Another Greenlandic Song – Ukiut Qaangiuttut by Zikaza
Time for another song! I’ll dedicate this one to @pileqqaaq (formerly @enchantingfoxsong) who bravely offered solutions for my Revision Challenge.
This one is a love ballad by Greenlandic rock band Zikaza and I believe it is quite well-known. Hat-tip to @nonenglishsongs for bringing this song to my attention here and on Youtube here.
—
Ukiut qaangiupput, asasak,
eqqaalerattali ilaa,
uannut ullut qaningaaramik.
Tunissutit paaraakka,
Qamani ukiuni pereersuni,
ilinnik tunniussat angisuut.
Illimmi kisivit suli pilluartikkamma ah ah.
Saninnut piuarlutit sissuertaramma.
Ilumut, ilumut, kisivit, kisivit,
ilumut kisivit asavagit.
Ukiut qaangiuttut, asasak,
eqqaaleraangakkit ila,
ilinnut assut qujasarpunga.
Pisuussutit pigaakka
qamani inuunermi tunisisut
uannit pilluaammik aatsisut.
Illimmi kisivit suli pilluartikkamma ah ah
Saninnut piuarlutit sissuertaramma.
Ilumut, ilumut, kisivit, kisivit,
ilumut kisivit asavagit.
—
Vocabulary
ukioq – year. Plural ukiut. Also appearing later with -ni being the plural form of the -mi/-ni locative case ending: in.
qaangiu-* - to be past, to be over. Here with indicative mood form, 3rd person plural, qaangiupput are past. See later also the same root appears as qaangiuttut (as in the name of the song) for the same verb in the participial mood, meaning roughly “which have gone past”.
asa- - to love
–saq passive noun affix: one which has been [verbed]. So asasaq means [one’s] beloved, asasara my beloved, and asasak is I think another pet name for the one’s darling, using a suffix –k used in exclamations.
eqqaa- - to remember (eqqaavaa - he/she remembers it)
-ler- - start to do something
-ratta - intransitive causative mood, 1st person plural: [when/because] we [verb]-ed.
-li – but
ilaa – usually acts as a question tag with declarative sentences: _…, isn’t it? …, weren’t we? _ But I think here following the causative mood it probably just adds a bit of emphasis like “you know”, and ila (which appears later) is an alternative form.
uannut – to me, from uanga I + -nut to(wards)
ulloq – day. Plural form ullut
qani- - to be close
-ngaarmat – (because) it is so (very) … [emphatic]. This expression is used in the causative mood. Here with –ramik being the intransitive form, 4th person plural in the causative mood, reflecting plural ullut days. The 4th person is used in subordinate clause verbs where the subject is 3rd person but the same as the main clause. If the subject of the subordinate clause is different, then the 3rd person is used in the subordinate clause verb. This is similar to the distinction between hans/hendes and sin/sit in Danish (and the other Scandinavian languages) but only applies to the third person. That said, here the subject of the subordinate clause (ullut) is different to the main clause (uagut we), but according to Fortescue (section 1.5.2.3) this is possible where the subordinate clause is within the “scope” of the main clause, or there is the same “psychological” subject (or focus), i.e. you and I reminisce, and the days are close to me. That’s my take on this in any event.
tuni- – to give. With –ssut cause or reason for, giving tunissut gift, here with plural ending –it giving gifts.
paaraa – he/she looks after him/her/it. Note that –raa is a shortened form of –rivaa. Here with the full transitive ending would be –rivakka (but is shortened to –raakka) being the transitive indicative form 1st person singular subject, 3rd person plural object: I [verb] them. Note that the base form of Greenlandic verbs can be understood as having both present and past meaning, and in this case I translated it as being a past meaning: I looked after them
qamani – either in there or out there, depending on whether you are currently out or in respectively, i.e. in the opposite location to where one is. I wonder here if it means “in here, inside” i.e. in one’s heart.
