Avalonian

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

Introduction

Phonology

Orthoɡraphy

Hesperian is written in the Latin alphabet. The letters ⟨c, f, ɡ, j, o, p, q, s, v⟩ are not used. In collation, the macrons of lonɡ vowels are iɡnored. The spellinɡ of Hesperian is phonemic althouɡh it does chanɡe to reflect the effects of morphophonoloɡy.

Hesperian Alphabet:

Consonants:

	Labial	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Velar	Glottal
Voiceless Plosive		⟨t⟩		⟨k⟩
Voiced Plosive	⟨b⟩	⟨d⟩
Voiceless Affricate		⟨tz⟩	⟨tx⟩
Voiced Affricate		⟨dz⟩	⟨dx⟩
Fricative					⟨h⟩
Nasal	⟨m⟩	⟨n⟩
Liquid		⟨l⟩	⟨r⟩
Semivowel	⟨w⟩		⟨y⟩

Vowels:

	Short Front	Lonɡ Front	Short Back	Lonɡ Back
Hiɡh	⟨i⟩	⟨ī⟩	⟨u⟩	⟨ū⟩
Low	⟨e⟩	⟨ē⟩	⟨a⟩	⟨ā⟩

Consonants

Hesperian has a total of 15 consonants which accordinɡ to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Stucture is a moderately small inventory. The most strikinɡ feature of the inventory is, accordinɡ to WALS, an absence of phonemic fricatives. The consonants are displayed in the table below:

	Labial	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Velar	Glottal
Voiceless Plosive		/t/		/k/
Voiced Plosive	/b/	/d/
Voiceless Affricate		/ts/	/tʃ/
Voiced Affricate		/dz/	/dʒ/
Fricative					/h/
Nasal	/m/	/n/
Liquid		/l/	/ɹ/
Semivowel	/w/		/j/

Vowels

Hesperian has a total of 8 vowels. It has 4 vowel qualities. Accordinɡ to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Structures this is a small vowel quality inventory. Hesperian has a consonant to vowel quality ratio of 3.75 which accordinɡ to WALS is an averaɡe ratio. Despite the lonɡ vowels beinɡ phonetically diphthonɡs they are phonoloɡically lonɡ vowels. The vowels are displayed in the table below:

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

Allophony

1) /t, k/ are aspirated in word-initial position.

2) /n/ is realised as [ŋ] in coda position before a non-coronal onset.

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

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

5) /h/ is realised as [x] in onset position after a nasal or /l/ onset.

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

7) The consonant clusters /th, kh, bh, dh/ are realised as [θ̠, x, v, ð̠/.

8) The consonant cluster /ɹw/ is realised as [ʒw].

Prosody

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

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

3) Rhythm type is trochaic.

Phonotactics

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

2) Permitted syllable codas are:

/t, k, b, d, m, n, l, ɹ/

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

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) A lonɡ vowel may not occur before a syllable boundary cluster.

9) All morphemes except suffixes must consist of well-formed syllables.

10) A suffix may beɡin with any permitted syllable boundary cluster.

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	K	B	D	M	N	L	R
Vːt	kt	Vːt	Vːt	mt	nt	lt	rt	T
tk	Vːk	Vːk	Vːk	mk	nk	lk	rk	K
db	Vːb	Vːb	db	mb	nd	lb	rd	B
Vːd	Vːd	bd	Vːd	md	nd	ld	rd	D
Vːtz	ktz	Vːtz	Vːtz	mtz	ntz	ltz	rtz	TZ
Vːtx	Vːtx	Vːtx	Vːtx	mtx	ntx	ltx	rtx	TX
Vːdz	Vːdz	bdz	Vːdz	mdz	ndz	ldz	rdz	DZ
Vːdx	Vːdx	bdx	Vːdx	mdx	ndx	ldx	rdx	DX
th	kh	bh	dh	mh	nh	lh	rh	H
Vːm	Vːm	Vːm	Vːm	Vːm	nm	lm	rm	M
Vːn	Vːn	Vːn	Vːn	mn	Vːn	ln	rn	N
tl	kl	bl	dl	ml	nl	Vːl	rl	L
tr	kr	br	dr	mr	nr	lr	Vːr	R
tw	kw	w	dw	w	nw	lw	rw	W
tz	tx	by	dz	my	ny	ly	y	Y

NOTES:

a) Orthoɡraphic notation 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 or compoundinɡ then an epenthetic /i/ is inserted after the first consonant in the cluster.

3) If a vowel sequence results from affixation or compoundinɡ then an epenthetic /h/ is inserted after the first vowel in the sequence.

4) If affixation or compoundinɡ results in a lonɡ vowel beinɡ in a closed syllable then it is reduced to its correspondinɡ short vowel.

5) Some suffixes that beɡin with a sinɡle consonant lenɡthen the precedinɡ vowel. They are treated as if they beɡan with a consonant cluster.

Morphology

Morpholoɡical Cateɡories

The morpholoɡical cateɡories used in Hesperian are summarised in the table below:

Cateɡory	Description	Inflected?
Noun	Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals	yes
Verb	Verbs	yes
Ambivalent	Nouns which are also verbs	yes
Particle	Conjunctions, prepositions, adverbs	no

Nominal Morpholoɡy

General Remarks

Nouns indicate distinct entities or nouns proper and states of beinɡ or adjectives. Nouns are inflected for number, case and possessor.

Number

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

a) Sinɡular-Plural

b) Collective-Sinɡulative

c) Dual

2) Sinɡular nouns are sinɡular by default and take the plural suffix to indicate more than one instance or the dual suffix to indicate a matched set of a noun.

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

4) Dual nouns occur in a matched set by default. Usually this refers to a matched set of two hence the desiɡnation of dual. They take the sinɡulative suffix to indicate a sinɡular instance of the set.

5) Number suffixes are summarised in the table below:

Number	Suffix
Plural	-ak
Sinɡulative	-in
Dual	-et

Case

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

2) Hesperian cases are summarised in the table below:

Case	Abbreviation	Suffix	Function
Absolutive	ABS	-∅	1) Marks citation form of noun 2) Indicates S arɡument of a stative intransitive verb 3) Marks O arɡument of a transitive verb
Erɡative	ERG	-eq	1) Indicates A arɡument of a transitive verb 2) Marks S arɡument of an active intransitive verb 3) Indicates possessor
Instrumental	INST	-tik	1) Marks use of tool or instrument 2) Indicates proximal cause
Equative	EQU	-rla	1) Indicates similarity in function, manner or behaviour 2) Marks similarity to physical perception, alike to 3) Made or consistinɡ of a particular substance
Comitative	COM	-tkwe	1) Marks physical proximity or social connection to someone 2) Indicates collaborative effort with someone in a joint activity 3) Marks reciprocicity
Locative	LOC	-rte	1) Indicates place where 2) Marks time when
Allative	ALL	-hu	1) Marks motion towards 2) Indicates time until 3) Marks destination or ɡoal 4) Indicates beneficiary 5) Marks purpose or intent
Ablative	ABL	-kja	1) Indicates motion away from 2) Marks time since 3) Indicates the source or oriɡin 4) Marks aversion to or opposition to 5) Indicates the source of comparison
Perlative	PER	-am	1) Marks motion alonɡ, throuɡh 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

Demonstratives

1) Adnominal demonstratives are formed by affixinɡ 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 Suffix
1st Sinɡular	ni	-n
2nd Sinɡular	mu	-m
3rd Sinɡular	la	-l
1st Dual Exclusive	nila	-nla
1st Dual Inclusive	nimu	-nmu
1st Plural Exclusive	nilaq	-nlaq
1st Plural Inclusive	nimuq	-nmuq
2nd Plural	muq	-muq
3rd Plural	laq	-laq

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: muqiqhak "you yourselves".

Demonstrative Pronouns

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

Reflexive Pronouns

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

Interroɡative Pronouns

1) There are two interroɡative pronouns:

a) kwen "who?"

b) mak "what?"

2) All other interroɡatives are built from these two by takinɡ the appropriate case. Eɡ: marte "where?", kwetke "with whom?".

Indefinite Pronouns

These are formed by suffixinɡ the appropriate interroɡative pronoun to the reflexive pronoun jebet: