980 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 40 



the English sound, because the t is nearly interdental. There- 

 fore there is a difference between the ^-sounds in arssaq a ball, 

 and ndtseq a seal. In other words, an s [s] is heard, which, 

 although not quite identical with the s or foi the phoneticians, 

 as in English she, bears some resemblance to it; e. g., 



aaseet \a:se:t\ (West Greenland) of course 

 aa^saq \^a:'^saq'\ summer 

 saa [sa.'J its front 



In the articulation of this s, not only the blade, but the whole anterior 

 portion of the surface, is raised; the blade of the tongue being a 

 little retracted and formed like a shallow groove, through which 

 the air escapes without any strong pressure. 



t as in French, without aspiration, especially before the vowels a and o. 



taa^na [da:^na\ that there 

 toog {do:q^^ a mattock 



But before i, e, u, often aspirated, especially when the t is long, 

 as in the imperative plural -itte in Northwest Greenland (= -Use 

 in Central and South Greenland). It might be symbolized as t. 



areq a name 



ndreq the floor or bottom 



Tikeq forefinger 



arerpoq he goes down 



tdTTtt the lakes (nearly like [tdtsit]) 



The articulation of t is very different from that of the English t, 

 the tip of the tongue being stretched against the lower edge of 

 the upper teeth. The Eskimo t, like the n, Z, l, are alike in 

 this respect, being sometimes nearly interdental. 



T see t; f see c. 



u like ou in French jour, rouge. 



iiFFa there ! 

 ^lna he (she, it) 



u between o and u stands for long ti [u:]; e. g., 



kook [kuuk] river 



oommannaq [u:7n:dn:Aq] common place-name 



w is the voiced sound that corresponds to f^ articulated alike, the 

 lips hardly touching each other; but in West Greenland often 

 so that the under lip is slightly drawn toward the upper 

 front teeth. It differs from the English w in that the lips are 



§2 



