Avalonian

Avalonian
Nahvatti Telkun
Pronunciation	[ˈnɔ.xʷɔt.si ˈtʰɛl.kʊn]
Created by	Rebecca Ashling
Date	2019
Native speakers	44.2 million
Language family	language isolate
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: Nahvatti 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 Ehatramit (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 hārhag '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/
⟨hj⟩	/xʲ/
⟨hv⟩	/xʷ/
⟨i⟩	/i/
⟨ī⟩	/eɪ/
⟨j⟩	/j/
⟨k⟩	/k/
⟨kh⟩	/x/
⟨kj⟩	/kxʲ/
⟨kv⟩	/kxʷ/
⟨l⟩	/l/
⟨lh⟩	/ɬ/
⟨lj⟩	/lʲ/
⟨lv⟩	/lʷ/
⟨m⟩	/m/
⟨mh⟩	/v/
⟨n⟩	/n/
⟨nh⟩	/z/
⟨p⟩	/p/
⟨ph⟩	/f/
⟨q⟩	/ŋ/
⟨qh⟩	/ɣ/
⟨qj⟩	/ŋʲ/
⟨qv⟩	/ŋʷ/
⟨r⟩	/ɹ̠/
⟨rh⟩	/ʃ/
⟨rj⟩	/ʒʲ/
⟨rv⟩	/ʒʷ/
⟨t⟩	/t/
⟨th⟩	/s/
⟨tl⟩	/tɬ/
⟨tr⟩	/tʃ/
⟨u⟩	/u/
⟨ū⟩	/oʊ/
⟨v⟩	/w/

Consonants

Avalonian has a total of 27 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/

Affricate

/tɬ/

/tʃ/

/kxʲ/

/kxʷ/

Voiceless Fricative

/f/

/s/

/x/

Voiced Fricative

/v/

/z/

/ɣ/

Nasal

/m/

/n/

/ŋ/

/ŋʲ/

/ŋʷ/

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 6.75 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) /ɹ̠j/ is realised as [ʒ].

9) 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 is trochaic.

4) 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	G	L	R
√	√	√	√			√	√	P
√	√	√		√		√	√	T
√	√	√			√	√	√	K
√	√	√	√			√	√	M
√	√	√		√		√	√	N
√	√	√			√	√	√	G
				√		√		L
				√			√	R
					√	√	√	J
					√	√	√	V

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 /j/.

7) /u, oʊ/ may not follow /w/.

8) /eɪ, aɪ/ may not precede /j/.

9) /oʊ, ɑʊ/ may not precede /w/.

10) Long vowels may not occur in closed syllables.

11) Vowel clusters do not occur.

12) Canonical syllabification templates for native roots:

C₁VC₁VC₂

C₁VC₂C₁V

VC₂C₁VC₂

C₃VC₁V

C₁VC₃V

C₁V̄C₄V

C₁VC₁V̄

V̄C₄VC₂

V̄C₄V̄

Notes:

a) C₁ = any one of /p, t, k, m, n, ŋ, l, ɹ̠, j, w, h/

b) C₂ = any one of /p, t, k, m, n, ŋ, l, ɹ̠/

c) C₃ = any one of /tɬ, tʃ, kxʲ, kxʷ, f, s, x, v, z, ɣ, ŋʲ, ŋʷ, lʲ, lʷ, ʒʲ, ʒʷ, ɬ, ʃ, xʲ, xʷ/

d) C₄ = any one of /f, s, x, v, z, ɣ, ɬ, ʃ, h/

e) V = any short vowel

f) V̄ = any long vowel

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

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

15) 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	G	L	R
pp	tp	kp	mp	mp	mp	lp	rp	P
pt	tt	kt	nt	nt	nt	lt	rt	T
pk	tk	kk	gk	gk	gk	lk	rk	K
pm	tm	km	mm	mm	mm	lm	rm	M
pn	tn	kn	nn	nn	nn	ln	rn	N
pg	tg	kg	gg	gg	gg	lg	rg	G
v̄lh	v̄tl	v̄lh	nl	nl	nl	ll	ll	L
v̄rh	v̄tr	v̄rh	nr	nr	nr	rr	rr	R
v̄hj	v̄hj	v̄kj	v̄gj	v̄gj	v̄gj	lj	rj	J
v̄hv	v̄hv	v̄kv	v̄gv	v̄gv	v̄gv	lv	rv	V
v̄ph	v̄th	v̄kh	v̄mh	v̄nh	v̄gh	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 then an epenthetic /i/ is inserted after the first consonant in that cluster.

3) For the purposes of suffixation, /tɬ, tʃ, kxʲ, kxʷ, ŋʲ, ŋʷ, ɬ, ʃ, xʲ, xʷ/ count as consonant clusters.

