DLAB Word Order and Syntax Patterns Flashcards

Study: 'dala mir oku' = 'birds fly south,' 'mir oku dala' = 'fly south birds' (same meaning). What does this tell you about Language T?

Answer: It uses word order for emphasis, not grammar

Both sentences have the same meaning despite different word orders, indicating Language T has relatively free word order. The rearrangement likely changes emphasis or topic rather than grammatical meaning. This is typical of highly inflected languages.

Given: 'na pu ki' = 'I see him,' 'na pu ki lo' = 'I see him today,' 'ji na pu ki lo' = 'Did I see him today?' What marks a question?

Answer: Adding 'ji' at the beginning

Comparing the declarative 'na pu ki lo' with the interrogative 'ji na pu ki lo,' the only addition is 'ji' at the beginning. This is a question particle that converts statements to yes/no questions, similar to Mandarin Chinese 'ma' (though placed initially rather than finally).

In Language P, possessives follow the pattern: possessed-possessor. If 'kara' means 'house' and 'ben' means 'mother,' what is 'mother's house'?

Answer: kara ben

The pattern is possessed-possessor, meaning the thing owned comes first, then the owner. 'House' (kara) is possessed, 'mother' (ben) is the possessor, yielding 'kara ben.' This is opposite to English but similar to Arabic or Hebrew construct state.

Given these sentences in Language R: 'tamu ven gir' = 'the boy kicks the ball' and 'gir ven tamu-ko' = 'the ball is kicked by the boy.' What does '-ko' indicate?

Answer: Agent in passive voice

In the active sentence, 'tamu' (boy) is the subject. In the passive version, 'tamu-ko' appears at the end with the suffix '-ko,' marking the agent (doer) in a passive construction. This is similar to the Japanese particle 'ni' in passive sentences.

In a language where adjectives must agree in number: 'tal bero' = 'big dog,' 'tal-in bero-in' = 'big dogs.' How would you say 'small cats' if 'small' is 'fey' and 'cat' is 'nura'?

Answer: fey-in nura-in

The plural marker '-in' must appear on both the adjective and noun to maintain agreement. Just as 'tal-in bero-in' marks both words for plural, 'small cats' must be 'fey-in nura-in.' This adjective-noun number agreement is common in Romance languages.

Observe: 'ela pato sur' = 'she buys fish,' 'ela pato-ma sur' = 'she will buy fish,' 'ela pato-ze sur' = 'she bought fish.' Where is tense marked?

Answer: On the verb with a suffix

Tense changes appear as suffixes on the verb 'pato': no suffix for present, '-ma' for future, '-ze' for past. The subject 'ela' and object 'sur' remain constant. This is an agglutinative tense-marking system.