Avalonian

Hesperian is spoken on an island west of the of the British Isles but is not geographically or geologically part of them.

Phonology

Orthoɡraphy

Hesperian is written in its own native alphabet derived from an older, featural abugida. The script is written from left to right and is unicameral. The spelling of Hesperian is phonemic although it does change to reflect the effects of morphophonology. j

Hesperian Alphabet:

Hesperian Letter	IPA Value	Preferred Latin Transliteration
⟨o⟩	/h/	⟨h⟩
⟨ɵ⟩	/b/	⟨b⟩
⟨ɔ⟩	/m/	⟨m⟩
⟨c⟩	/w/	⟨w⟩
⟨v⟩	/t/	⟨t⟩
⟨ʌ⟩	/d/	⟨d⟩
⟨x⟩	/n/	⟨n⟩
⟨z⟩	/tɬ/	⟨r⟩
⟨ɴ⟩	/dɬ/	⟨l⟩
⟨ə⟩	/cç/	⟨q⟩
⟨e⟩	/ɟʝ/	⟨x⟩
⟨n⟩	/k/	⟨k⟩
⟨u⟩	/j/	⟨y⟩
⟨h⟩	/i/	⟨i⟩
⟨ɥ⟩	/ɛ/	⟨e⟩
⟨b⟩	/u/	⟨u⟩
⟨q⟩	/ɑ/	⟨a⟩
⟨doubled vowel letter⟩	/vowel length/	⟨macron over vowel letter⟩

Consonants

Hesperian has a total of 13 consonants which according to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Stucture is a small inventory. The most striking features of the inventory are, according to WALS, the lack of /p, ɡ/, the absence of phonemic fricatives and the presence of lateral obstruents. The consonants are displayed in the table below:

	Labial	Central Alveolar	Lateral Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Voiceless Stop		/t/	/tɬ/	/cç/†	/k/
Voiced Stop	/b/	/d/	/dɮ/	/ɟʝ/†
Nasal	/m/	/n/
Semivowel	/w/			/j/
Transition						/h/

†The palatal stops are retracted in Hesperian so they sound somewhat like /kxʲ, ɡɣʲ/

Vowels

Hesperian has a total of 8 vowels. It has 4 vowel qualities. According to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Structures this is a small vowel quality inventory. Hesperian has a consonant to vowel quality ratio of 4.00 which according to WALS is an average ratio. Despite the long vowels beinɡ phonetically diphthongs they are phonologically long vowels. The vowels are displayed in the table below:

	Short Front	Long Front	Short Back	Long Back
Hiɡh	/i/	/eɪ/	/u/	/oʊ/
Low	/ɛ/	/aɪ/	/ɑ/	/aʊ/

Allophony

1) Voiceless stops are aspirated in word-initial position.

2) /ts, dz/ are realised as [s, z] when the first segment of a syllable onset cluster.

3) /cç, ɟʝ/ are realised as [ʃ, ʒ] when the first segment of a syllable onset cluster.

4) /cç, ɟʝ/ are realised as [tʃ, dʒ] in coda position.

5) /n/ is realised as [ŋ] in coda position.

6) /ɹ/ is realised as [s] in coda position before a voiceless onset.

7) /ɹ/ is realised as [z] in coda position elsewhere.

8) /h/ is realised as [x] when the first segment of a syllable onset cluster.

9) /h/ is realised as [kx] in onset position after a coda consonant.

10) The consonant cluster /nw/ is realised as [ŋw].

Prosody

1) Hesperian words bear primary stress on the initial syllable.

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

3) Rhythm type is trochaic.

4) Hesperian is spoken with a slower tempo than English is.

Phonotactics

1) The syllable template is (C)(C)V(C).

2) Permitted syllable codas are:,

/t, ts, cç, k, b, d, dz, ɟʝ, m, n, ɹ, l/

3) Consonant clusters may not occur in the syllable coda.

4) Only syllable onset consonant clusters may occur in word-initial position.

5) Consonant clusters may not have more than two seɡments.

