last year there were no geese on those lakes

 

the idea of the absence of an entity (object) may also be expressed without using the negative form, through the combination of ujŋɛ + noun in the nom. case. this will then combine with another noun in the locative case, which refers to the entity that lacks a specific object or property, or the location that lacks a specific object:

 

ɛkkɛk ujŋɛ milgɛr the son has no rifle

qorak ujŋɛ rɨnnɨt the reindeer has no horns

aŋqak ujŋɛ rɨrkat there are no walruses in the sea

kuprɛk ujŋɛ ɨnnɛɛn there is no fish in the net

the number distinction is present in the same situations as with a non-negative noun.

as a rule, present with the II declension:

ɛ-Mɛvɛtkɛ without Mevet : ɛ-Mɛvɛtɨrɨkɛ without the Mevets, without several persons named Mevet

ɨnjɛkɛ without the elder brother : ɨnjɛrɨkɛ without the elder brothers

ɛqutɨnɛkɛ without another, the other one : ɛqutɨrɨkɛ without the others

aŋotqɛnaka without this one : aŋotqɛnɨrɨka without these ones

ɛnirkɛkɛ without him, whats-his-name : ɛnirkɛrɨkɛ without them, whats-their-name

 

optional with the III declension:

achavchɨvaka with the nomad, nomads : achavchɨvarɨka with the nomads

ɛŋɛvɨsqɛtkɛ without the woman, women : ɛŋɛvɨsqɛtɨrɨkɛ without the women

ɛŋinqɛjkɛ without the boy, boys : ɛŋinqɛjɨrɨkɛ without the boys

a'achekka without the young man, young men : a'achekɨrɨka without the young men

not present with the I declension:

ɛkjɛlikɛ without the cap, caps

avaläka without the knife, knives

ɛrjɛvkɛ without the whale, whales

avopqaka without the elk, elks

ɛrɛqɨkɛ? without who, what? (sg. or pl.)

ɛnikɛkɛ without that, whats-its-name

singulative form

 

ɛmqɨn- (weak vowels) / amqɨn- (strong vowels) : singles out each individual unit in a mass of entities (objects) that is divided into separate units [each, every]

 

ŋɛvɨsqɛt woman : ɛmqɨnŋɛvɨsqɛt each, every woman 

qoraŋɨ reindeer: amqɨnqoraŋɨ each, every reindeer 

nɛlgɨn (animal) skin: ɛmqɨnnɛlgɨn each, every (animal) skin 

vɛtgav word : amqɨnvɛtgav each, every word

rɛmkɨn tribe, nation : ɛmqɨnrɛmkɨn each, every tribe, nation

qlävɨl man, male : amqɨnqlävɨl each, every man, male

 

gɛmgɛ- (weak vowels) / gamga- (strong vowels) : singles out any item within an undivided, homogenous mass, as seen together with the other remaining items [any, whichever, whatever]

 

ŋinqɛj boy : gɛmgɛŋinqɛj any boy (whatsoever) 

chavchɨv nomad : gamgachavchɨv any nomad (whatsoever) 

migchir job : gɛmgɛmigchir any job (whatsoever) 

jatjol fox : gamgajatjol any fox (whatsoever) 

tɨŋɛchjɨn plant, flower : gɛmgɛtɨŋɛchjɨn each, every plant, flower

pläkɨlgɨn fur boot : gamgapläkɨlgɨn each, every fur boot

 

the second prefix may also have a general (collective) meaning: gamgaqorak “with all reindeer in the case of all reindeer”, gɛmgɛnɨmɨk “in all villages".

 

both prefixes are joined directly to the stem. 

