Avalonian

From Linguifex
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Avalonian
Navhatti Telkun
Pronunciation[ˈnɔ.xʷɔt.si ˈtʰɛl.kʊn]
Created byRebecca Ashling
Date2019
Native speakers44.2 million
Early forms
Pre-Avalonian
  • Old Avalonian
    • Middle Avalonian
      • Modern Avalonian
Avalonian © Rebecca Ashling 2019–2021. I assert that the Avalonian conlang presented here is my intellectual property and confirm that Linguifex may post this material on their site.

Avalonian (Aval: Navhatti Telkun) is a polysynthetic language of the affixal, scopal subtype. It has nominative-accusative morphosyntactic alignment with ergative morphology and canonical VSOX word order.

It is the majority language of the Avalonian Isles (Aval: Telku) and has approximately 44.2 million speakers. The Stannic Commonwealth of Avalon (Mag: Karatti Thaknat Anakte Telkun) comprises the entirety of the fictional islands of Hivarna (OTL: Newfoundland), Kalephū (OTL: Nova Scotia peninsula) and Ehanramit (OTL: Cape Breton Island).

In this timeline, Newfoundland, Cape Breton Island and the Nova Scotia peninsula ended up in the eastern side of the Atlantic after the breakup of Pangea and became the Avalonian Isles. The archipelago lies south-west of Ireland.

Along with Basque, Avalonian is one of two surviving Palaeo-European languages in Western Europe. It is a language isolate and not demonstrably related to any other language although certain scholars try to shoehorn it into one of the many language macrofamily hypotheses.

Avalonian does show much evidence of borrowing from an unknown Vasconic language although there is little or no evidence of reciprocal ancient Avalonian loans in Aquitanian or Basque.

There is also some evidence of borrowing from the putative Goidelic substrate languages. An example of this would be partaq 'crab'.

Inspiration

Avalonian grammar and morphology are strongly modelled on those of the Inuit and Yupik languages. Its phonology is to a great extent based on that of Pre-Exilic Quenya with some slight influence from Iñupiaq.


Ethnography

The Avalonians are members of the oft-perscuted European Pygmy phenotype which is believed to have originated in the ancient Hercynian forest zone of central Europe some 8,000 years ago. The preferred self-designation by members of the European Pygmy phenotype is Hercynians (Aval: Lūki Herkigyat).

History

Avalonian has four known historical stages:

1) Pre-Avalonian (500 BCE to 250 CE). Not directly attested and known from internal reconstruction and its treatment of ancient Vasconic loans. Koldo Mitxelena's work on Pre-Basque was critical for reconstructing Pre-Avalonian.

2) Old Avalonian (250 CE to 1000 CE). Directly attested from the 6th Century CE with the introduction of writing by Christian missionaries.

3) Middle Avalonian (1000 CE to 1500 CE). The period when Avalonian literacy began to come into its own.

4) Modern Avalonian (1500 CE to Present).The era of printing and mass literacy. The latest version of Modern Avalonian is described in this Linguifex article.


Phonology

Orthoɡraphy

General Remarks On Orthography

Avalonian had no native script until the arrival of missionary monks in the 6th Century CE. The Latin alphabet (Aval: Litērharti Ruman) has undergone many changes and revisions over the centuries. The current version was adopted in 1908.

Avalonian spelling in Litērharti Ruman is a deep orthography which reflects the language's etymological history and phonological processes such as sandhi. The letters ⟨b, c, d, f, g, o, s, w, x, y, z⟩ are not used, even to spell foreign names.

