DLAB Syllabic Stress Identification 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In invented language Drelvic, final-syllable stress means the word is a verb; initial-syllable stress means it's a noun. You hear [ta-LO]. What is it?
- A verb (Correct answer)
- A noun
- An adjective
- A question word
Correct answer: A verb
Stress on the final syllable 'LO' = verb in Drelvic.
Drelvic uses stress position as a part-of-speech marker: final-syllable stress = verb, initial-syllable stress = noun. [ta-LO] has stress on the final syllable 'LO', identifying it as a verb. Compare: [TA-lo] would be the noun form. This phonemic stress distinction between grammatical categories mirrors patterns in English noun-verb pairs (RE-cord vs. re-CORD).
Question 2: The word 'economics' has five syllables: e-co-no-mics... wait, let's verify. Syllabify: ec-o-NOM-ics. How many syllables, and where is the stress?
- 4 syllables, stress on 3rd: ec-o-NOM-ics (Correct answer)
- 3 syllables, stress on 2nd: e-CO-nomics
- 5 syllables, stress on 4th
- 4 syllables, stress on 1st: EC-o-nom-ics
Correct answer: 4 syllables, stress on 3rd: ec-o-NOM-ics
'Economics' = ec-o-NOM-ics (4 syllables, primary stress on 3rd syllable 'nom').
Syllabification: ec (1) - o (2) - NOM (3) - ics (4) = 4 syllables. Primary stress is on the third syllable: ec-o-NOM-ics. This follows the English pattern for '-nomics' words. Compare: e-CO-no-my (economy, 4 syl, 2nd stress) vs ec-o-NOM-ics (economics, 4 syl, 3rd stress). Stress shift with suffixation is a key pattern for DLAB preparation.
Question 3: In Norvik, the rule is: stress the syllable that contains the LONGEST vowel sound. 'Na-al-vu' has vowels: 'a' (short), 'aa' (long), 'u' (short). Where is the stress?
- na-AL-vu (2nd syllable, long 'aa') (Correct answer)
- NA-al-vu (1st syllable)
- na-al-VU (3rd syllable)
- Equal stress on all syllables
Correct answer: na-AL-vu (2nd syllable, long 'aa')
Longest vowel 'aa' is in the 2nd syllable: stress falls on 'al' → na-AL-vu.
Norvik stress is quantity-sensitive: the syllable with the longest (heaviest) vowel receives primary stress. In 'na-al-vu': first syllable has 'a' (short), second has 'aa' (long), third has 'u' (short). The long vowel is in the second syllable → stress: na-AL-vu. Quantity-sensitive stress is found in languages like Latin and Arabic and is a common invented-language rule type in DLAB prep.
Question 4: Which pair demonstrates the English stress shift between a 2-syllable noun and its corresponding verb?
- PER-mit (noun) vs per-MIT (verb) (Correct answer)
- per-MIT (noun) vs PER-mit (verb)
- per-MIT (noun) vs per-MIT (verb)
- PER-mit (noun) vs PER-mit (verb)
Correct answer: PER-mit (noun) vs per-MIT (verb)
In English, 2-syllable noun/verb pairs: nouns stress first syllable, verbs stress second.
English has a productive pattern for two-syllable noun-verb pairs: PER-mit (noun: a permit) vs per-MIT (verb: to permit). Other examples: RE-cord/re-CORD, OB-ject/ob-JECT, PRO-test/pro-TEST, CON-duct/con-DUCT. This stress alternation is a fundamental English phonological pattern and is directly relevant to DLAB stress identification tasks.
Question 5: In Veltari, prefixes never receive primary stress. The word 'un-vel-ak-om' has 4 syllables. 'Un-' is a prefix. Where does stress fall?
- On one of the three non-prefix syllables: vel, ak, or om (by another rule) (Correct answer)
- Always on 'un-'
- Always on the last syllable 'om'
- Equally on all syllables
Correct answer: On one of the three non-prefix syllables: vel, ak, or om (by another rule)
Since 'un-' never gets stress, the stress falls on one of vel/ak/om according to other stress rules.
When a language rule states that prefixes cannot receive primary stress, the stress must fall on the remaining non-prefix syllables according to whatever other stress rule the language has. This is a constraint satisfaction task: 'un-' is excluded from stress, so stress falls on vel, ak, or om depending on the language's additional stress rules. Recognizing which syllables are eligible for stress is a key metalinguistic skill.
Question 6: You hear the invented word [ma-KO-lu-ven] (4 syllables). In the language being tested, antepenultimate stress (third from last) is the rule. Which syllable is stressed?
- ma-KO-lu-ven (2nd syllable = 3rd from last) (Correct answer)
- MA-ko-lu-ven (1st syllable)
- ma-ko-LU-ven (3rd syllable)
- ma-ko-lu-VEN (last syllable)
Correct answer: ma-KO-lu-ven (2nd syllable = 3rd from last)
Antepenultimate = 3rd from last. In 4-syllable word: 4th-from-end=1st, 3rd-from-end=2nd. Stress on 2nd: ma-KO-lu-ven.
Antepenultimate stress means the third syllable from the end receives primary stress. In 'ma-ko-lu-ven' (4 syllables): counting from right — last=ven (1st), second-to-last=lu (2nd), third-to-last=ko (3rd). Stress falls on 'ko': ma-KO-lu-ven. This is the stress pattern of classical Greek and Latin, and is a classic DLAB-style stress rule.
DLAB Syllabic Stress Identification 3
In invented language Drelvic, final-syllable stress means the word is a verb; initial-syllable stress means it's a noun.
You hear [ta-LO].
What is it?