BOAS] 



HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES 



1023 



forms the dual function. Does this fact perhaps justify us in assum- 

 ing that the uvular (i. e., q) was once used for marking the dual in the 

 Eskimo language ? (cf. §17.) 



§27. PARADIGM OF THE POSSESSIVE INFLECTION OF NOUNS 



GREENLAND DIALECT 



1st per. sing. 

 2d per. sing. 

 4th per. sing. 



l.st per. pi. 



2dper.pl. 

 4thper.pl. 



3d per. sing 

 3d per. pi. 



Absolutive 



iLLO HOUSE 



Singular 



iLLOTja my house 



iLLut thy house 



iLLttne his own (.suus) 

 house 



iLLorput our hoase 



iLLorse your house 



iiLortik their own (suus) 

 house 



iLLua his (ejus) house 



iLLuat their (eorum) 

 house 



Plural 



iLLukka my houses 

 iLLutit thy houses 

 iLLune his own houses 



iLLuwut or] 



our house.s 



ILLOTJut \ 



iLLuse your houses 



iLLutik their own 

 houses 



iLLue his (EJUS) houses 

 iLLuit orKjieir (eorum) 

 iLLuc J houses 



Relative 



iLLUp OF THE HOUSE 



Singular 



iLLuma 

 iLLuuit 

 iLLunie 



iLLuHta 



iLLUi'SSe 



iLLumik 



iLLuata 



■ILLumik 



Plural 



iLLuma 



iLLUloit 



iLLume 



ILLUWtta 



iLLuwsse 

 iLLumik 



iLLuisa 



iLLumik 



It will be noted that most cases are formed from the vocalic stem of 

 the word, except three; namely, the first, second, and fourth plural 

 possessive, singular object, absolutive, which are formed on a length- 

 ened consonantal stem, *iLLoq^ as if to emphasize the idea of the 

 singular of the object (one house) as against the plurality of the 

 personal endings (our, tour, their) or of those plural cases which 

 end in wut {put), se, tih. 



The possessive inflection of nouns is apparently always regular, 

 because the endings are invariably the same. The peculiarities in the 

 inflection of many nouns are due to shifts in the word-stems, not in 

 the endings of the suffixes. Exceptions are such occasional assimila- 

 tions of the initial sounds of the suffixes as follow the linking to dif- 

 ferent stems: e. g., -itit thy; iLLutit thy houses; -islt in uwisit thy 

 HUSBANDS {<uwe)\ the shifts oie>i^ o>u^a>d, etc. (cf. §§5 and 10); 

 aaq a sleeve, aai<*aae his sleeves (^<(3HIs). 



Only two of the possessive suffixes have alternating forms dependent 

 on the word-stem to which they are to be added: 



First person, singular possessor; singular object possessed, abso- 

 lutive, ^a or ra 



Second person, singular possessor; singular object possessed, 

 relative tvit^ or rpit o\ ppit 



§27 