Avalonian Alphabet

Latin Letter IPA Value
⟨a⟩ /ɔ/
⟨ā⟩ /ɑʊ/
⟨e⟩ /ɛ/
⟨ē⟩ /aɪ/
⟨h⟩ /h/
⟨i⟩ /i/
⟨ī⟩ /eɪ/
⟨j⟩ /j/
⟨jh⟩ /xʲ/
⟨k⟩ /k/
⟨kh⟩ /x/
⟨kj⟩ /kxʲ/
⟨kv⟩ /kxʷ/
⟨l⟩ /l/
⟨lh⟩ /ɬ/
⟨lj⟩ /lʲ/
⟨lv⟩ /lʷ/
⟨m⟩ /m/
⟨mh⟩ /v/
⟨n⟩ /n/
⟨nh⟩ /z/
⟨nl⟩ /dɮ/
⟨nr⟩ /dʒ/
⟨p⟩ /p/
⟨ph⟩ /f/
⟨q⟩ /ŋ/
⟨qh⟩ /ɣ/
⟨qj⟩ /ɡɣʲ/
⟨qv⟩ /ɡɣʷ/
⟨r⟩ /ɹ̠/
⟨rh⟩ /ʃ/
⟨rj⟩ /ʒʲ/
⟨rv⟩ /ʒʷ/
⟨t⟩ /t/
⟨th⟩ /s/
⟨tl⟩ /tɬ/
⟨tr⟩ /tʃ/
⟨u⟩ /u/
⟨ū⟩ /oʊ/
⟨v⟩ /w/
⟨vh⟩ /xʷ/

Consonants

Avalonian has a total of 33 consonants which according to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Stucture is a moderately large inventory. The most striking features of the inventory, according to WALS are a voicing contrast in fricatives but not plosives, and the presence of lateral obstruents and the initial velar nasal. The consonants are displayed in the table below:

Labial Central Alveolar Lateral Alveolar Palatalised Lateral Alveolar Labialised Lateral Alveolar Palato-Alveolar Palatalised Palato-Alveolar Labialised Palato-Alveolar Plain Velar Palatalised Velar Labialised Velar Glottal
Plosive /p/ /t/ /k/
Voiceless Affricate /tɬ/ /tʃ/ /kxʲ/ /kxʷ/
Voiced Affricate /dɮ/ /dʒ/ /ɡɣʲ/ /ɡɣʷ/
Voiceless Fricative /f/ /s/ /x/
Voiced Fricative /v/ /z/ /ɣ/
Nasal /m/ /n/ /ŋ/
Voiced Liquid /l/ /lʲ/ /lʷ/ /ɹ̠/ /ʒʲ/ /ʒʷ/
Voiceless Liquid /ɬ/ /ʃ/
Voiced Semivowel /j/ /w/
Voiceless Semivowel /xʲ/ /xʷ/
Aspirate /h/

Vowels

Avalonian has a total of 8 vowels, 4 monophthongs and 4 diphthongs. According to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Structures Avalonian has 4 vowel qualities which is a small inventory. Avalonian has a consonant to vowel quality ratio of 8.25 which according to WALS is a high ratio. Avalonian is unusual for not possessing any low vowels such as /a/. Diphthongs are treated as phonological long vowels. The vowels are displayed in the table below:

Short Front Long Front Short Back Long Back
High /i/ /eɪ/ /u/ /oʊ/
Mid /ɛ/ /aɪ/ /ɔ/ /ɑʊ/

Allophony

1) /p, t, k/ are realised as [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] if in the onset of a stressed syllable.

2) /tɬ, tʃ, kxʲ, kxʷ/ are realised as [tɬʰ, tʃʰ, kxʲʰ, kxʷʰ/ if in the onset of a stressed syllable.

3) /ɹ̠/ is realised as [ʃ] in coda position before a voiceless onset.

4) /ɹ̠/ is realised as [ʒ] in coda position elsewhere.

5) /pp, tt, kk/ are realised as [pf, ts, kx].

6) /mm, nn, ŋŋ/ are realised as [mb, nd, ŋɡ].

7) /ll, ɹ̠ɹ̠/ are realised as [ld, ʒd].

8) In closed syllables /i, u/ are realised as [ɪ, ʊ].

Prosody

1) Words in Avalonian bear primary stress on the initial syllable.

2) Avalonian words bear secondary stress on every odd-numbered syllable following the initial syllable.

3) According to the World Atlas of Language Structures, the rhythm type of Avalonian is trochaic.

4) Avalonian is a stress-timed language with the uncommon quality for such a language of a lack of vowel reduction in unstressed syllables.

5) To an English speaker, Avalonian would appear to be spoken with a slower tempo than English is.

Phonotactics

1) The syllable template is CV(C). According to the World Atlas of Language Structures, this is a moderately complex syllable structure.

2) Permitted syllable coda consonants are:

/p, t, k, m, n, ŋ, l, ɹ̠/.

3) Consonant clusters may not have more than two segments.

4) Consonant clusters may only occur across syllable boundaries.

