The distinction between the stems nekatsh- [nekâtsh-] meaning ‘misery’ and nikatsh [nîkâtsh-] meaning ‘slowness’ exists only for speakers of the MAMIT dialect. For speakers from Pessamit and Uashat (Western dialects), nikatsh- does not exist and its meaning is added to that of the stem nekatsh-.

In the dictionary, for MAMIT, there are verbs with nikatsh- (meaning ‘slowness’) and verbs with nekatsh- (meaning ‘misery’). For Western dialects, there is only the form nekatsh- but the definitions include both meanings, ‘slowness’ and ‘misery’.

The differences in the definitions of these verbs therefore correspond to two large dialectal areas: MAMIT and WESTERN.

[answer compiled by the Comité Tshakapesh-Innu Dictionary editorial team, 2022]