Organisation : International Linguistics Olympiad
Exam : Panini Linguistics Olympiad (PLO) Exam
Document Type : Sample Question Paper
Category or Subject : Juniors & Seniors
Website : http://ltrc.iiit.ac.in/nlpmt/plo/#/
Download Question Paper : https://www.pdfquestion.in/uploads/23049-plo2018.pdf
PLO Panini Linguistics Olympiad Question
** Panini Linguistics Olympiad (PLO) is the Indian national program for selection and training of the candidates who represent India in the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL).
Related : International Junior Science Olympiad Theory Sample Question Paper 2017 : www.pdfquestion.in/23043.html
The program is coordinated by the Microsoft Research Labs India, JNU Delhi, International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad, and University of Mumbai, and actively supported by Regional coordinators across the country including Chennai Mathematical Institute, IIT Guwahati, SNLTR Kolkata, and IIT Patna.
The main purpose of PLO is to create awareness of linguistics amongst students of the country, and popularize the fields of Linguistics and Computational Linguistics are areas of further study and research.
Categories
PLO Round 1 happens in two categories :
Junior: Students currently studying in class 6 to 8 are eligible for the PLO junior contest.
Senior: Students currently studying in class 9 to 12 are eligible for the PLO senior contest.
Eligibility Criteria
1. Students who are either Indian citizens or currently studying in a school in India are eligible for the contest (provided they meet the other eligibility criteria stated below). But note that we do not have any test centres abroad for non-resident citizens of India.
2. A student is NOT eligible for competing in PLO if s/he is planning to compete or have already competed and awaiting results for the national linguistics Olympiad of any other country leading to the participation in IOL 2018.
3. Students currently studying in class 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th MUST compete in the senior category.
4. Students currently studying in class 6th, 7th and 8th MUST compete in the junior category.
5. Students who have attended any of the past PLO round 2 orientation-cum-selection camp and are eligible to write the test otherwise, MUST opt for the senior category even if they study in class 8 or below.
PLO Question Paper
Maximum Marks: 100 Total Time: 4 hours
Instructions :
1. All participants will attempt the same questions in this Question Booklet, regardless of category (Junior or Senior). The cutoff for each category will be determined independent of the other.
2. There are 9 printed pages in this question booklet, including this page. If your booklet has less than 9 printed pages, report to the invigilator immediately.
3. There are 6 problems. The total marks for each problem is indicated in parentheses next to the problem title. Each problem has several sub-parts that must all be answered to receive full credit.
4. Additional information and interesting facts related to the problem are presented in the gray boxes. While the problems can be solved without the help of the additional information, the gray boxes might provide useful hints.
5. The Answer Booklet provided to you has specific space for writing down the objective solutions of each problem. You MUST write down the precise answers or solutions to the problems in the space provided. The details and explanations of your answers and the rules of the language should be written in separate sheets.
6. While explaining your answers in separate sheets, you need not rewrite the solutions that you have already provided in the Answer Booklet.
7. Write down your explanations to each problem on a separate sheet or sheets of paper. On each sheet, indicate the number of the problem, your roll number, and your name. Otherwise, your work may be mislaid or misattributed.
8. Do not copy the statements of the problem.
9. All answers must be well-argumented. Even a perfectly correct answer will receive a low score unless accompanied by an explanation.
10. Each problem has been thoroughly checked by linguists as well as students like you for clarity, accuracy and solvability. Some problems are more difficult than others, but all can be solved using ordinary reasoning and some basic analytical skills. You don’t need to have prior knowledge of linguistics or these languages in order to solve them.
11. The question paper has been designed to ensure that very few people will solve all these problems completely in the time allotted. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t finish everything.
12. The use of calculators, mobile phones and any other electronic devices is strictly prohibited. No books, notebooks or other printed materials can be consulted during the contest.
Problem 1: Sanskrit Months (15 marks)
The traditional Indian calendars, collectively known as the Hindu calendars, follow a luni-sidereal system of time keeping, where the movement of moon against the fixed background of stars is used as the basis for defining years, months and dates. While the Hindu calendars followed in various regions of India today vary greatly from each other, one thing that is common to all of them is the names of the 12 months.
The Sanskrit names for these months, in the temporal order, are: Caitra, Vaisakha, Jye??ha, A?a?ha, Srava?a, Bhadrapada, Asvina, Kartika, Margasir?a, Pau?a, Magha, Phalguna The month of Caitra coincides with mid-March or mid-April in most of the modern Hindu calendars. Interestingly, these names have been systematically derived from the names of the nak?atra’s (stars or constellations) that coincide with the moon in that month on the full-moon night (Pur?ima). There are 27 nak?atra’s corresponding to the 27 days of the lunar cycle.
It is possible to guess the names and positions of the four missing nak?atra’s if you use the following information :
1. All of them end with a.
2. All of them begin with a short vowel. (Not really, but you can assume so.)
3. There is no missing nak?atra between Jye??ha and Mula
Assignment 1 :
Assuming Asvini to be the first nak?atra (and Revati the 27th), write down the positional numbers and the names of the 4 missing nak?atra’s in the list.
Assignment 2:
Write down the names of the 12 nak?atra’s with whom the full moon coincides for each of the 12 months.
Assignment 3:
The following 4 nak?atra’s do not lend their names to any month:
Hasta, Punarvasu, Satabhi?ak, Revati
However, if one had to derive names of months from them, what would they be? In case it is not possible to predict the month name for some of these nak?atra’s, write “NP” in the Answer Booklet. Explain your reasoning, and then make your best guess for what the month name might be.
Problem 2: Aksara Sunda Kuna (15 marks)
Here is a list of names of Indian cities transcribed in the Sundanese script, along with their English transliterations given in random order.
English
1. Mysuru
2. Jaipur
3. Agartala
4. Chennai
5. Kochi
6. Daman
7. Delhi
8. Shimla
9. Kanpur
10. Agra
Assignment 1:
Find the correspondences between the names of cities in the Sundanese script and English script. Explain your answers. Write only the number corresponding to the Roman transliteration next to the letter corresponding to the Sundanese transliteration in your Answer Booklet. (For example: K – 11)
Assignment 2:
Here are the names of some more cities in the Sundanese script. Which cities are they? If you cannot figure out the name of a city from the given data, write “NP” in your Answer Booklet, and then explain your reasoning.