5) Permitted consonant clusters as per the table below:

P T K M N Q L R
P
T
K
TL
TR
KJ
KV
PH
TH
KH
M
N
Q
L
R
LH
RH
JH
VH

a) Latin orthography used for clarity.

b) First consonant of consonant cluster runs along be top of table, second consonant of consonant cluster runs down riɡht of table.

c) √ in a cell means the indicated consonant cluster is permitted.

6) /i, eɪ/ may not follow /kxʲ, ŋʲ, lʲ, ʒʲ, j, xʲ/.

7) /u, oʊ/ may not follow /kxʷ, ŋʷ, lʷ, ʒʷ, w, xʷ/.

8) /eɪ, aɪ/ may not precede /j/.

9) /oʊ, ɑʊ/ may not precede /w/.

10) Long vowels may not occur in closed syllables.

11) Long vowels may only occur before /f, s, x, v, z, ɣ, h/ or in morpheme-final position.

12) Vowel clusters do not occur.

13) Native roots are most often disyllabic.

14) Monosyllabic roots are uncommon and mainly comprise pronouns and certain common nouns and verbs.

15) Roots with more than two syllables are foreign loans and their syllabic templates generally become nativised over time.

16) Monosyllabic suffixes may have a word-final allomorph consisting of a single coda consonant which is employed after a short vowel.

Morphophonemics

Internal Sandhi

The effects of internal sandhi are indicated in the orthography.

Consonantal Sandhi

1) Consonant clusters resulting from suffixation undergo sandhi as per the table below:

P T K M N Q L R
pp tp kp mp mp mp lp rp P
pt tt kt nt nt nt lt rt T
pk tk kk qk qk qk lk rk K
ptl v̄tl ktl ntl ntl ntl v̄tl rtl TL
ptr v̄tr ktr ntr ntr ntr ltr v̄tr TR
pkj tkj v̄kj qkj qkj qkj lkj rkj KJ
pkv tkv v̄kv qkv qkv qkv lkv rkv KV
v̄tl v̄tl v̄tl v̄nl v̄nl v̄nl v̄nl v̄nl NL
v̄tr v̄tr v̄tr v̄nr v̄nr v̄nr v̄nr v̄nr NR
v̄kj v̄kj v̄kj v̄qj v̄qj v̄qj v̄qj v̄qj QJ
v̄kv v̄kv v̄kv v̄qv v̄qv v̄qv v̄qv v̄qv QV
pp v̄ph v̄ph mph mph mph v̄ph v̄ph PH
v̄th tt v̄th nth nth nth v̄th v̄th TH
v̄kh v̄kh kk qkh qkh qkh v̄kh v̄kh KH
v̄ph v̄ph v̄ph v̄mh v̄mh v̄mh v̄mh v̄mh MH
v̄th v̄th v̄th v̄nh v̄nh v̄nh v̄nh v̄nh NH
v̄kh v̄kh v̄kh v̄qh v̄qh v̄qh v̄qh v̄qh QH
pm tm km mm mm mm lm rm M
pn tn kn nn nn nn ln rn N
pq tq kq qq qq qq lq rq Q
v̄lh v̄tl v̄lh v̄nl v̄nl v̄nl ll ll L
v̄jh v̄jh v̄kj v̄qj v̄qj v̄qj v̄lj v̄lj LJ
v̄vh v̄vh v̄kv v̄qv v̄qv v̄qv v̄lv v̄lv LV
v̄jh v̄jh v̄kj v̄qj v̄qj v̄qj v̄rj v̄rj RJ
v̄vh v̄vh v̄kv v̄qv v̄qv v̄qv v̄rv v̄rv RV
v̄rh v̄tr v̄rh v̄nr v̄nr v̄nr rr rr R
v̄lh v̄tl v̄lh nlh nlh nlh v̄lh v̄lh LH
v̄rh v̄tr v̄rh nrh nrh nrh v̄rh v̄rh RH
v̄jh v̄jh v̄kj v̄qj v̄qj v̄qj lj rj J
v̄vh v̄vh v̄vh v̄qv v̄qv v̄qv lv rv V
v̄jh v̄jh v̄kj qjh qjh qjh v̄jh v̄jh JH
v̄vh v̄vh v̄kv qvh qvh qvh v̄vh v̄vh VH
v̄ph v̄th v̄kh v̄mh v̄nh v̄qh v̄lh v̄rh H

NOTES:

a) Latin script used for clarity.

b) First consonant of consonant cluster runs across top of table, second consonant of consonant cluster runs down riɡht of table.

c) The notation v̄ indicates the preceding vowel is lengthened.

