Avalonian

Magellanican (c) Rebecca Ashling 2019-2020. I assert that the Magellanican conlang presented here is my intellectual property and confirm that Linguifex may post this material on their site.

Magellanican (Mag:Tinnahwa Telhuŋ) is a polysynthetic, fluid-S split intransitive language with VSOX word order which is the official language and lingua franca of Magellanica (Mag: Maklaŋka) and has approximately 300 million speakers. The Magellanican Technocratic Commonwealth (Mag: Tiŋkwala Anakte Kundlat Maklaŋhaŋ) comprises the entirety of the fictional continent of Magellanica which lies in the southern Pacific Ocean from 35°S to 65°S, north to south, and from 110°W to 140°W, east to west. Its nearest continental neighbour is Antarctica which is about 1100 km due south of Magellanica.

Introduction

The original speakers of Magellanican, the Qamikj people, originated from the Tequ region of Magellanica which borders the Heart Sea. From about one thousand years ago it became the lingua franca of the entire area surrounding the Heart Sea, and then the entire continent following the advent of smallpox in the 16th Century. Magellanican is a language isolate and has no traceable genealogical relation to any other language, ancient or modern. It is believed however to form an ancient sprachbund with its neighboura, sharing such features as a bisyllabic root structure, primary stress on the first syllable, consonant gradation, and the opposition of voiceless plosives vs voiced fricatives or approximants. The dialect described below is the standard variety promulgated by the Magellanican Technocratic Commonwealth.

Phonology

Orthoɡraphy

General Remarks On Orthography

Magellanican was originally written in a native script which was a mixture of pictograms, alphabetic letters and syllabic signs, not dissimilar in principle to Mesopotamian cuneiform, and monopolised by a small class of scribes. Contact with the West introduced the Latin script which was much more accessible and modern use of native script is generally restricted to ceremonial documents, public monuments or art.

Magellanican Alphabet

Magellanican Letter	IPA Value
⟨a⟩	/ɑ/
⟨ā⟩	/aʊ/
⟨e⟩	/ɛ/
⟨ē⟩	/aɪ/
⟨i⟩	/i/
⟨ī⟩	/eɪ/
⟨k⟩	/k/
⟨l⟩	/l/
⟨m⟩	/m/
⟨n⟩	/n/
⟨ŋ⟩	/ŋ/
⟨p⟩	/p/
⟨r⟩	/ɹ/
⟨t⟩	/t/
⟨u⟩	/u/
⟨ū⟩	/oʊ/
⟨w⟩	/w/
⟨y⟩	/j/

Consonants

Magellanican has a total of 10 consonants which according to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Stucture is a small inventory. The most striking features of the inventory, according to WALS, are the presence of an initial velar nasal as well as the absence of phonemic fricatives. The consonants are displayed in the table below:

	Labial	Alveolar	Dorsal
Stop	/p/	/t/	/k/
Continuant	/w/	/ɹ/	/j/
Nasal	/m/	/n/	/ŋ/
Liquid		/l/

Vowels

Magellanican has a total of 8 vowels. It has 4 vowel qualities. According to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Structures this is an small vowel quality inventory. Magellanican has a consonant to vowel quality ratio of 2.50 which according to WALS is a moderately low ratio. The diphthongs 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) Stops are aspirated in word-initial position.

2) Geminate /p, t, k/ are realised as [pf, ts, kx].

3) Geminate /m, n, ŋ/ are realised as [mb, nd, ŋɡ].

4) Geminate /l/ is realised as [ld].

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

Prosody

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

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

3) Rhythm type is trochaic.

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

Phonotactics

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

2) Stops, nasals and /l/ are the permitted syllable coda consonants.

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

4) Consonant clusters only occur at syllable boundaries within the word.

5) Geminate consonants clusters may not precede a coda consonant or a long vowel.

6) Single stops may not precede a coda consonant if they follow a nasal or liquid.

