IOL Sample Questions
IOL Sample Questions
IOL Sample Questions
There are names of some countries in South America, written in the Georgian language, together
with their translations to English:
(B) hoi tōn dulōn cyrioi (2) the brothers of the merchant
(D) hoi tōn onōn emporoi (4) the sons of the masters
(H) hoi tōn cyriōn hyioi (8) the master of the house
1. Match the Ancient Greek phrase (A-H) with the corresponding English translation (1-8).
Braille is a tactile writing system, based on a series of raised dots, that is widely used by
the blind. It was invented in 1821 by Louis Braille to write French, but has since been
adapted to many other languages. English, which uses the Roman alphabet just as
French does, required very little adaptation, but languages that do not use the Roman
alphabet, such as Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, are often organized in a very different
manner!
1. The following tenji words represent atari, haiku, katana, kimono, koi, and sake . Which is
which? You don’t need to know either Japanese or Braille to figure it out; you’ll find that the
system is highly logical.
a. b.
c. d.
e. f.
g. h.
i. samurai j. miso
c) mɨlaro:h kwɨ: ne
a. blitty
b. weasy
c. sloshful
d. frumsy
ketāb pāin-e komod the book on the lowest shelf in the bookcase
2. Here are two English phrases and their Persian translations (with gaps):
Fill the gaps. If you think that some of them can be filled in more than one way, give
all possible answers. Explain your solution.
1. Match each phrase with its correct translation and supply the missing words.
Note: i, ö, ü, ı are specific Kazakh vowels. The letter ž has the sound of s in the word usual.
! Kazakh language belongs to the Central Turkic groups of languages. It is the official language and
principle native language of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is spoken by about 6,5 million people
in Kazakhstan and about 1,5 million people southern Siberia, northwestern China and
northwestern Mongolia.
peanut mandubi
Note: y represents the closed central unrounded vowel [ɨ]. b represents the bilabial fricative
consonant [β]. ‘ representes the glottal pause [ʔ], like the pause in uh-oh.
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1. Seeing that you understood the table, the student challenges you to write down the answers of
another series of operations, shown in the right column. Give the answers in Inuktitut numerals.
2. To assure the student that you understood the system, you decided to write down the date of
today (day, month and year) in Inuktitut numerals, assuming they used Gregorian calendar. What
did you write down?
bi × bi = lau
bi × bost = hamar
bi × hamar = hogei
hiru × bost = hamabost
hiru × hamar = hogeita hamar
bost × bost = hogeita bost
bost × zazpi = hogeita hama
bost zazpi × bederatzi = hirurogeita hiru
zazpi × hamar = hirurogeita hamar
lau × bost = ____________
________ × hamar = laurogeita hamar
2. Write in figures:
a) laurogeita hamahiru = _
b) hirurogei = _____
c) 39 =
d) 77 =
e) 80 =
Note: The letter s has the sound of English sh, z of s, tz of ts in cats. The letter h is mute.
! Basque is spoken by 500,000 to 600,000 people in France and Spain and by about 170,000
people in South America. It has not been proven to be related to any other language.
= Mikel = Ibone
Some of the relationships between the members of this family are described below in Basque:
Ines Mikelen emaztea da. Andres Iboneren neba da.
Monika Kontxiren ahizpa da. Ibone eta Felix senar-emazteak dira.
Inma Manuren arreba da. Andres eta Ibone Emilioren seme-alabak dira.
Iker Joseparen senarra da. Manu Iboneren semea da.
Mikel Felixen anaia da.
1. Identify the names that belong in the blank spaces in the diagram.
2. Is Kontxi male or female? Explain, using the data from the problem.
3. Fill in the gaps in the following Basque sentences (referring to the same family):
Note: Ibone, Ines, Inma, Josepa, Miren, and Monika are women’s names; Andres, Emilio, Felix, Iker,
Manu, Mikel are men’s names. The letters s and x stand for sounds similar to English sh; z has the
sound of English s, tx of English ch, j is a sound intermediate between g and y; h is mute.
N A
B
C
5,928 ft.
Onkau
D
Mombwa
Kulu
E
Below, a Manam islander describes the relative locations of the houses above.
1. Onkau pera kana auta ieno, Kulu pera kana ilau ieno.
2. Mombwa pera kana ata ieno, Kulu pera kana awa ieno.
3. Tola pera kana auta ieno, Sala pera kana ilau ieno.
4. Sulung pera kana awa ieno, Tola pera kana ata ieno.
5. Sala pera kana awa ieno, Mombwa pera kana ata ieno.
6. Pita pera kana ilau ieno, Sulung pera kana auta ieno.
7. Sala pera kana awa ilau ieno, Onkau pera kana ata auta ieno.
8. Butokang pera kana awa auta ieno, Pita pera kana ata ilau ieno.
1. Onkau’s, Mombwa’s, and Kulu’s houses have already been located on the map above. Who
lives in the other five houses?
A: B: C: D: E:
2. Arongo is building his new house in the location marked with an X. In three Manam Pile
sentences like the ones above, describe the location of Arongo’s house in relation to the three
closest houses.
Problem by Patrick Littell
for the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad 2008
Guaraní Verbs
The following Guaraní verb forms are listed along with their English translations.
Notes: “you” is always plural in the sentences above. A squiggle over a vowel indicates that it is
nasal (pronounced partly through the nose). The letter ñ is pronounced like the sound in the
middle of “piñata” or “onion”. The letter y is pronounced like the “u” in “cut”. The letter j and the
apostrophe (‘) are specific consonants. Guaraní is one of the official languages (along with
Spanish) of Paraguay, where it is spoken by 94% of the population.
a b c
d e f g
2. Your daily catch is pictured below. Describe it in Aymara, and don’t lie!
Note: ä is a long a; ll is pronounced as ly; x as the ch in Scottish loch. Some vowels transcribed here
are deleted in actual speech.
Problem by Patrick Littell
for the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad 2008
Toki Pona
Toki Pona is a constructed language, created in 2011 by the Canadian linguist Sonja Elen Kisa.
Her aim was the language to be a minimal language, undervaluing the empty and abstract
communication such as the ones of politicians and bureaucrats and pointing more directly to the
concrete human life experiences. Therefore, the language makes use of only 123 words, with roots
coming from different language families.
What follows is a list of some words and expressions in Toki Pona and, out of order, their English
translations:
kiwen suno jelo, tomo tawa telo, jan Powi, ilo suno, telo jelo, jan ilo, jan toki, supa lape,
supa moku, ma tomo, wile moku, tawa, nasin linja, wile pona, telo kiwen, lipu toki, wile lawa,
linja lawa, tomo moku, linja kiwen
prophet, well-intentioned, hair, lantern, ice, robot, boat, thorn, hungry, Boris, book,
piss, city, bed, orthodoxy, movement, restaurant, dominant, dinner table, gold
2. Give the translation of all the simple Toki Pona words used in the compounded words and
expressions of this problem.