2) If suffixation results in a consonant cluster with three consonants before sandhi can be applied then an epenthetic /i/ is inserted after the first consonant in that cluster.

Vocalic Sandhi

1) Vowel clusters resulting from suffixation undergo sandhi as per the table below:

I U E A Ī Ū Ē Ā
-q- -q- -q- -q- -j- -v- -j- -v- I
-q- -q- -q- -q- -j- -v- -j- -v- U
-q- -q- -q- -q- -j- -v- -j- -v- E
-q- -q- -q- -q- -j- -v- -j- -v- A
-q- -q- -q- -q- -j- -v- -j- -v- Ī
-q- -q- -q- -q- -j- -v- -j- -v- Ū
-q- -q- -q- -q- -j- -v- -j- -v- Ē
-q- -q- -q- -q- -j- -v- -j- -v- Ā

NOTES:

a) Latin script used for clarity.

b) First vowel of vowel cluster runs across top of table, second vowel of vowel cluster runs down right of table.

c) The notation -g- indicates an epenthetic /ŋ/ is inserted between the two vowels.

d) The notation -j- indicates an epenthetic /j/ is inserted between the two vowels.

e) The notation -v- indicates an epenthetic /w/ is inserted between the two vowels.

f) If the first vowel is long then it is reduced to its corresponding short vowel.

g) If the second vowel is either of /i, eɪ/ then it is lowered to its corresponding low vowel if it follows /j/.

h) If the second vowel is either of /u, oʊ/ then it is lowered to its corresponding low vowel if it follows /w/.

2) If /eɪ, aɪ/ precedes /j/ due to suffixation then they are reduced to [i, ɛ].

3) If /oʊ, ɑʊ/ precedes /w/ due to suffixation then they are reduced to [u, ɔ].

External Sandhi

1) The effects of external sandhi are not indicated in the orthography.

2) External sandhi only occurs between words within the same clause.

3) Between a word-final consonant and a word-initial consonant, an epenthetic /i/ is inserted.

4) Between a word-final vowel and a word-initial vowel, an epenthetic /ŋ/ is inserted.

Morphology

General Remarks On Morpholoɡy

1) The morphological cateɡories used in Avalonian are summarised in the table below:

Category Description Inflected?
Noun Nouns, pronouns, numerals Yes
Verb Verbs, many adjectives, adpositions Yes
Suffix These express adjunction, verbal modality, inflection or derivation No
Particle Conjunctions, some adverbs, interjections No

2) Avalonian is an affixal polysynthetic lanɡuaɡe and only one root per word is permitted.

3) Compoundinɡ of roots does not occur.

4) According to the World Atlas of Language Structures, Avalonian has a predominant preference for suffixinɡ.


Nominal Morphology

General Remarks On Nominal Morphology

1) Nouns indicate distinct entities. Nouns are inflected for number, possessor, demonstration or case.

2) Maximal nominal structure:

nominal or verbal root + derivational suffix(es) + number suffix + possessive suffix + demonstrative suffix + case suffix

Number

1) Avalonian nouns have two systems of number:

a) Singular-Plural

b) Collective-Singulative

2) Nouns within the singular-plural class are inherently singular and take the plural suffix to denote multiple instances.

3) Nouns within the collective-singulative class are inherently plural and take the singulative suffix to denote a single instance.

4) Avalonian grammatical numbers are summarised in the table below:

Number Abbreviation Suffix (Allomorph)
Singular SG -∅
Collective COL -∅
Plural PL -ra (-r)
Singulative SGV -me (-m)

NB: Parenthesised forms are word-final allomorphs employed after a short vowel.

Case

1) Case marks relationships between noun and noun or noun and verb.