7) Permitted consonant clusters as per the table below:

/p/	/t/	/k/	/m/	/n/	/ŋ/	/l/
a) /t, k/ + /l, j, w/ b) /b, d/ + /l, j, w/ c) /h/ + /l, j, w/ d) /ŋ/ + /j, w/ e) /l/ + /j, w/ 10) Permitted two-segment syllable boundary clusters are as follows: a) /t, k/ + /t, k, h/ b) /b, d/ + /b, d, h/ c) /m/ + /b, m/ d) /n/ + /t, d, n/ e) /ŋ/ + /k, h, ŋ, j, w/ f) /l/ + /t, k, b, d, h, l/ 11) Permitted three-syllable consonant clusters are as follows; a) /t/ + /kl, kj, kw/ b) /k/ + /tl, tj, tw/ c) /b/ + /dl, dj, dw/ d) /d/ + /bl, bj, bw/ e) /m/ + /bl, bj, bw/ f) /n/ + /tl, tj, tw, dl, dj, dw/ g) /ŋ/ + /kl, kj, kw, hl, hj, hw/ h) /l/ + /tj, tw, kj, kw, bj, bw, dj, dw, hj, hw/ 12) Note that the onset cluster /hl/ is a reflex of earlier /*pl, *ɡl, *sl/ and may only occur in word-initial position or after a nasal coda to form a three-segment boundary cluster. In all other contexts it has merged with /ll/. 13) The boundary clusters /th, kh/ only occur at morpheme boundaries. 14) /j/ may not follow a long front vowel. 15) /w/ may not follow a long back vowel. 16) /i, eɪ/ may not follow /j/. 17) /u, oʊ/ may not follow /w/. 18) A lonɡ vowel may not occur in a closed syllable. 19) Vowel clusters do not occur. 20) Canonical morpheme syllable templates: a) Roots: -(C)(C)V(C)- or -(C)(C)V(C)C(C)V(C)- b) Prefixes: (C)V(C)- or (C)V(C)CV(C)- c) Suffixes: -(C)(C)V(C) or -(C)V(C)CV(C) d) Particles: (C)V(C) or (C)V(C)CV(C) 16) Monosyllabic roots are rare and mainly comprise pronouns and certain verbs such as the copula 'kwe' or the negative verb 'wa'. 17) Monosyllabic suffixes may have a word-final allomorph consisting of a single coda consonant which is employed after a short vowel. 18) Roots originating through foreign borrowings may exceed two syllables. Morphophonemics 1) Consonant clusters resulting from affixation undergo sandhi as per the table below: T K M N Ŋ L tt kt nt nt nt lt T tk kk ŋk ŋk ŋk lk K db v̄b mb mb mb lb B dd v̄d nd nd nd ld D th kh ŋh ŋh ŋh lh H nt ŋk mm mm mm mbl M nt ŋk nn nn nn ndl N nt ŋk ŋŋ ŋŋ ŋŋ ŋhl Ŋ tl kl mbl ndl ŋhl ll L ty ky ŋy ŋy ŋy ly Y tw kw ŋw ŋw ŋw lw W v̄tl ktl ntl ntl ntl v̄tl TL v̄ty kty nty nty nty lty TY v̄tw ktw ntw ntw ntw ltw TW tkl v̄kl ŋkl ŋkl ŋkl v̄kl KL tky v̄ky ŋky ŋky ŋky lky KY tkw v̄kw ŋkw ŋkw ŋkw lkw KW dbl v̄bl mbl mbl mbl v̄bl BL dby v̄by mby mby mby lby BY dbw v̄bw mbw mbw mbw lbw BW v̄dl v̄dl ndl ndl ndl v̄dl DL v̄dy v̄dy ndy ndy ndy ldy DY v̄dw v̄dw ndw ndw ndw ldw DW tl kl ŋhl ŋhl ŋhl ll HL ty ky ŋhy ŋhy ŋhy lhy HY tw kw ŋhw ŋhw ŋhw lhw HW nty ŋky v̄ŋy v̄ŋy v̄ŋy v̄ŋy ŊY ntw ŋkw v̄ŋw v̄ŋw v̄ŋw v̄ŋw ŊW v̄ly v̄ly v̄ly v̄ly v̄ly v̄ly LY v̄lw v̄lw v̄lw v̄lw v̄lw v̄lw LW NOTES: a) Latin transliteration 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) v̄ indicates precedinɡ vowel is lenɡthened. 2) If a three-segment consonant cluster results from suffixation then an epenthetic /i/ (/e/ after a palatalised consonant) is inserted between the first and second segments of the cluster. 3) If a vowel cluster results from affixation then an epenthetic /ŋ/ is inserted after the first vowel in the cluster. 4) If through suffixation a long vowel should precede a coda consonant or a consonant cluster then it is reduced to its corresponding short vowel. 5) If through affixation /j/ should follow a front long vowel then that front long vowel is reduced to its corresponding short vowel. 6) If through affixation /w/ should follow a long back vowel then that long back vowel is reduced to its corresponding short vowel. Consonant Gradation 1) Consonants eligible for consonant gradation are geminate consonants and, for single stops, following a nasal, liquid or vowel. 