| Tanite tekuak ush? Shakaikanit anite takuan. | Where is the boat? It’s on the lake. |
The locative noun shakaikan ‘lake’ in the above example is in the locative. The locative is marked by the suffix -it. It indicates location, direction, or position.
Sometimes the locative suffix is written and pronounced as -t or -ut, as in the following examples:
| Add only -t | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nipi | → | nipit | in the water |
| ashini | → | ashinit | on the rock |
| assi | → | assit | in/on the land |
| Final u is dropped | |||
| meshkanau | → | meshkanat | on the road, the trail |
| utenau | → | utenat | in town |
| Final u changes to i | |||
| shipu | → | shipit | in/on the river |
| pitshu | → | pitshit | in the gum |
| Raised u becomes u and -t is added | |||
| masseku | → | massekut | in the marsh |
| minishtiku | → | minishtikut | on the island |
To specify position or direction the locative noun can be combined with a particle of location, like: utat behind, pessish close to, shipa under, etc.
This page was adapted from Clarke, S. et MacKenzie, M. (2010): Labrador Innu-Aimun: an introduction to the Sheshatshiu dialect. Second edition. Department of Linguistics. Memorial University. (lesson 4, p.20)
Note: While place names and toponyms are often locative, their form in the Innu dictionary is never in the locative.