1. Below are verb paradigms from a language of the Nakh-Daghestanian family. Roots are stable; prefixes mark person (1, 2, 3) and number (sg, pl). The prefix for 3sg is Ø. Given that the prefix for 1pl is v-...-t and for 2pl is Ø-...-s, what is the prefix for 1sg?
Solution
Correct: A
Compare 1pl v- and 2pl Ø-...-s. In every form the first consonant is the person marker and the final consonant (if any) is the number marker, with sg=Ø. Thus 1sg keeps the person marker v- and drops the plural -t, giving v-.
2. In Classical Nahuatl the absolutive suffix is -tl/-tli after consonants and -Ø after vowels. Given the roots ‘kochi’ ‘sleep’ and ‘kal’ ‘house’, which of the following absolutive forms is correct?
Solution
Correct: B
After vowels the suffix is Ø, so ‘kochi’ → ‘kochi’. After consonants the allomorph is -tli, so ‘kal’ → ‘kaltli’. Among the choices only ‘kochi’ matches the rule.
3. In Dyirbal every noun belongs to one of four noun classes. The class can be inferred from the noun’s determiner forms: bayi (I), balan (II), balam (III), bala (IV). Given that ‘man’ takes bayi and ‘woman’ takes balan, what determiner will the phrase ‘man and woman’ take?
Solution
Correct: A
Dyirbal class agreement follows the highest-ranked referent on the animacy hierarchy: human males > human females > higher animals > lower animates > inanimates. Conjoined noun phrases agree with the highest member, here ‘man’, so bayi is required.
4. In Toäbaatî (Austronesian) the word for ‘eye’ is /mata/ and for ‘my eye’ is /mata-/ŋ/. The velar nasal /ŋ/ is the 1sg possessor suffix. If the 2sg suffix is /-mu/, what is the underlying form of the 1sg suffix before vowel-initial roots?
Solution
Correct: B
The surface [ŋ] alternates with [n] before vowel-initial enclitics, showing that the underlying form is the archiphoneme /N/ which surfaces as velar [ŋ] word-finally and as coronal [n] before a vowel. Thus the correct choice is the archiphoneme symbolised as ‘n’ in the options.
5. In Turkish vowel harmony, suffix vowels agree in backness and rounding with the last vowel of the root. The plural suffix appears as -lar after back vowels and -ler after front vowels. Given the root ‘göl’ (‘lake’, front vowel), what is the correct plural?
Solution
Correct: A
The root vowel ö is front rounded; harmony requires the suffix to be front unrounded, spelled -ler. The plural is therefore göller.
6. In Russian, genitive singular of masculine nouns is normally -a after hard consonants and -ja after soft consonants. The noun ‘kraj’ (‘edge’) ends orthographically in й, a soft consonant. What is the correct genitive singular?
Solution
Correct: A
Orthographic й counts as a soft consonant; the ending must therefore be -ja, giving kraja.
7. In Lango (Nilotic) the perfective is formed by replacing the final vowel of the verb root with -o. The root ‘cam’ (‘eat’) has the perfective ‘camo’. If the root ‘bed’ means ‘call’, what is its perfective?
Solution
Correct: B
The rule is simply to substitute -o for the final vowel. Since ‘bed’ ends in a consonant, the suffix -o is appended directly, giving bedo.
8. In Japanese loanword phonology, the sequence [ti] is nativised as [tɕi]. If the English word ‘ticket’ is borrowed, what will be the first syllable?
Solution
Correct: A
The constraint against [ti] forces affrication of /t/ to [tɕ] before /i/, so the first syllable surfaces as [tɕi].
9. In Finnish, the partitive singular ending is -a/ä after a short vowel and -ta/-tä after a long vowel or diphthong. The word ‘maa’ (‘land’) has a long vowel. What is its partitive singular?
Solution
Correct: A
The aa sequence counts as a long vowel, so the -ta allomorph is selected, giving maata.
10. In Modern Hebrew, feminine nouns ending in -a form their plural in -ot. The word ‘mora’ (‘teacher-f’) pluralises as morot. If the word ‘safa’ means ‘language’, what is its plural?
Solution
Correct: A
The regular feminine plural suffix -ot replaces the singular ending -a, giving safot.
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