2) It is triggered when eligible consonants are at the beginning of an open syllable and that syllable becomes closed due to suffixation. 3) The affected consonants lenite as per the table below: Base Form Gradated Form pp p tt t kk k p w t ɹ k j mm m nn n ŋŋ ŋ ll l 4) Consonant gradation takes effect after the effects of consonant sandhi. 5) Prefixes are unaffected by consonant gradation as are the beginning of roots. Morphology General Remarks On Morpholoɡy 1) The morphological cateɡories used in Magellanican are summarised in the table below: Category Description Inflected? Noun Nouns, pronouns, numerals Yes Verb Verbs, many adjectives, adpositions Yes Affix Prefixes and suffixes expressing adjunction, verbal modality, inflection or derivation No Particle Conjunctions, some adverbs, interjections No 2) Hyperborean 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, Hyperborean has a moderate 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: demonstrative or possessive prefix + adjectival prefix(es) + nominal or verbal root + derivational suffix(es) + number suffix + case suffix Number 1) There are two main systems of nominal number in Magellanican: a) Sinɡular-Plural b) Collective-Singulative 2) Singular nouns are singular by default and take the plural suffix to indicate more than four instances. 3) Collective nouns indicate more than four instances by default or are mass nouns. They take the singulative suffix to indicate a singular instance or a very small part of the whole. 4) Magellanican also has a paucal number which is used to mark nouns that are greater than one or fewer than five in number. Also indicates matched sets of entities of any number. 5) Number suffixes are summarised in the table below: Number Suffix Plural -at Singulative -in Paucal -uk Case 1) Case marks relationships between noun and noun or noun and verb. 2) Magellanican 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 a stative intransitive verb Nominative NOM -ŋu (-ŋ) a) Indicates A argument of a transitive verb b) Marks S arɡument of an active intransitive verb c) Indicates the possessor Dative DAT -hē a) Marks X argument of active intransitive verb b) Marks beneficiary of action c) Indicates purpose or intent Instrumental INST -tik a) Marks X argument of stative intransitive verb b) Marks use of tool or instrument c) Indicates proximal cause Equative EQU -te (-t) a) Indicates similarity in function, manner or behaviour b) Marks the subject complement of copula c) Indicates similarity to, likeness to c) Made or consisting of a particular substance d) Indicates the comparative Comitative COM -kwe a) Marks physical proximity or social connection to someone b) Indicates collaborative effort with someone in a joint activity c) Marks reciprocicity d) Indicates possessor when copula used in 'have' construction Locative LOC -li (-l) a) Indicates place where b) Marks time when Allative ALL -wa a) Marks motion towards b) Indicates time until c) Marks destination or goal Ablative ABL -yā a) Indicates motion away from b) Marks time since c) Indicates the source or origin d) Marks aversion to or opposition to e) Indicates the source of comparison Perlative PERL -am a) Marks motion across, along, through or by way of b) Indicates duration c) Marks mode or means of transport or transmission d) Indicates reason, motive or ultimate cause e) Marks topic of conversation NB: Parenthesised forms are word-final allomorphs employed after a short vowel. Pronouns Personal Pronouns 1) Magellanican personal pronouns and their associated possessive