 

each of the two forms serves to single out one entity (object) from a mass of identical entities (objects), but the former refers to each of these entities (objects) separately, while in the latter refers to each of these entities (objects) as seen together with the others. compare:

 

murɨk amqɨnŋavɨsqatɛtɨ gɛjɨtlin vaŋɛnaŋ each of our women (taken separately) was given a sewing machine (lit. they gave each woman at our [place, village] a sewing machine)

igɨr gɛmgɛŋɛvɨsqɛtɨk varkɨn vaŋɛnaŋ now any woman (that is, all the women in our village) has a sewing machine (lit. now at any woman's there is a sewing machine)

 

not used for: proper names, names of animals, demonstrative and determinative nouns

used for: other nominative nouns, referential and interrogative nouns

 

applicable for nouns belonging to the I and III declensions. as these forms denote singularity by definition, they cannot combine with the special plural forms of III decl. nouns. may combine only with the singular nominative form or with the generic case forms that are not marked for number; in the latter instance, their meaning will be exclusively singular. 

 

nouns in the singulative form cannot have any personal forms and cannot take the negative or delimitative affixes. however, they do take case affixes, as well as possessive, relational and evaluative ones. 

 

when ɛmqɨn-/amqɨn- is combined with the comitative or sociative cicumfixes, their prefixal part will lose its final vowel: gɛmqɨntumgɛ "with each, every friend". 

 

gɛmgɛ-/gamga- retains its final vowel in all instances, not only when the stem begins with a consonant or two consonants, but also when it begins with a vowel or even two vowels: 

 

imɨt load : gɛmgɛimɨt load any load (whatsoever)

utkuchjɨn trap : gɛmgɛutkuchjɨn any trap (whatsoever)

o'raak lamp : gamgao'raak any lamp (whatsoever)

ajmak carcass : gamgaajmak any carcass (whatsoever)

oonjɨlgɨn berry : gamgaoonjɨlgɨn any berry (whatsoever)

ɛɛk oil lantern : gɛmgɛɛɛk any oil lantern (whatsoever)

however, if the stem begins with the reduced vowel ɨ, this vowel may be omitted:

 

ɨnnɛɛn fish : gɛmgɛɨnnɛɛn, gɛmgɛnnɛɛn any fish (whatsoever)

ɨtlɨgɨn father : gɛmgɛɨtlɨgɨn, gɛmgɛtlɨgɨn any father (whatsoever)

ɨtlä mother : gamgaɨtlä, gamgatļa any mother (whatsoever)

ɨnpɨnachgɨn old man : gamgaɨnpɨnachgɨn, gamganpɨnachgɨn any old man (whatsoever)

delimitative form

used to refer to a particular homogenous group of entities (objects) which is the only one to be associated with a specific action. 

prefix ɛm- / am- (usually joined directly to the stem):

 

titit needles : ɛmtitit only needles

milütɛt hares : ɛmmilütɛt only hares

ɨnpɨnachgɨt "old men" : amɨnpɨnachgɨt only old men

 

combines with any case or personal suffixes. usually used only with plural nouns; may be singular in cases other than the nominative (usually the agentive instrumental), but only when combined with verbs such as ɛlkɨlɨk to identify, recognize, rɨtɨjatɨk to forget, kɛtjok to remember, ļuk to see.

 

ɛmɨtlɨgɛ ɛlkɨlnin chejvɨļɨn only the father recognized the foot-traveller

 

as a rule, the same meaning ("only" + noun in the singular) is expressed analytically using the word amɨnan + N (sg., nom. or agentive instr.): amɨnan qlävɨl “only the man”, amɨnan ŋɛlvɨl “only the herd”, amɨnan ɨ’tvjɛt “only the boat”

 
here, amɨnan is the delimitative form of the 3rd p. sg. pronoun "he", lit. “only he, only by him”. 

 

jarachɨko nɨvakjotvaqɛn amɨnan qlävɨl nobody sat inside the yaranga except for one man (lit. only a man was sitting inside the yaranga)

ɨnpɨnachga rɛnnin amɨnan ŋinqɛj the old man brought no-one but a single boy (lit. the old man brought only a boy)

tɛkichgɨn ninimtiqin amɨnan a'acheka the young man was the only one to carry the meat (lit. only a young man carried the meat) 

 

II declension: only plural (for all cases)

 

the names of animals are rare. unlike human names, which can refer to both representative and simple plurarity, they cannot refer to respresentative plurality at all, and simple plurality is excedingly uncommon. it is much more common for the delimitative meaning to be expressed analytically, e.g. amɨnan Vɨtɛlgɨn "only Vytelgyn (dog name)", amɨnan Iplɨļu "only Yplylew (reindeer name)" etc.  

