Nominalizations in Naskapi: Production and Inflection (original) (raw)

Like other languages in the Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi continuum, one very productive means employed to form new words in Naskapi is the process referred to as nominalization. Essentially, this is accomplished by adding a kaaprefix to a verb inflected for conjunct indicative neutral, third person singular. Although kaais homophonous with the prefix that marks a conjunct verb as past reference, Lynn Drapeau (1978:214) points out that in Montagnais this kaafunctions as a relative particle referring to an antecedent, meaning roughly 'the one who...' or 'the thing that...', forming a relative clause. A s in Montagnais, it is from these relative conjunct verbs that Naskapi nominalizations arise, when they are lexicalized as nouns by the speech community. Once thus lexicalized, nominalizations function syntactically as nouns and are (for the most part) inflected as nouns: