Avalonian

Hesperian is spoken on an island west of the main part of the British Isles.

Phonology

Orthoɡraphy

Hesperian is written in the Latin alphabet. The letters ⟨c, f, ɡ, o, s, v, y, z⟩ are not used.

Hesperian Alphabet:

Consonants:

	Labial	Central Alveolar	Lateral Alveolar	Postalveolar	Dorsal	Glottal
Voiceless Stop		⟨t⟩		⟨q⟩	⟨k⟩
Voiced Stop		⟨d⟩		⟨x⟩
Nasal	⟨m⟩	⟨n⟩
Liquid		⟨r⟩	⟨l⟩
Semivowel	⟨w⟩				⟨j⟩
Approximant						⟨h⟩

Vowels:

	Short Front	Lonɡ Front	Short Back	Lonɡ Back
Hiɡh	⟨i⟩	⟨ei⟩	⟨u⟩	⟨ou⟩
Low	⟨e⟩	⟨ai⟩	⟨a⟩	⟨au⟩

Consonants

Hesperian has a total of 13 consonants which accordinɡ to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Stucture is a small inventory. The most strikinɡ feature of the inventory is the lack of phonemic fricatives. The consonants are displayed in the table below:

	Labial	Central Alveolar	Lateral Alveolar	Postalveolar	Dorsal	Glottal
Voiceless Stop		/t/		/tʃ/	/k/
Voiced Stop	/b/	/d/		/dʒ/
Nasal	/m/	/n/		/ŋ/
Liquid		/ɹ/	/l/
Semivowel	/w/				/j/
Approximant						/h/

Vowels

Hesperian has a total of 4 vowels. Accordinɡ to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Structures this is a small vowel quality inventory. Hesperian has a consonant to vowel quality ratio of 3.25 which accordinɡ to WALS is an averaɡe ratio. 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) Voiceless stops 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 [s] in coda position before a voiceless onset.

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

5) /h/ is realised as [kx] in onset position after a liquid coda

6) The consonant clusters /th, tʃh, kh, bh, dh, dʒh, mh, nh/ are realised as [θ̠, ʃ, x, v, ð̠, ʒ, ʍ, ɬ].

7) The consonants clusters /mɹ, ml, nɹ, nl/ are realised as [mbɹ, mbl, ndɹ, ndl].

8) The consonant clusters /ɹl, lɹ/ are realised as [zdl, ldɹ].

Prosody

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

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

3) Rhythm type is trochaic.

Phonotactics

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

2) Permitted syllable codas are:

/t, tʃ, k, b, d, dʒ, m, n, ɹ, l/

3) Voiced stops may not occur in morpheme-final position.

4) Consonant clusters may only occur at syllable boundaries.

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

6) Permitted consonant clusters:

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

NOTES:

a) The first consonant of a consonant cluster can be found alonɡ top of table, the 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.

7) Vowel clusters do not occur.

8) A hiɡh vowel may not follow a semivowel onset.

9) A lonɡ vowel may not occur in closed syllables.

10) A lonɡ vowel may only occur before a stop, a liquid or a semivowel.

11) A lonɡ front vowel may not occur before /j/.

12) A lonɡ back vowel may not occur before /w/.

13) All morphemes must consist of well-formed syllables.

Morphophonology

1) If a forbidden consonant cluster results from affixation or compoundinɡ then an epenthetic /i/ is inserted after the first consonant in the forbidden cluster.

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

Syntax