This grammar provides a clear and comprehensive overview of contemporary West Greenlandic. It follows a systematic order of topics beginning with the alphabet and phonology, continuing with nominal and verbal morphology and syntax, and concluding with more advanced topics such as complex sentences and word formation. Grammatical points are illustrated with authentic examples reflecting current life in Greenland. Grammatical terminology is explained fully for the benefit of readers without a background in linguistics.
Features include:
Full grammatical breakdowns of all examples for ease of identifying individual components of complex words.
A detailed contents list and index for easy access to information.
An alphabetical list of the most commonly used West Greenlandic suffixes.
A glossary of grammatical abbreviations used in the volume.
The book is suitable for a wide range of users, including independent and classroom-based learners of West Greenlandic, as well as linguists and anyone with an interest in Greenland’s official language.
By:
Lily Kahn,
Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 660g
ISBN: 9781138063709
ISBN 10: 1138063703
Series: Routledge Essential Grammars
Pages: 342
Publication Date: 22 September 2021
Audience:
College/higher education
,
General/trade
,
Primary
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1. Introduction 1.1. Greenlandic within the Eskimo-Aleut language family 1.2. Greenlandic language varieties 1.3. Historical and sociolinguistic introduction to West Greenlandic 1.3.1. Early history of Greenlandic 1.3.2. History of written West Greenlandic 1.3.3. Contemporary West Greenlandic 1.3.4. Aspects of Greenlandic culture 1.4. Characteristic features of West Greenlandic 1.5. How to use this grammar 1.5.1. Overall approach 1.5.2. Dictionary forms of words 1.5.3. Additive and truncative suffixes 1.5.4. Examples of grammatical points 1.5.5. Glossing 2. Phonology and orthography 2.1. The alphabet 2.2. Vowels 2.3. Consonants 2.4. Syllables, stress, and intonation 2.5. Morphophonological variation 2.5.1. Consonant changes 2.5.2. Vowel changes 2.5.3. Helping vowel ‑i‑ 2.5.4 Loss of glides (j and v) 2.5.5 Stem types 2.5.6. Sound alternation in the beginning of suffixes 2.6. Kleinschmidt’s orthography 3. Nouns 3.1. Case and number 3.2. Noun stem types 3.3. Function of cases 3.4. Possessive inflection 3.4.1. Possessive absolutive 3.4.2. Possessive relative 3.4.3. Possessive allative 3.4.4. Possessive locative 3.4.5. Possessive ablative 3.4.6. Possessive instrumental 3.4.7. Possessive prolative 3.4.8. Possessive equative 3.5. Collective suffixes 4. Pronouns 4.1. Personal 4.2. Demonstrative 4.3. Interrogative 4.4. Reflexive 4.5. Reciprocal 4.6. Other 5. Numerals 5.1. Cardinal 5.2. Ordinal 6. Noun modification (= adjectives) 6.1. Attributive modifiers 6.2. Predicative modifiers 6.3. Comparison 6.3.1. Comparative 6.3.2. Superlative 7. Verbs 7.1. Person and number 7.1.1. Subject suffixes 7.1.2. Object suffixes 7.2. Mood 7.2.1. Independent/main moods 7.2.2. Subordinate moods 7.3. Tense 7.3.1. Present tense 7.3.2. Past tense 7.3.3. Future tense 7.4 Aspect 7.4.1. Completed 7.4.2. Habitual 7.4.3. Inchoative 7.5. Modality 7.6. Evidentiality 7.7. Causativity 7.8. Reflexivity and reciprocity 7.8.1. Reflexivity 7.8.2. Reciprocity 7.9. Passivity 7.10. Valency 7.11. Negation 7.11.1. Basic negative suffixes 7.11.2. Negative suffixes with more specific meanings 7.11.3. Negative intransitive participle 7.11.4. Negative indefinite pronouns and adverbs 7.11.5. Periphrastic negative constructions 8. Participles 8.1. Intransitive participle 8.2. Passive participle 8.3. Abstract participle 9. Adverbs 9.1. Manner 9.2. Time 9.3. Place and direction 9.4. Degree, measure, and quantity 9.5. Modal 9.6. Interrogative 10. Postpositions 10.1. Place and direction 10.2. Time 10.3. Other 11. Conjunctions 11.1. Coordinating 11.2. Subordinating 12. Particles 12.1. Discourse particles and interjections 12.2. Enclitic particles 13. Suffixes 13.1. Suffix types 13.2. Order of suffixes 14. Phrases, clauses, and sentences 14.1. Basic word order 14.2. Incorporation 14.2.1. Incorporated predicative 14.2.2. Incorporated direct object 14.2.3. Incorporated noun in oblique cases 14.3. Definiteness 14.4. Clause types 14.4.1. Copular 14.4.2. Intransitive 14.4.3. Transitive 14.4.4. Half-transitive 14.4.5. Double transitive 14.4.6. Existential 14.4.7. Possessive 14.4.8. Impersonal 14.4.9. Interrogative 14.5. Complex sentences 14.5.1. Adverbial 14.5.2. Relative 14.5.3. Complement 15. List of essential suffixes Suggested resources Index
Lily Kahn is Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Languages at University College London (UCL). Her research areas include endangered and minority languages, as well as translation studies. She is co-editor with Riitta-Liisa Valijarvi of two UCL Press book series, Grammars of World and Minority Languages and Textbooks of World and Minority Languages. Riitta-Liisa Valijarvi is Associate Professor of Finnish and Minority Languages at UCL and Senior Lecturer in Finnish and Finno-Ugric Languages at Uppsala University, Sweden. Her research interests include endangered and minority languages, language pedagogy, and song lyrics. Relevant publications include Finnish Tutor (2017) and North Sami: An Essential Grammar (with Lily Kahn; Routledge, 2017).