 

III declension: only plural when in the nominative case, in the other cases combines with the generic case form that is not marked for number, but the meaning remains only plural: 

 

nominative: ɛmŋinqɛgti only boys, amɨnpɨnachgɨt only old men, ɛmɨnpɨŋɛvɨt only old women

other cases: ɛmŋɛvɨsqɛtɛ only (by) the women, amŋaakkagtɨ only for the daughters, gamjaacheka only with the young men

 

if the noun or the fact of its plurality are stressed, the noun may take the special non-nominative plural form:

 

ɛmŋɛvɨsqɛtɨrɨk only by the women (cf. ɛmŋɛvɨsqɛtɛ), amŋaakkarɨkɨ only to/for the daughters (cf. amŋaakkagtɨ)

 

I declension: usually only plural when in the nominative case

 

ɛmlilit only mittens, ampamjat only fur stockings, amgalgat only ducks, ɛmmilütɛt only hares

 

however, the singular is possible if the noun has a collective or abstract meaning (substances, foods etc.): ɛmpiŋvɨtrɨn only flour, ɛmtɛkichgɨn only meat, ɛmɨnnɛɛn only fish

 

in the other cases, the delimitative marker combines with the generic case form that is not marked for number. depending on the context, its meaning may be singular or plural:

 

ammɛmɨletɨ only (by) the ring seal, ring seals (instr.), ɛmkuprɛtɛ only using a net, nets (instr.), ɛmjɨtvɛ only using a boat, boats (instr.) 

 

nouns in the delimitative form usually receive personal suffixes only if they refer to humans beings. only plural personal suffixes are possible:

 

ɛmmikɨmuri? who of us will be the only ones (to)...? 

ɛmmikɨturi? who of you (pl.) will be the only ones (to)...? 

ɛm-Mɛvɛtturi only you, Mevets; only those of you who are named Mevet 

amqlävɨlmorɛ only us, men, only those of us who are men 

ɛmŋinqɛjturi only you, boys, only those of you who are boys

 

nouns that denote animals or inanimate objects may take personal endings only if personified (in myths or folktales):

 

ɛmmilütɛmuri only us, hares 
amvopqatturi only you (pl.), elks

the prefixal part of the comitative or sociative case circumfixes will precede the delimitative preffix (the final vowel of the prefix is dropped): gammɛlgarma “only with rifles”, gamrɨrkama “only with walruses”, gamŋɛnqajma “only with boys”

 

the delimitative prefix combines with two emphatic suffixes, which precede it:

 

tɛŋ- / taŋ- (makes the delimitative meaning stronger; "exclusively (only) ..., nothing but ..., no-one but ...")

ɛmmilgɛrti only rifles, rifles alone : tɛŋɛmmilgɛrti exclusively (only) rifles, nothing but rifles
amchakɛttɨt only sisters, sisters alone : taŋamchakɛttɨt exclusively (only) sisters, no-one but sisters
ɛmŋinqɛgti only boys, boys alone : tɛŋɛmŋinqɛgti exclusively (only) boys, no-one but boys
amchavchɨvat only nomads, nomads alone : taŋamchavchɨvat exclusively (only) nomads, no-one but nomads
ɛmvjɛnɨvɛn only navaga, navaga alone : tɛŋɛmvjɛnɨvɛn exclusively (only) navaga, nothing but navaga

 

pɨch- (emphasizes the delimitative meaning; “after all, only ..., only ... indeed")

 

ɛmŋɛvɨsqɛtti only women, women alone : pɨchɛmŋɛvɨsqɛtti after all, only women, only women indeed

ɛmŋɛɛkkɛt only daughters, daughters alone : pɨchɛmŋɛɛkkɛt after all, only daughters, only daughters indeed

amɨtļät only mothers, mothers alone : pɨchamɨtļät after all, only mothers, only mothers indeed

amɨnpɨnachgɨt only old men, old men alone : pɨchamɨnpɨnachgɨt after all, only old men, only old men indeed