6) Permitted consonant clusters are summarised in table below:

/t/	/tʃ/	/k/	/b/	/d/	/dʒ/	/m/	/n/	/ɹ/	/l/	/h/
	√	√				√	√	√			/t/
		√				√	√	√	√		/tʃ/
√	√					√	√	√	√		/k/
				√	√	√	√	√	√		/b/
			√	√		√	√	√	√		/d/
			√			√	√	√	√		/dʒ/
√	√	√	√	√	√		√	√	√		/m/
√	√	√	√	√	√	√		√	√		/n/
√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√	√			√*	/ɹ/
√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√	√			√*	/l/
√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	√*	/w/
			√			√	√	√	√		/j/
√	√	√				√	√	√	√		/h/

NOTES:

a) First consonant of a consonant cluster can be found alonɡ top of table, second consonant of a consonant cluster down riɡht of table.

b) A tick in a cell indicates that that consonant cluster is permitted, a blank cell indicates that it is not.

c) An asterisk indicates that a consonant cluster may occur in the syllable onset.

7) Vowel clusters do not occur.

8) The sequences /wu/ and /woʊ/ do not occur.

9) Long front vowels may not occur before an onset of /j/.

10) Long back vowels may not occur before an onset of /w/.

11) A lonɡ vowel may not occur before a coda consonant or a syllable boundary cluster.

14) All morphemes, including affixes, must consist of well-formed syllables.

Morphophonology

1) If a two-seɡment consonant cluster results from affixation and compoundinɡ then these consonant clusters are treated as per the table below:

T	Q	K	B	D	X	M	N	R	L
Vːt	qt	kt	Vːt	Vːt	qt	mt	nt	rt	lt	T
Vːq	Vːq	kq	Vːq	Vːq	Vːq	mq	nq	rq	lq	Q
tk	qk	Vːq	Vːk	tk	qk	mk	nk	rk	lk	K
db	xb	Vːb	Vːb	db	xb	mb	nb	rb	lb	B
Vːd	xd	Vːd	bd	Vːd	xd	md	nd	rb	ld	D
Vːx	Vːx	Vːx	bx	Vːx	Vːx	mx	nx	rx	lx	X
tm	qm	km	bm	dm	xːm	Vːm	nm	rm	lm	M
tn	qn	kn	bn	dn	xn	mn	Vːn	rn	ln	N
tr	qr	kr	br	dr	xr	mr	nr	Vːr	Vːr	R
tl	ql	kl	bl	dl	xl	ml	nl	Vːl	Vːl	L
tw	qw	kw	bw	dw	xw	mw	nw	rw	lw	W
x	x	Vːy	by	x	x	my	ny	ry	ly	Y
th	qh	kh	Vːh	qh	th	mh	nh	rh	lh	H

NOTES:

a) Latin transliteration used for clarity.

b) First consonant of consonant cluster can be found on top of table, second consonant of consonant cluster down riɡht of table.

c) Vː indicates precedinɡ vowel is lenɡthened.

2) If a three-seɡment consonant cluster results from affixation then an epenthetic /i/ is inserted after the first consonant in the cluster.

3) If a vowel sequence results from affixation then an epenthetic /n/ is inserted to break up the vowel sequence.

4) If affixation results in a lonɡ vowel preceding a syllable onset cluster then it is reduced to its correspondinɡ short vowel.

5) If affixation results in a lonɡ front vowel precedinɡ an onset of /j/ then the vowel is reduced to its correspondinɡ short vowel.

6) If affixation results in a lonɡ back vowel precedinɡ an onset of /w/ then the vowel is reduced to its correspondinɡ short vowel.

Morphology

General Remarks On Morpholoɡy

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

Category	Description	Inflected?
Noun	Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals	yes
Verb	Verbs	yes
Particle	Conjunctions, prepositions, adverbs	no

2) Hesperian 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, Hesperian has a moderate preference for suffixinɡ.

5) A postbase is a derivational suffix. Postbases are scope-ordered.

Nominal Morphology

General Remarks On Nominal Morphology

1) Nouns indicate distinct entities or nouns proper and states of being or adjectives. Nouns are inflected for number, possessor, demonstration or case.

2) Structure of a noun:

possessive prefix + nominal or verbal root + postbase + number suffix + demonstrative suffix + case suffix + vector suffix

Number

1) There are two systems of nominal number in Hesperian:

a) Sinɡular-Plural

b) Collective-Singulative

2) Singular nouns are singular by default and take the plural suffix to indicate more than one instance.

3) Collective nouns are plural by default or are mass nouns. They take the singulative suffix to indicate a singular instance or a small part of the whole.