2) Avalonian cases are summarised in the table below:

Case Abbreviation Suffix (Allomorph) Functions
Absolutive ABS -∅ a) Marks citation form of noun

b) Indicates O argument of a transitive verb

c) Marks S argument of an intransitive verb

Ergative ERG -nu (-n) a) Marks A argument of a transitive verb

b) Indicates the possessor

Equative EQU -te (-t) a) Marks subject complement of the copula

b) Indicates similarity of manner or appearance

c) Marks composition

d) Indicates source of comparison

Dative DAT -hē a) Marks beneficiary or recipient

b) Indicates intention

Instrumental INST -tik a) Marks tool or instrument

b) Indicates proximate causation

Comitative COM -kve a) Marks accompaniment

b) Indicates collaboration or common effort towards a goal

Locative LOC -ki (-k) a) Marks location in space or time

b) Indicates the possessor in 'have' constructions

Allative ALL -va a) Marks motion towards

b) Indicates until

c) Marks goal

Ablative ABL -jā a) Marks motion away from

b) Indicates since

c) Indicates aversion or opposition

Perlative PERL -am a) Marks motion through or along

b) Indicates duration or simultaneity

c) Marks mode or means of transportation or transmission

d) Indicates topic of conversation

e) Marks ultimate causation

NB: Parenthesised forms are word-final allomorphs employed after a short vowel.

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

1) Avalonian personal pronouns and their associated possessive suffixes are summarised in the table below:

Person Abbreviation Pronoun Possessive Suffix
1st Person Singular 1SG ni -nti
2nd Person Singular 2SG ki -kti
3rd Person Singular 3SG ti -tti
4th Person Sinɡular 4SG pi -pti
1st Person Paucal Exclusive 1PC EXCL nuk -ntuk
1st Person Paucal Inclusive 1PC INCL nikuk -niktuk
2nd Person Paucal 2PC kuk -ktuk
3rd Person Paucal 3PC tuk -ttuk
4th Person Paucal 4PC puk -ptuk
1st Person Plural Exclusive 1PL EXCL nat -ntat
1st Person Plural Inclusive 1PL INCL nikat -niktat
2nd Person Plural 2PL kat -ktat
3rd Person Plural 3PL tat -ttat
4th Person Plural 4PL pat -ptat

2) Clusivity is a relatively recent innovation in Avalonian and thus the inclusive pronouns and their possessive suffixes differ somewhat in form from the other paucal and plural pronouns.

3) Personal pronouns take case in the same manner as nouns.

Demonstrative Pronouns

1) Pronominal demonstratives are formed by adding the appropriate demonstrative suffix to the appropriate pronoun.

2) Adnominal demonstratives are suffices.

3) Adnominal demonstrative suffices are rarely used with core arguments except for emphasis.

4) The adnominal demonstrative suffices are displayed in the table below:

Distance Abbreviation Locus Of Application Adnominal Demonstrative Suffix
Proximal PROX Near speaker -in
Medial MED Near hearer -uk
Distal DIST Away from speaker and hearer -at
Emphatic Pronouns

Avalonian is a pro-drop language so any use of pronouns in the role of A, S or O arguments marks emphasis.

Reflexive Pronouns

1) Avalonian lacks reflexive pronouns.

2) For reflexivity to be indicated in the case of an O argument, both pronominal markers on the verb must have the same person and number.

3) For reflexivity to be indicated in the case of an X argument, the pronoun must have the same person and number as the ergative pronominal marker in the case of a transitive verb or the absolutive pronominal marker in the case of an intransitive marker

Interrogative Pronouns

1) There is one interroɡative pronoun: je 'who, what' which is undifferentiated for number.

2) All other interrogatives are built from this by adding the appropriate case. Eɡ: jek 'where?', jekve 'with whom?'

3) There is an interrogative pronominal possessive suffix: -jet 'whose?'.

4) Suffixing -je to a noun gives the sense of 'which?'.

5) The canonical word-order of Avalonian is VSOX. Interrogative pronouns or nouns taking an interrogative suffix violate this by being fronted to before the verb.

6) When an interrogative pronoun is used with a verb, the appropriate pronominal marker takes plural number.

Indefinite Pronouns

There is one indefinite pronoun: wahu 'somebody, something'. When placed before a noun it indicates the concept of 'any'. When used with a verb that verb uses plural agreement.

Negative Pronouns

There is one negative pronoun: tahu 'nobody, nothing'. When placed before a noun marks the concept of 'none'. When used with a verb that verb uses plural agreement.

