DLAB Applying Fictional Grammar Rules 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The fictional language Veltari marks possession with the suffix '-na' on the possessed noun. 'Shor' means 'book', 'Keli' means 'Maria'. How do you say 'Maria's book'?
- Keli shorna (Correct answer)
- Shorna Keli
- Keli shor
- Shornak Keli
Correct answer: Keli shorna
The possessed noun 'shor' takes '-na', and the possessor comes first: 'Keli shorna.'
Veltari possession requires two things: the possessor (owner) comes first, and the possessed noun receives the suffix '-na'. 'Maria' is the possessor → 'Keli', and 'book' is possessed → 'shor' + '-na' = 'shorna'. The phrase is 'Keli shorna.' The wrong answers either reverse the order or use the wrong suffix.
Question 2: In Bruntic, comparative adjectives are formed by repeating the adjective and adding '-er' to the second copy. 'Fast' is 'drep'. How do you say 'faster'?
- Drep dreper (Correct answer)
- Dreper
- Drepdrep
- Drep-er
Correct answer: Drep dreper
Repeat 'drep' and add '-er' to the second copy: 'Drep dreper.'
Bruntic comparative formation uses reduplication with suffix: the base adjective is stated once, then repeated with '-er' appended to the copy. For 'drep': first copy = 'drep', second copy + '-er' = 'dreper', giving 'Drep dreper.' Simply adding '-er' to the original ('dreper') is incomplete because it skips the reduplication step.
Question 3: The made-up language Ozwik requires that time words always appear at the beginning of the sentence, before the subject. Given: 'Fenu talo vrik.' (The woman sings.) and 'Noval' means 'yesterday', how do you say 'Yesterday the woman sang'?
- Noval fenu talo vrik. (Correct answer)
- Fenu noval talo vrik.
- Fenu talo noval vrik.
- Fenu talo vrik noval.
Correct answer: Noval fenu talo vrik.
Time words precede the subject, so 'noval' (yesterday) goes first: 'Noval fenu talo vrik.'
Ozwik places time adverbials sentence-initially, before the subject. 'Noval' (yesterday) is a time word, so it moves to the front of the sentence. The subject 'fenu' (the woman) and the rest of the sentence remain in their original order. The correct result is 'Noval fenu talo vrik.' The other options insert 'noval' mid-sentence, which violates the stated rule.
Question 4: In Trelkan, direct objects are marked by infixing '-ul-' after the first consonant cluster of the object noun. 'Brak' (stone) as a direct object becomes 'Br-ul-ak' = 'Brulak'. Applying this rule, what is the direct object form of 'Dren' (river)?
- Drulen (Correct answer)
- Drenul
- Ulren
- Dren
Correct answer: Drulen
Infix '-ul-' after first consonant cluster 'Dr-': Dr + ul + en = 'Drulen.'
Trelkan direct object marking uses an infix '-ul-' placed after the initial consonant cluster of the noun. 'Brak' has consonant cluster 'Br-' followed by 'ak', so the infix goes in: Br+ul+ak = 'Brulak'. 'Dren' has cluster 'Dr-' followed by 'en', so: Dr+ul+en = 'Drulen'. The other options either append the infix or misplace it.
Question 5: Molvex uses object-verb-subject (OVS) word order, opposite to English SVO. Given that 'Palu' = cat, 'Seno' = fish, 'Tal' = eats, how do you say 'The cat eats the fish' in Molvex?
- Seno tal palu. (Correct answer)
- Palu tal seno.
- Tal palu seno.
- Palu seno tal.
Correct answer: Seno tal palu.
OVS order: Object (fish=seno) + Verb (tal) + Subject (cat=palu) = 'Seno tal palu.'
Molvex uses OVS word order: Object first, then Verb, then Subject. In 'the cat eats the fish': Subject = palu (cat), Verb = tal (eats), Object = seno (fish). Rearranging to OVS: seno (O) + tal (V) + palu (S) = 'Seno tal palu.' The English-order sentence 'Palu tal seno' follows SVO and is incorrect for Molvex.
Question 6: In the language Helvari, a noun is pluralized by adding '-es' if it ends in a vowel and '-is' if it ends in a consonant. 'Mako' (tree) → 'Makoes'. What is the plural of 'Brenk' (cloud)?
- Brenkis (Correct answer)
- Brenkes
- Brenks
- Brenkos
Correct answer: Brenkis
'Brenk' ends in consonant 'k', so plural is formed with '-is': 'Brenkis.'
Helvari has two plural suffixes: '-es' for vowel-final nouns and '-is' for consonant-final nouns. 'Mako' ends in 'o' (vowel) → 'Makoes'. 'Brenk' ends in 'k' (consonant) → 'Brenk' + '-is' = 'Brenkis'. The other options use '-es' (wrong class) or just add '-s' (not a Helvari rule). This tests attention to phonological environment when applying a rule.
DLAB Applying Fictional Grammar Rules 3
The fictional language Veltari marks possession with the suffix '-na' on the possessed noun. 'Shor' means 'book', 'Keli' means 'Maria'.
How do you say 'Maria's book'?