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:Tinnakwa Telyuŋ) is a polysynthetic, fluid-S split intransitive language with VSOX word order which is the official language and lingua franca of Magellanica (Mag: Telku) and has approximately 300 million speakers. The Magellanican Technocratic Commonwealth (Mag: Tiŋkara Anakte Kunrat Telyuŋ) 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 Yamik people, originated from the Rutteri 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 neighbours, 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/
⟨e⟩	/ɛ/
⟨h⟩	/h/
⟨i⟩	/i/
⟨k⟩	/k/
⟨l⟩	/l/
⟨m⟩	/m/
⟨n⟩	/n/
⟨ŋ⟩	/ŋ/
⟨p⟩	/p/
⟨r⟩	/ɹ/
⟨t⟩	/t/
⟨u⟩	/u/
⟨w⟩	/w/
⟨y⟩	/j/

Consonants

Magellanican has a total of 11 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	Glottal
Stop	/p/	/t/	/k/
Continuant	/w/	/ɹ/	/j/	/h/
Nasal	/m/	/n/	/ŋ/
Liquid		/l/

Vowels

Magellanican has a total of 4 vowels. According to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Structures this is a small vowel quality inventory. Magellanican has a consonant to vowel quality ratio of 2.75 which according to WALS is a moderately low ratio. The vowels are displayed in the table below:

	Short	Short Back
Hiɡh	/i/	/u/
Low	/ɛ/	/ɑ/

Allophony

1) Stops are aspirated in word-initial position.

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

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

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

5) The consonant clusters /ph, th, kh/ are realised as [f, ɬ, x].

6) The consonant clusters /ml, nl, ŋl/ are realised as [mbl, ndl, ŋɡl].

7) 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.

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
√	√	√	√			√	P
√	√	√		√		√	T
√	√	√			√	√	K
√	√	√	√			√	W
√	√	√		√		√	R
√	√	√			√	√	Y
√	√	√			√	√	H
			√				M
				√			N
					√		Ŋ
			√	√	√	√	L

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.

8) /i/ may not follow /j/.

9) /u/ may not follow /w/.

10) Vowel clusters do not occur.

11) Canonical morpheme syllable templates:

a) Roots: -(C)(C)V(C)- or -(C)V(C)CV(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)

13) Monosyllabic roots are rare and mainly comprise pronouns and certain verbs such as the copula 'kwe' or the negative verb 'wa'.

14) Monosyllabic suffixes may have a word-final allomorph consisting of a single coda consonant which is employed after a short vowel.

15) Roots originating through foreign borrowings may exceed two syllables.

Morphophonemics

1) Consonant clusters resulting from affixation undergo sandhi as per the table below:

P	T	K	M	N	Ŋ	L
pp	tp	kp	mp	mp	mp	lp	P
pt	tt	kt	nt	nt	nt	lt	T
pk	tk	kk	ŋk	ŋk	ŋk	lk	K
pw	tw	kw	mw	mw	mw	lw	W
pr	tr	kr	nr	nr	nr	lr	R
ph	th	kh	nh	nh	nh	lh	H
py	ty	ky	ŋy	ŋy	ŋy	ly	Y
mp	nt	ŋk	mm	mm	mm	ml	M
mp	nt	ŋk	nn	nn	nn	nl	N
mp	nt	ŋk	ŋŋ	ŋŋ	ŋŋ	ŋl	Ŋ
lp	lt	lk	ml	nl	ŋl	ll	L

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.

2) If a three-segment consonant cluster results from suffixation then an epenthetic /i/ (/e/ after /j/) 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.

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	-up	a) Marks X argument of active intransitive verb b) Marks beneficiary of action c) Indicates purpose or intent
Instrumental	INST	-rik	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	-pe (-p)	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	-ya	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 Suffix
1st Person Singular	1SG	ni	-nin
2nd Person Singular	2SG	ki	-jen
3rd Person Singular	3SG	ti	-rin
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	-juŋku
3rd Person Paucal	3PC	tuk	-ruŋku
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	-jantu
3rd Person Plural	3PL	tat	-rantu
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	pi-
Medial	Near listener(s)	that, those	pu-
Distal	Away from speaker and listener(s)	yon	pa-

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'.

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