ukiuni pereersuni – in years past. ukioq year + -ni in, plural: ukiuni - in the years. pereersuni comprised of pi- (pe- before –r-) which is a “dummy” root having no specific meaning or just denoting a generic thing, action or event. Followed by –reer- already and –soq – intransitive participial mood form, 3rd person singular, roughly meaning “(one) which [does verb]”. And plural locative form –ni is added, since the word is in apposition to ukiuni and takes the same number and case. So taken together: ukiuni pereersuni – in the years (which) already [happened]
ilinnik = illit you + -nik instrumental case, by, with, more specifically…, and which in this case modifies the following noun tunniussat
tunniu*- - to give / hand over (something to somebody)
-saq – passive noun fix as above. Here as –ssaq because of the geminating ending of tunniu-* giving [ilinnik] tunniussat “things which were given [by you]” i.e. your gifts, presents.
angisooq – large, plural form angisuut
illimmi = illit you + emphatic particle +mi,which unlike the locative case ending –mi does not elide a previous consonant but merges with it.
kisi- - alone. This is combined with a personal ending (in the relative case) to give kisima me alone, kisivit you alone kisiat him/her alone etc.
suli – still, yet
pilluar- to be happy
-ti*- causative suffix, to make something happen, to make someone do something.
-(k)kamma/-gamma/-ramma – transitive causative mood, 2nd person singular subject, 1st person singular object: [when/because] you [verb][-ed] me
saninnut – to my side formed from sani- side + -v- (truncated 1st person singular ending) + -nut. Note that saninnut can also mean _to your side _formed from sani- + -t- + -nut. The process of consonant assimilation has merged these two words. Under the old orthography (pre 1973) the difference was retained in writing at least, but not in speech.
piuar- - come stealthily up to, sidle up to
-lutit – 2nd person singular, intransitive contemporative mood: [while] you [verb]
sissuer- to notice
-tar-/-sar- marks habitual action, something done regularly
ilumut – really
asavagit = asavakkit – I love you
-raang-/-gaang-/-kkaang- this is an alternative form of the causative mood that denotes “whenever / every time” so eqqaaleraangakkit every time I remember you
assut – very much, a lot
quja- to thank, to be grateful (as in qujanaq – thanks) + -sar- referred to above + -punga I [do]
pisooq – rich, with –ssut cause/result of + -it plural gives pisuussutit resources
pigaa – he/she owns it; it is his/hers
inuu- - to live, with verbal noun ending –neq gives inuuneq life, here in the locative case inuunermi
tunisisut – formed from tuni- give + –si- “half-transitive” marker (removes the transitive nature of tuni-, so it just relates to the act of giving and not the object given) + -soq participial mood (here in the plural form –sut) often meaning “one who [verbs]”. So collectively meaning perhaps “those who give/sacrifice”
uannit = uanga I + -nit ablative case, by / from
pilluaat – happiness
aatsisut – I believe this is formed from aa- bring someone something (aappaa* he/she brings him/her something), followed by –tsi- an alternative form of the “half-transitive” marker above (after the strong -- ending), and the same –soq* (plural –sut) as above, meaning perhaps “[are] those who bring”
—
Translation
The years have gone by, my love,
but isn’t it when we start to reminisce,
that the days are so close to me.
I looked after the gifts,
here in my heart, in the years gone by,
the great gifts you gave me.
It’s you alone who still makes me happy
when you notice me and you sidle up to me.
Really, really, you alone, you alone,
I really love you and you alone.
The years gone by, my love,
whenever I start to remember you,
I’m enormously grateful for you.
I had resources [but]
here in my heart those people in my life who gave
were the ones that brought happiness.
It’s you alone who still makes me happy
when you notice me and you sidle up to me.
Really, really, you alone, you alone,
I really love you and you alone.
—
I’m not 100% sure on the accuracy of my translation on a couple of points (although hopefully I’ve provided the overall gist well enough), so I’d be very grateful if any native speakers or other learners have any corrections or observations!
