Betydningsindhold for det verbale suffiks -galuar i moderne vestgrønlandsk

Abstract

In this paper I examine the meaning expressed by the verbal suffix -galuar in modern West Greenlandic, a polysynthetic language with complex word-internal morphology. To examine -galuar, I have analyzed every occurrence of this suffix throughout Niviaq Korneliussen’s novel Naasuliardarpi (2020). On the basis of 364 occurrences in total, I identify the following meanings expressed by -galuar in combinations with other affixes and an array of moods: Epistemic modality (hypothetical scenario), deontic modality (‘should’), boulomaic modality (regret/annoyance), provocation (disbelief), polite inquiry, factual situations in mutual
opposition, and finally the meaning ‘in vain’. I find that the scope of -galuar is usually sentential and that in all combinatory constructions -galuar adds the meaning of something unrealized. Therefore, I suggest that -galuar should be regarded
as a modal marker of irrealis or potentialis. I then go on to discuss whether the different meanings expressed through uses of -galuar should be categorized as polysemy of -galuar, or if the diversity of possible meanings is instead a symptom
of a highly abstract meaning of -galuar. Preferring the latter point of view, I discuss whether -galuar should be regarded as lexical or grammatical in modern West Greenlandic.