Universal Pronouns

There is one universal pronoun: kal 'everybody, everything'. When placed before a noun in it indicates the concept of 'all' or 'each'. When used with a verb that verb uses plural agreement.

Possessive Constructions

1) If only pronouns are involved as the possessor then the possessum is marked with the appropriate possessive suffix.

2) If a noun is involved as the possessor then the possessum is marked with the appropriate suffix, most commonly 3rd or 4th person, and the possessor takes the ergative case.

Numerals

1) Avalonian uses a hybrid vigesimal-decimal system.

2) The numerals of Avalonian are listed in the table below:

Number Numeral
0 thera
1 pat
2 pik
3 ilur
4 kvevher
5 pārha
6 hi
7 haphi
8 hārhi
9 navan
10 ampar
11 amparpat
12 amparpik
13 amparilur
14 ampalkvevher
15 amparpārha
16 ampārhi
17 ampārhaphi
18 ampārhārhi
19 amparnavan
20 aki
40 pikaki
60 iluraki
80 kvevheraki
100 elun
200 pik elun
1.000 milya
1.965 milya navan elun iluraki pārha
3.000 ilur milya
10.000 ampar milya
50.000 pikaki ampar milya
100.000 elun milya
600.000 hi elun milya
1.000.000 milyan
7.000.000 haphi milyan

3) Numeral strings precede from left to right, highest exponent numerals first.

4) Numerals from 21 to 99 are formed by the appropriate vigesimal numeral plus the appropriate numeral from 1 to 19.

5) The decimal numerals from 100 and over are prefixed with a number from 1-9 as a multiplier.

6) Cardinal numerals precede the noun which takes the equative cases.

7) Ordinal numerals follow the noun and take the equative case. They take final position in the noun modifier string.

8) The numeral system bears a close resemblence to those used in Basque and Iberian. It is believed that it was loaned from a relative of Basque or Iberian spoken in pre-Celtic Gallaecia which places the latest limit on the loan at before 1300 BCE. The Avalonian Isles were a rich source of tin at the time which likely explains the borrowing.

Verbal Morphology

General Remarks On Verbal Morphology

1) Verbs express actions, processes or states of being. Verbs are inflected for A, S, and O arguments, aspect and mood.

2) Maximal verbal structure:

verbal or nominal root + derivational suffix(es) + aspect suffix + mood suffix + ergative pronominal suffix + absolutive pronominal suffix

Verbal Argument Suffixes

Person Abbreviation Absolutive Suffix (Allomorph) Ergative Suffix
1st Person Singular 1SG -ni (-n) -nti
2nd Person Singular 2SG -ki (-k) -kti
3rd Person Singular 3SG -ti (-t) -tti
4th Person Singular 4SG -pi (-p) -pti
1st Person Paucal Exclusive 1PC EXCL -nuk -ntuk
1st Person Paucal Inclusive 1PC INCL -nikuk -niktuk
2nd Person Paucal 2PC -kuk -ktuk
3rd Person Paucal 3PC -tuk -ntuk
4th Person Paucal 4PC -puk -ptuk
1st Person Plural Exclusive 1PL EXCL -nat -ntat
1st Person Plural Inclusive 1PL INCL -nikat -niktat
2nd Person Plural 2PL -kat -ktat 3rd Person Plural 3PL -tat -ttat
4th Person Plural 4PL -pat -ptat

NB: Parenthesised forms are word-final allomorphs employed after a short vowel.

Topicalisation

1) Avalonian lacks true grammatical voice although it does have a system of topicalisation in lieu.

2) In transitive verbs, topicalisation is indicated by the presence or absence of verbal pronominal suffices as per the table below:

Prominent Topic Ergative Suffix? Absolutive Suffix? Case Of Topic Argument
None Yes Yes ERG or ABS
A argument Yes No DAT
O argument No Yes INST

4) Topicalised A or O arguments are fronted to before the verb.

5) The S arguments of intransitive verbs never mark topic as they are either the topic or an X argument is elevated to topic.

6) Topicalised X argument phrases are fronted to before the verb.

7) Relativised verbs may not have topicalised arguments.

Mood and Modality

1) Avalonian has four formally marked moods. These are listed in the table below:


Mood Abbrevation Suffix Function
Indicative IND -∅ Declarative statements
Interrogative INT -kī Polar Questions
Conditional COND -ntu "If" statements
Coordinative COORD -tkā Marks an action going on at the same time as another action.