Vocalic Sandhi

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

I	U	E	A	Ī	Ū	Ē	Ā
-g-	-g-	-g-	-g-	-j-	-v-	-j-	-v-	I
-g-	-g-	-g-	-g-	-j-	-v-	-j-	-v-	U
-g-	-g-	-g-	-g-	-j-	-v-	-j-	-v-	E
-g-	-g-	-g-	-g-	-j-	-v-	-j-	-v-	A
-g-	-g-	-g-	-g-	-j-	-v-	-j-	-v-	Ī
-g-	-g-	-g-	-g-	-j-	-v-	-j-	-v-	Ū
-g-	-g-	-g-	-g-	-j-	-v-	-j-	-v-	Ē
-g-	-g-	-g-	-g-	-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) External sandhi affects only word-initial and word-final /m, n, ŋ, l, ɹ̠/ and vowels.

4) Any juncture between adjacent words involving these consonants and vowels are treated as if it was a consonant or vowel cluster within a word.

5) External sandhi otherwise occurs as per internal sandhi.

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 three grammatical numbers:

a) Singular

b) Paucal

c) Plural

2) Singular refers to a single instance of a noun.

3) Paucal refers to multiple instances of a noun from two to five in number.

4) Plural refers to multiple instances six or more in number.

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

Number	Abbreviation	Suffix (Allomorph)
Singular	SG	-∅
Paucal	PC	-me (-m)
Plural	PL	-har

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 identical to the 3rd, 4th and 5th person pronouns.

2) Adnominal demonstratives are suffixes, believed derived from compounds of the 3rd, 4th, 5th person pronouns and the sole Old Avalonian demonstrative ken.

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

4) The demonstratives are displayed in the table below:

Distance	Abbreviation	Locus Of Application	Person	Demonstrative Suffix
Proximal	PROX	Near speaker	3rd	-tken
Medial	MED	Near hearer	4th	-pken
Distal	DIST	Away from speaker and hearer	5th	-lken

Reflexive Pronouns

1) Avalonian has three reflexive pronouns plus their possessive forms as per the table below:

Name	Abbreviation	Pronoun	Possessive Form
Reflexive Singular	RFLX SG	li	-lti
Reflexive Paucal	RFLX PC	luk	-ltuk
Reflexive Plural	RFLX PL	lat	-ltat

2) Reflexive pronouns are used when the agent or subject is also the object or oblique.

Interrogative Pronouns

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

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

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

4) Suffixing -ye 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, that verb takes plural agreement.

Relative Pronouns

Avalonian has the dedicated reflexive pronoun la.

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.

Adjectives

1) Avalonian has no true adjectives.

2) There are three types of adjective-equivalents:

a) A closed set of adjectival suffixes attached to the noun.

b) A noun in oblique case preceded by the relativised verb mhe 'to seem'.

c) Relativised adjectival verbs following the noun.

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	pate
2	pika
3	irru
4	lar
5	pārha
6	he
7	hāhi
8	rāthu
9	patrāthu
10	ampar
11	amparpat
12	amparpika
13	amparirru
14	ampallar
15	amparpārha
16	ampārhē
17	ampārhāhi
18	amparrāthu
19	amparpatrāthu
20	ake
40	pikāke
60	irrūke
80	larake
100	annu
200	pika annu
1.000	milya
1.965	milya patrāthu annu irrūke pārha
3.000	irru milya
10.000	ampar milya
50.000	pikāke ampar milya
100.000	annu milya
600.000	he annu milya
1.000.000	milyan
7.000.000	hāhi 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, O and X arguments, aspect, valency and mood.

2) Maximal verbal structure:

verbal or nominal root + derivational suffix(es) + aspect suffix + mood suffix + agentive suffix + subjective or objective suffix + oblique suffix

Verbal Argument Suffixes

Argument	Singular Suffix(Allomorph)	Paucal Suffix	Plural Suffix
Agentive	-ki (-k)	-kuk	-kat
Subjective or Objective	-ti (-ti)	-tuk	-tat
Oblique	-ni (-n)	-nuk	-nat

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

Voice

1) Transitive verbs in Avalonian have three voices:

a) Active

b) Antipassive

c) Passive

2) These are indicated by the presence or absence of verbal pronominal suffices as per the table below:

Voice	Abbreviation	Ergative Suffix?	Absolutive Suffix?	Promoted Argument	Case Of Demoted Argument	Function
Active	ACT	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	No topicalisation of either argument
Antipassive	ANTIP	Yes	No	ERG	DAT	Topicalisation of A argument
Passive	PAS	No	Yes	ABS	INST	Topicalisation of O argument

3) Intransitive verbs do not indicate voice as their S argument is the only topic of the sentence.

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 adde 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.

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

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

Lexicon

Nouns

English	Avalonian
amber	warhu
apple	hakar
automobile	harpat
Avalonian Isles	Telku
Avalonian Penny	tenar
Avalonian Pound (currency)	līrhu
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	kāhan
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
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	ghārhu
flower	vetta
foot (anatomy)	īhak
football	phutpal
foreigner	kihan
fort	rhīkhi
forest	nuna
fox	hintak
garden	rhūha
gay person	kī
girl	lirha
glass (substance)	lagya
goat	anū
god	uttak
gold	urra
good fortune	anak
grandfather	anra
grandmother	avha
grape	panā
green tea	tē
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
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	ghigak
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 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
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