Dialogue: Weekend plans
Vocabulary
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sulâkKen?
What will you be doing? (tomorrow or father in the future)
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silakKipat
if the weather is good
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Kannipat
if it snows
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aullâsimapvik
cabin
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pisujuk
walks (she/he...)
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umiattutuk
boating (he/she is...)
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ullulimâk
all day
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vogiup nâninga
weekend
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ikani
in that spot there
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tappâni
up there (general area)
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tappikani
up there in that spot
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tappaunga
up to that general area
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tappikunga
up to that spot
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uvani
here in this spot
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mâni
here, in this area
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unani
down there (general area)
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takanani
down there in that spot
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taikunga
down to that spot
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taununga
down to that general area
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sikitokkut
by snowmobile
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Grammar
32 » If and when...
Inuktut has a series of endings to talk about events that have not yet happened:
| UKâlaguvit, Kailangajunga. |
| if / when you call, I will come. |
Depending on the context, these endings can be translated in English as "when something happens..." or "if something happens..."
You will notice that these endings are very similar to those used to express the idea of because/when:
uKâlak - to call someone on the phone
| uKâlaguma | if/when I call |
| uKâlaguvit | if/when you call |
| uKâlaguni / uKâlappat * | if/when he/she calls |
| uKâlagunnuk | if/when the two of us call |
| uKâlagutta | if/when we (3+) call |
| uKâlagutsik | if/when two of you call |
| uKâlagutsi | if/when you (3+) call |
| uKâlagutik / uKâlappatik * | if/when they (2) call |
| uKâlagutik / uKâlappata * | if/when they (3+) call |
* -guni, and -gutik can only be used when the subject of the verb they are attached to is the same person who is the subject of the verb in the main sentence:
| Peta piujiguni, nigitsianiattuk. |
| If Peter gets a seal, he (Peter) will eat well. |
If there is a change in who you are speaking about in the sentence, the endings -ppat, -ppatik or -ppata must be used.
| Peta piujippat, nigitsianiakKugut. |
| If Petrer gets a seal, we will eat well. |
All of the above endings can also be used to express the idea in English of 'when something will happen.'
In this sense, these endings describe an event that is anticipated in the future. Compare these two sentences:
| Aullagutta sininiattut. | When we depart they will be sleeping (the action of departing has not yet happened). |
| Aullagatta sinikKaujut. | When we departed they were sleeping (the action of departing has already happened). |
33 » Locations
Inuktut speakers are precise when talking about where things are located. There is a long list of locations to master. The first thing to remember is that there are different workds to indicate a person or objects is in a specific spot versus a general area:
| uvani | (right) here |
| mâni | in this area |
| ikani | over there (specific spot) |
| avani | over there (general area) |
| pikani | up there (specific spot) |
| pâni | up there (general area) |
| kanani | down there (specific spot) |
| unani | down there (general area) |
There are no set rules that will help you to decide when to use one term over the other. A lot depends on context. For example, both uvani / mâni could refer to very large areas:
| uvani | right here (in Iqaluit) |
| mâni | here (in Nunavut) |
or they could each refer to much smaller spaces:
| uvani | right here in this spot |
| mâni | in this building |
The best advice is to learn these terms as pairs and then listen carefully to fluent speakers to hear how they are used in coversation.
2. These locational words will often be heard with the prefix ta- which indicates that a location has already been mentioned or implied in the conversation:
| basic form | with ta-prefix | English equivalent |
| uvani | tapvani | right here |
| mâni | tamâni | around here |
| ikani | taikani | over there (specific spot) |
| avani | tâvani | over there (general area) |
| pikani | tapikani | up there (specific spot) |
| pâni | tapâni | up there (general area) |
| kanani | takanani | down there (specific spot) |
| unani | taunani | down there (general area) |
3. Note that all of the terms in the table above end with the affix -ni , meaning that the person/object described is in or at a place.
To talk about motion towards a specific spot we replace the -ni ending with -unga:
| towards a location | English equivalent |
| tapvunga | to here (specific spot) |
| tamaunga | to here (more general area) |
| tâvunga | to there (specific spot) |
| taikunga | to there (more general area) |
| tappikunga | up to there (specific spot) |
| tappaunga | up there (general area) |
| takanunga | down to there (specific spot) |
| taununga | down to there (more general area) |
4. If we replace the ending with -anngat, we can talk about motion away from a place:.
| away from a location | English equivalent |
| tapvanngat | from here (specific spot) |
| tamânngat | from here (more general area) |
| tâvanngat | from there (specific spot) |
| taikanngat | from there (more general area) |
| tappikanngat | from to there (specific spot) |
| tappânngat | from there (general area) |
| takananngat | from down there (specific spot) |
| taunanngat | from down there (more general area) |
5. And, if we replace the ending with -(u)una, we can talk about motion through a space:
| through a location | English equivalent |
| tapvona | from here (specific spot) |
| tamauna | from here (more general area) |
| tâvona | from there (specific spot) |
| taikona | from there (more general area) |
| tappikona | from to there (specific spot) |
| tappauna | from there (general area) |
| takanona | from down there (specific spot) |
| taunona | from down there (more general area) |