2) Other distinctions of modality are conveyed by several derivational suffixes.

Negation

1) Negation is indicated by the particle tā. This precedes the verb.

2) tā can occur independently, having the meaning 'no!' or 'don't!".

The Imperative And Prohibitive

1) The imperative indicates that an order to perform an action is made. The base form of the verb marks the imperative.

2) The prohibitive marks that an order to not perform an action is made. The prohibitive is formed by placing the negative particle tā before the base form of the verb.

Tense

Avalonian lacks tense as a grammatical category. However, tense-like functions are provided by several derivational suffixes.

Aspect

1) Avalonian has two aspects. These are listed in the table below:

Name Abbreviation Suffix Function
Imperfective IPFV -∅ Indicates an ongoing action
Perfective PFV -lle Marks a completed action

2) Other aspectual distinctions can be conveyed by several derivational suffixes.

The Gerund

1) The gerund uses the suffix -ken which is added in lieu of pronominal ergative or absolutive suffixes

2) It transforms the verb into a noun which can be used much as any noun can.

Participles

Avalonian lacks participles and uses a relativised verb.

Adverbs

1) Avalonian lacks true adverbs.

2) Forms conveying adverbial meanings appear in three classes:

a) A noun in equative case following a verb.

b) Several derivational suffixes with adverbial meanings attached to the verb.

Relativisation

1) Avalonian lacks relative pronouns and uses gap relativisation.

2) A relativised clause follows the noun it modifies.

Other Parts Of Speech

Adjectives

1) Avalonian lacks true adjectives.

2) Forms conveying advectival functions occur in three classes:

a) A closed class of nominal suffixes with adjectival meanings.

b) A noun taking the equative case and following the referent.

c) A relativised verb.

Adpositions

1) Avalonian lacks true adpositions.

2) It does have three classes of adposition-equivalents:

a) The non-core cases which have adpositional functions but are often quite general in their application.

b) Relativised stative verbs with an adpositional sense which are more specific in application than cases.

c) Suffixes on the verb.

Derivational Suffixes

1) There are hundreds of derivational suffixes in Avalonian and they fall into the following types:

a) Denominalisers

b) Deverbalisers

c) Attributive

d) Adverbial

e) Miscellaneous

2) Denominalisers turn a noun into a verb.

3) Derverbalisers turn a verb into a noun.

4) Attributives add a descriptive sense to nouns and verbs.

4) Adverbials impart various temporal and locative meanings to verbs

5) Miscellaneous suffixes change the meaning of nouns and verbs without changing their classes.

Syntax

Constituent order

1) The canonical word order of Avalonian is VSOX. This is detailed as follows:

verb phrase + agent phrase or subject phrase + object phrase + oblique phrase

2) Topicalisation or wh-fronting may front one of the agent , the subject, the object or the oblique phrases to before the verb.

