243 



In short, the original forms of these words have been 

 preserved in Greenlandic in the nominative (absolutive), where 

 the stem always agrees with the stem of the corresponding 

 word in the West Eskimo dialects. But uvularization has been 

 at work in many, if not in all of the inflected forms of 

 these words. — We have the same case in various verbal 

 derivations*). 



Retrogressive uvularization, then, appears in Green- 

 landic in the following cases : 



1) in the formation of the plural of certain nouns, all of 

 Avhich end in q in the nominative (nominal g'-stems) and 

 accordingly have stress on the last syllable, for example: 

 [aVeq], name, plur. ['arg'eY]. Compare the regular formation of 

 the plural as in iX'O^ house, plur. iX'ut] inuk, huniau being, 

 plur. inuit (with about equal stress on all the syllables). 

 N.B. Not a few nouns end in q without being acted upon by 

 any uvularization, as for example: uyk'oq^ day, plur. u*'X'ut] 

 i'^H'uq^ steep declivity, plur. i^wcit] crta'q, harp-seal (phoca groen- 

 landica), plur. a'tci't; nufaq^ hair, plur. nut'^at, and several 

 others. 



2) in the genitive singular of the same nouns: \aVeq], 

 gen. {'arqup] or ['аг^'гр]; cf. the regular ik'O, gen. iÅ-up; inuk, 

 gen. inu'i). 



3) in the following forms of the possessive inflexion of 

 the same rouns: 2, 3 and 4 pers. sing, and 3 pers. plur. of 

 the nominative singular of the noun ; 3 pers. sing, and plur. of 

 the nominative plural of the noun ; 3 pers. sing, and plur. of 

 the genitive of the noun; for example: 



*) Kleinschmidt has ingeniously appreciated and made use of this feature 

 in arranging the words in his dictionary. If we want to itnow the 

 meaning of or на, we have to look it up under ипек; if we want to 

 know the meaning of crumHcq (drinking-vessel) or ermipu' (washes his 

 face), we have to look it up under гтек (water) etc. Cf. his Grammar 

 g 7 and g 31. 



16* 



