Problem:IOL/2009/i4/en(A)

IOL 2009 Problem #4 Old Indic
Given are Old Indic word stems which are thought to preserve the most ancient (Indo-European) position of the stress. They are divided into root and suffix by a hyphen. The stressed vowel bears the mark ̺́ .

(a) Explain why it is not possible to use these data to determine the placement of the stress of the following stems: bhāg-a- ‘share’, pad-a- ‘step’, pat-i- ‘lord’, us-ri- ‘morning light’.

(b) Indicate the stress of he word stems given below:

⚠ h indicates that the preceding consonant is aspirated (pronounced with a puff of air); ṇ, ṣ and ṭ ≈ n, sh and t in barn, marsh and art, uttered with the tip of the tongue turned back; ṛ is a vowel similar to the middle sound in American English bird. The mark ̺̄  denotes vowel length.

—Alexander Piperski