ɛmunjɛlti only seals, seals alone : pɨchɛmunjɛlti after all, only seals, only seals indeed

ɛmŋilgɨt only belts, belts alone : pɨchɛmŋilgɨt after all, only belts, only belts indeed

the delimitative may combine with the negative form. denotes not merely the absence of an object at a partcular location, but also the fact that it causes a particular action (referred to by the predicate) or lack thereof. the delimitative suffix precedes the prefixal part of the negative circumfix. 

forms of subjective evaluation

the evaluative suffix directly follows the stem of the noun. evaluative forms of nouns can have personal forms (take personal suffixes) if they refer to human beings. may combine with other non-syntactic forms, such as: possessive, relational and negative (privative).

1) -jŋ: augmentative with a shade of reverent benevolence

-> weak to strong vowels 

joined directly to the stem if the stem ends in a vowel:

nɛnɛnɛt children : nananajŋɨt
titit needles : tɛtɛjŋɨt
umqɛt polar bears : omqajŋɨt

connective vowel "ɨ" inserted if the stem ends in a consonant or consonant cluster:

kɛnchiqɨt whips : kancheqɨjŋɨt
tumgɨt friends : tomgɨjŋɨt
ŋɛlvɨļɨt herds : ŋalvɨļɨjŋɨt

2) -chg, -chɨŋ: augmentative with a shade of derogatory, disapproving hostility

-> weak to strong vowels 

-chg: used if the stem ends in a vowel, joined directly to the stem:

kukɛt cauldrons : kokachgɨt
mjɛmit cartridges : mjamɛchgɨt
imchjɛchukɛt ermines : ɛmchjachokachgɨt

-chg: used if the stem ends in a consonant cluster, connective vowel "ɨ" inserted between the stem and the suffix:

tilmɨt eagles : tɛlmɨchgɨt
umkɨt forests : omkɨchgɨt
pilgɨt throats : pɛlgɨchgɨt

-chɨŋ: used if the stem ends in a single consonant, joined directly to the stem

unjɛlti seals : onjalchɨŋɨt
gilgilti ice floes : gɛlgɛlchɨŋɨt
tiŋurti bows : tɛŋorchɨŋɨt

3) -qɛj (weak vowels) ~ -qaj (strong vowels): affectionate diminutive

in the nominative case, this suffix is not followed by any syntactic markers, so that the corresponding evaluative forms usually have a zero singulative ending. in other situations, the suffix precedes any syntactic markers present. 

connective vowel "ɨ" inserted if the stem ends in a consonant cluster:

tumgɨtum friend : tumgɨqɛj

kojŋɨn cup : kojŋɨqaj

pipiqɨlgɨn mouse : pipiqɨlgɨqɛj

ɨnpɨnachgɨn old man : ɨnpɨnachgɨqaj

joined directly to all the other stems:

kuprɛn net : kuprɛqɛj
jejvɛl orphan : jejvɛlqɛj
ɨtlä mother : ɨtļaqaj

rɛvɨmrɛv ptarmigan : rɛvɨmrɛvqɛj

NB: the evaluative forms of interrogative nouns that refer to humans are usually formed using the nominative case singular stem, e.g. maŋɛnajŋɨn? who (large, intimidating)? [cf. mɛŋin? who?]. more rarely, they can be formed using a special derived stem that has the additional suffix -nɛ ~ -na, e.g. mɛkɨnajŋɨn? who (large, intimidating)?

when it comes to the evaluative forms of interrogative nouns that refer to non-human entities, there is a clear distinction between those of them that refer to animate beings and those that refer to inanimate objects.

animate entities: nominative case stem used, e.g. rjanotajŋɨn? who, what (large, intimidating)? [cf. rjɛnutɛt? who, what? (pl.)]

inanimate entities: non-nominative case stem used, e.g. raqɨjŋɨn? what (large, intimidating)? [cf. rɛqɨk? at/with/by whom, what?]