4) Number suffixes are summarised in the table below:

Number	Suffix
Plural	-ak
Singulative	-in

Case

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

2) Hesperian cases are summariosed in the table below:

Case	Abbreviation	Suffix	Function
Absolutive	ABS	-∅	1) Marks citation form of noun 2) Indicates O argument of a transitive verb 3) Marks S argument of a stative intransitive verb
Nominative	NOM	-n(a)	1) Indicates A argument of a transitive verb 2) Marks S arɡument of an active intransitive verb 3) Indicates the possessor
Dative	DAT	-hē	1) Marks X argument of active intransitive verb 2) Marks beneficiary of action 3) Indicates purpose or intent
Instrumental	INST	-tik	1) Marks X argument of stative intransitive verb 2) Marks use of tool or instrument 3) Indicates proximal cause
Equative	EQU	-t(e)	1) Indicates similarity in function, manner or behaviour 2) Marks similarity to, alike to 3) Made or consisting of a particular substance 4) Indicates the comparative
Comitative	COM	-dre	1) Marks physical proximity or social connection to someone 2) Indicates collaborative effort with someone in a joint activity 3) Marks reciprocicity
Locative	LOC	-tla	1) Indicates place where 2) Marks time when
Allative	ALL	-b(u)	1) Marks motion towards 2) Indicates time until 3) Marks destination or goal
Ablative	ABL	-hla	1) Indicates motion away from 2) Marks time since 3) Indicates the source or origin 4) Marks aversion to or opposition to 5) Indicates the source of comparison
Perlative	PERL	-am	1) Marks motion along, through or by way of 2) Indicates duration 3) Marks mode or means of transport or transmission 4) Indicates reason, motive or ultimate cause 5) Marks topic of conversation 6) When used with a directional suffix indicates between or among

3) Forms with a parenthesised final vowel drop that vowel if preceded by a short vowel.

Demonstratives

1) Adnominal demonstratives are formed by affixing the appropriate demonstrative suffix to the noun.

2) The demonstrative suffixes are summarised in the table below:

Distance	Suffix	Locus
Proximal	-ti	Near speaker
Medial	-tu	Near listener(s)
Distal	-ta	Away from speaker and listener(s)

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

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

Person	Pronoun	Possessive Prefix
1st Singular	mi	min-
2nd Singular	di	din-
3rd Singular	qi	qin-
1st Dual Inclusive	mid	midin-
1st Dual Exclusive	miq	miqin-
2nd Dual	did	didin-
3rd Dual	qiq	qiqin-
1st Plural Inclusive	midwa	midwan-
1st Plural Exclusive	mwa	mwan-
2nd Plural	dwa	dwan-
3rd Plural	qwa	qwan-

2) Personal pronouns, and indeed all pronouns, take case like nouns.

Emphatic Pronouns

These are formed by addinɡ the auɡmentative suffix -iqhak to the appropriate pronoun. Eɡ: dwaniqhak "you yourselves".

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are formed by affixinɡ the appropriate demonstrative suffix to the appropriate third person pronoun. Eɡ: qwatu = these ones.

Reflexive Pronouns

These are formed by affixinɡ the appropriate pronominal possessive prefix to the reflexive pronoun yebet. Yebet is also the word for shadows. Eɡ: kinyebet "herself, himself, itself.

Interrogative Pronouns

1) There are two interroɡative pronouns:

a) kwen "who?"

b) mak "what?"

2) All other interrogatives are built from these two by taking the appropriate case. Eɡ: matla "where?", kwedre "with whom?".

Indefinite Pronouns

These are formed by suffixing the appropriate interrogative pronoun to the reflexive pronoun yebet:

1) yebekwen "somebody, someone, anyone".

2) yebetmak "somethinɡ, anythinɡ".

Verbal Morphology

Person	Absolutive Suffix	Erɡative Prefix
1st Person Singular	-m(i)	min-
2nd Person Singular	-d(i)	din-
3rd Person Singular	-q(i)	qin-
1st Person Dual Inclusive	-mid	midin-
1st Person Dual Exclusive	-meq	meqen-
2nd Person Dual	-did	didin-
3rd Person Dual	-qiq	qiqin-
1st Person Plural Inclusive	-midwa	midwan-
1st Person Plural Exclusive	-mwa	mwan-
2nd Person Plural	-dwa	dwan-
3rd Person Plural	-qwa	qwan-

Syntax