249 



The last луогаз, then, all have a peculiarity which dis- 

 tinguishes them from maJih\ they are namely ^-sterns in the 

 present language. But aside from this, is not the case with 

 these plural forms the same as the case with Gr. maÅ'it, which 

 in the M. dialect had the form malcepit [таЫрЩ , but in the 

 singular had the form malik in both dialects? 



That the longer form from the JVl. dialect represents an 

 older stage than the Greenlandic form, and that this stage has 

 at one time been represented in the latter dialect also as far 

 as these words are concerned seems to be evident not only on 

 comparing the forms of the M. dialect, but also on comparing 

 the many other words in the present Greenlandic language 

 that form their plural in an exactly corresponding manner, namely 

 by the simple addition of the plural-suffix to the singular form. 

 I shall here give some examples of this formation, classifying 

 them according as the final consonant of the base-form is or 

 is not subjected to change when the ending is added: 



Щ unchanged : merqut needle, plur. merqutit\ шца male, man, 

 plur. ariutit] up'cd thigh, plur. up'atit. 



\t > s] : crivXd'it shooting weapon, plur. crivAd-csit', iX'it a 

 board in the stump-bed, plur. i):isit\ more'rsit grindstone, plur. 

 mofe-rsisit. 



\q > r] : ikeq bay, plur. ikerit ; tikeq forefinger, plur. tikerit ; 

 sûieq boot-laces, plur. soient] karieq promontory, plur. ксщеги] 

 ü'ueq a burn, plur. u'nerit] iX'eq stump-bed, plur. ik'erit] päweq 

 he-reindeer; plur. pdwerit] nerXeq a goose, plur. ner?,erit. 



[Ä:>*g>^]: кр-гк owl, plur. ггр'г^г^ ; ^у^-гХ' big loon, plur. 

 tu'Å'iilit', kiX'ik boundary, limit, plur. kiÀ'c^it; as'ik picture, plur. 



So I consider this mode of forming the plural to be more 

 original than the mode first taken up (malik, plur. maX'it). 



I have a few remarks a propos of the last examples. The 

 transition from к to /^ has more probably taken place through 

 an unnasalized <j than at one bound. I conclude this from a 



