Problem:IOL/2007/i2/en

IOL 2007 Problem #2 Movima

Given below are words of the Movima language in two forms: the base form and the negative form. Some forms have been left out:

Base form	Translation	Negative form
maropa	papaya	kas maroka’pa
joy	to go	kas joya:ya’
bi:law	fish	kas bika’law
delto:veń	butterfly	kas dela’to:veń
itilakwanči:ye	little boy	kas itika’lakwanči:ye
ełan	your comb	kas ełana:na’
lopa:vos	manioc plant	kas lopaka’vos
jiwa	to come	kas jiwaka:ka’
bakwanyiń	my wrist	kas bakwana’yiń
talummo	sweet banana	kas taluma’mo
to:mi	water	kas taluma’mo
en	to stand	kas ena:na’
vuskwa	dust	kas vusa’kwa
wa:kato:da	meat	kas waka’kato:da
as	to sit
enferme:ra	nurse
jiła:pa	to grate manioc
de	to lie
rulrul	jaguar
tipoysu:da	dressed in tipoy
	to roar	kas wurula:la’
	to see	kas dewaja’na
	to see traces of somebody	kas deka’wajna

(a) Instead of standing for a sequence of two sounds, a certain combination of two letters always stands for a single specific consonant in Movima. Which combination is this?

(b) Fill in the gaps.

⚠ y reads as y in yahoo, č as ch in church, ł, ń, ’ are specific consonants in Movima; a colon after a vowel indicates length. A tipoy is a long sleeveless chemise worn by Indian women. The Movima language is spoken by approx. 1500 people in the north of Bolivia. It is not known to be related to any other language.

—Dmitry Gerasimov