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Lexicon

Nouns

English Avalonian
amber verhu
apple hakar
automobile karpat
Avalonian Isles Telku
Avalonian Penny tenar
Avalonian Pound (currency) lirhu
Avalonians kammir
badger wekpek
banana mhanana
bear kārha
bee aral
beer hurmi
beryl larhin
billy goat ahar
bird hari
black tea trā
blackbird haha
boar hārha
boat kilya
borax itte
boy tunni
bread aki
Britain (island) alpigan
brother larin
bridge hilta
bull āhan
butter ampan
cart, wagon kurti
cat kattu
cheese kathan
cheetah trita
chicken, hen jara
chip, French fry trip
coal munra
cockerel, rooster haljak
cow pigi
celebration lipta
child lāphi
chill, coldness pelē
chocolate trakalat
clitoris tāra
coffee kaphe
community, group qara
copper wēke
cost, price lhitu
crab hārhag
cultivated field heli
dagger ērha
darkness vallu
ditch lhata
dog kipmik
doll nugwak
duck lakka
dwarf (mythological) takal
eel ninrak
elf eyak
face lurti
father atta
fellow nihan
finger karak
finger-ring nakha
fire, flames qhārhu
flower lvetta
foot (anatomy) īhak
football phutpal
foreigner kihan
fort rhīkhi
forest nuna
fox hintak
garden rhūha
garlic rhema
gay person
girl lirha
glass (substance) lagya
goat anū
god uttak
gold urra
good fortune anak
grain qalle
grandfather anra
grandmother avha
grape panā
green tea
guinea pig kamhē
hand arkak
head nahuk
heartbeat tuntun
horns valluk
horse halti
deer tunta
house enlu
human being hamin
human right, need for autonomy mēran
ice hilku
idiot nalla
Indian Ocean Innik
internet uggutti janukennu
Ireland (island) Hivarjan
iron harna
island hāri
king tanek
lady anter
land, country tela
language navha
letter, word liter
life mūge
liquor traju
liver kapil
lord antā
stag munnu
man janak
mouse luhā
milk ahan
money thalir
month ille
moon ille
mountain kaja
mother amma
net, web ugga
night natar
nitre irkun
orange naran
otter hirta
pasture larre
penis nhanner
people, folk, nation lūki
pig urti
pillow ajen
pistol ērha ghārhut
plough kalta
puppet ithal
rabbit keppa
rain bakan
ram, male sheep anri
rib (anatomy) thela
rifle elhā ghārhut
road vige
rock karra
room kanra
salt rhūne
sea īthā
shadow keppet
sheep arti
silver hirra
sister kalū
sky lāhi
slave, thrall nhaka
soft drink kigkatpitkal
Spain Hiphagja
spear elhā
spouse melki
stallion halluk
star kakhā
stone (substance) karra
sugar thukar
sun rhahā
sword ghiqak
tavern pūni
temple turup
thing latpu
throne tronu
thumb kulhu
tin (metal) thakna
trans person tranthi
tree rhugē
vampire (European) vampir
voice navha
vulva villū
war hāghat
water ninta
wheel raha
wind hvethut
wolf lhajhu
woman kimet
world hanra
zebra therha

Verbs

English Avalonian
aggravate, irritate trummu
be awake alwin
be beautiful wata
be beneath, be under uggu
be between, be among janu
be brave tathak
be cold hekal
be crazy enni
be diseased narun
be English hākha
be free, have freedom elē
be good iktū
be green latha
be important qaran
be kind taara
be named haltran
be sad ewē
be thirsty arwaa
be wicked truke
bind netak
bite kalka
blame kāma
bring kamha
bully, dog, harry nipmin
burn something lhirhak
carouse tijam
choose kiimi
die hirhu
discuss kenja
dream alar
drink kigkat
drive, strike rhanka
eat matu
enjoy tajak
examine nara
exist na
fade miki
fight jhunni
find rinnil
flee quktee
go palka
hate waren
hear lhaathi
help qalma
howl nawa
hunt rhikar
jump, leap phatte
kill utpa
know iktē
laugh lalha
learn qitta
like tajak
love kimje
meet ānhim
merit irhu
return tuli
rule malik
see hintu
sleep qikna
tell penta
urinate qurhuk
wander wilte
wane miki
weave kumuu

Suffixes

English Avalonian
agentive nominaliser -juk
allow, let, permit -hvim
always -utkū
be big -pkak
be black, be dressed in black, be brown-haired -kthat
be filled with -havit
be good -tara
be grey, be dressed in grey, be grey-haired, be old -litta
be hungry -karā
be lean, be skinny, be underfed -tīla
be red, be dressed in red, be red-haired -rutta
be required to -mimmi
be white, be dressed in white, be fair-haired -karik
can -nnus
cute, sickly sweet, small, twee -tkal
for a time -tpi
forever -qyup
from mud, using mud -maru
group of things -kalve
have a nostalgic quality -yāri
have an urge to -kavhit
intend to -nnep
instrumental nominaliser -tpet
just now -tukhe
must -mithu
need -lyū
oblique nominaliser -kmhit
possibly -nē
result of a process -thul
so it is said -kpenta
still, nonetheless -jū
subjective/objective nominaliser -pin
through, piercing -knut
to be -mmek
to cause -tuva
to do -tuva
to have -min
to make -tuwa
to regret -qevē
to seem, to be like mhe
tomorrow -yerhe
truly -qathan
under -nnu
undo, negate -nhir
very -pkak
yesterday -lanti

Particles

English Avalonian
and (connects clauses) yam
and (connects nouns) nu
but yam
many (emphatic) rim

Example texts

Other resources