Rule #4
The basic sounds are the raw materials used in the formation of words. Not all sounds may begin or end a word.
With few exceptions, a word may only begin with one of the following sounds.
i u a p t k m n s q
A consonant group cannot begin a word. If a word begins with a consonant, the following sound has to be a vowel. A word may begin with a vowel group. Below are some examples illustrating those rules:
- i inuk, iivaa
- u ulluq, uujuq, ui
- a anaana, aana, aivaa, auka
- p panik, paani, pualuk
- t tasiq, tiirluk, taima
- k kina, kiinaq, kuanniq
- m mannik, maani
- n najak, naaq, niaquq
- s savik, suurlu, siaru
- q qanuq, qiiq, quaq
A word may only end with one of the following sounds.
i u a p t k q
A consonant group cannot end a word. If a word ends with a consonant, the preceding sound has to be a vowel. A word may end with a vowel group. Below are some examples illustrating those rules:
- i ani, ikkii, ilai
- u illu, urquu, aniu
- a una, takuvaa, taakkua
- p kinaup
- t takuvut, angutiit, inuit
- k nunavik, inuuk, auk
- q ittuq, annuraaq, tariuq
Nowadays in Nunavik, it has become quite common to mix up consonants at the end of words. There is also a tendency to add a consonant at the end of words that used to end with a vowel. In this work, we maintain the original sound at the end of words as much as possible.
Examples
- qimmiq (not
qimmik) comes from qingmiq (and before that from qikmiq) - utjuk (not
utjuq) comes from ugjuk (and before that from ugʐuk) - tuttu (not
tuttuk) comes from tuktu (and before that from tuntu) - illu (not
illuq) comes from iglu (and before that from englu)
