Avéle

From Almeopedia

Avéle is a dialect of Verdurian, the official language of Érenat, spoken in Avéla and (with regional variations) in Novok and as a second language in the northern portion of Sarnáe (northwestern Dhekhnam).

Avélan chauvinists like to describe their speech as a "sister language" of Mažtane (Verdurian). Again, their claim would have been more plausible some centuries back. Through political, trading, and cultural ties-- Avéla is the birthplace of printing and the Eleďát religion-- Érenat is closely tied to Verduria, and its intellectuals have pushed Avéle in the direction of Mažtane. Already distinctive features of the dialect, such as the use of stádë (from estát lë) as a formal 'you', are in decline.

Phonological characteristics of the dialect include:

• Vowel reduction in unstressed syllables: e.g. sädrə isë 'my sister'
• The vocalic r (ŕ) has been acquired from Ismaîn, and is used for any unstressed vowel preceding an r (ŕlelən 'oversee') as well as for loan words
• r has also replaced Mažtane î: əsolŕ 'donkeys'
• Caďinor ct becomes š rather than ž: šanən 'come'
• Caďinor c before i, e becomes š rather than s: dəšisŕ 'order'
• Caďinor d before i, u becomes j rather than z: siji 'thirsty'. Only this and the previous change are reflected in spelling when Avéle dialect is written.
• In the western areas (not Avéla itself), perhaps under the influence of Ismaîn and Kebreni, voicing of intervocalic consonants: ebeze 'thick'

Not surprisingly, Avéle has acquired numerous terms from Kebreni (e.g. turgul 'battalion', epdirau 'holiday'), Ismaîn (pŕin 'secretary'), and Dhekhnami (kudror 'ambush').

Author: BGMan