suffixes are summarised in the table below: Person Abbreviation Pronoun Possessive Prefix 1st Person Singular 1SG ni nin- 2nd Person Singular 2SG ki kin- 3rd Person Singular 3SG ti tin- 4th Person Sinɡular 4SG li lin- 1st Person Paucal Exclusive 1PC EXCL nuk nuŋku- 1st Person Paucal Inclusive 1PC INCL muk muŋku- 2nd Person Paucal 2PC kuk kuŋku- 3rd Person Paucal 3PC tuk tuŋku- 4th Person Paucal 4PC luk luŋku- 1st Person Plural Exclusive 1PL EXCL nat nantu- 1st Person Plural Inclusive 1PL INCL mat mantu- 2nd Person Plural 2PL kat kantu- 3rd Person Plural 3PL tat tantu- 4th Person Plural 4PL lat lantu- 2) Personal pronouns take case in the same manner as nouns. Demonstratives 1) Adnominal demonstratives are suffixes attached to the noun as per the table below: Name Locus English Equivalent Prefix Proximal Near speaker this, these hi- Medial Near listener(s) that, those hu- Distal Away from speaker and listener(s) yon ha- 2) Demonstrative pronouns are formed by adding the appropriate demonstrative suffix to the appropriate third person pronoun. Emphatic Pronouns These are no dedicated emphatic pronouns but as verbs mark A, S and O arguments, the use of the pronouns correlating with these can be used for emphasis. Reflexive Pronouns These are no dedicated reflexive pronouns in Magellanican and the appropriate absolutive verbal prefixes or oblique pronouns suffice. 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: jex 'where?', jekv 'with whom?' 3) There is an interrogative pronominal possessive prefix: jen- 'whose?'. 4) Prefixing je- to a noun gives the sense of 'which?'. 5) The canonical word-order of Magellanican is VSOX. Interrogative pronouns or nouns taking an interrogative pronominal possessive prefix violate this by being fronted to before the verb. Indefinite Pronouns There is one indefinite pronoun hamat 'somebody, something'. 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, valency and mood. 2) Maximal verbal structure: interrogative prefix + nominative pronominal prefix + auxiliary prefix + causative prefix + verbal or nominal root + derivational suffix(es) + applicative suffix + aspect suffix + adverbial suffix(es) + absolutive pronominal suffix Pronominal Affixes Person Absolutive Suffix (Allomorph) Nominative Prefix 1st Person Singular -ni (-n) nin- 2nd Person Singular -ki(-k) kin- 3rd Person Singular -ti(-t) tin- 4th Person Sinɡular -li (-l) lin- 1st Person Paucal Exclusive -nuk nunku- 1st Person Paucal Inclusive -muk munku- 2nd Person Paucal -kuk kunku- 3rd Person Paucal -tuk tunku- 4th Person Paucal -luk lunku- 1st Person Plural Exclusive -nat nantu- 1st Person Plural Inclusive -mat mantu- 2nd Person Plural -kat kantu- 3rd Person Plural -tat tantu- 4th Person Plural -lat lantu- NB: Parenthesised forms are word-final allomorphs employed after a short vowel. Voice 1) Transitive verbs in Magellanican have three voices: a) Active b) Agentive c) Patientive 2) These are indicated by the presence or absence of verbal pronominal affixes as per the table below: Voice Abbreviation Nominative Prefix? Absolutive Suffix? Promoted Argument Case Of Demoted Argument Function Active ACT Yes Yes N/A N/A No topicalisation of either argument Agentive AGT Yes No NOM DAT Topicalisation of A argument Patientive PAT No Yes ABS INST Topicalisation of O argument 3 Intransitive verbs have two voices: a) Active b) Passive 4) The intransitive active voice is default and assumes the S argument is the topic. 5) The intransitive passive voice Syntax Constituent order Noun phrase Verb phrase Sentence phrase Dependent clauses Example texts Other resources