artifact · linguistics · ilc 2025 · ← all puzzles · log →

ILC · PROBLEM B

word boundaries · Language X · ★★☆
timer 00:00
target ·
filled 0 / 3

More audio from Language X — but now they're whole sentences with no pauses. Use the vocabulary you built in Problem A to find where the word boundaries fall.

Concept. Spotting word boundaries is what your ear does unconsciously in your native language. New language learners often hear a continuous blur until known words start emerging — once a familiar chunk is identified, the boundaries around it become visible too. That's the strategy here: every sentence is built from the Problem A vocabulary, so anchor on the words you recognise and the rest falls out.

Your task. Listen to each sentence and write the full IPA transcription (the phoneme cheatsheet is a quick English-anchored reference for every IPA symbol) with word boundaries clearly shown (spaces between words). There's no auto-grader — the puzzle counts as filled once you've written something for all three.
example · sentence with boundaries shown small stone roll
iii. mika · ʈʃon · repik "The small stone rolls."
transcribe · three sentences
11. long river small cold stone carry
"The long river carries the small cold stone."
IPA · spaces between words ✓ filled
12. small bright bird sings
"The small bright bird sings."
IPA · spaces between words ✓ filled
13. tall child tree easily breaks
"The tall child breaks the tree easily."
IPA · spaces between words ✓ filled

Problem from the International Linguistics Challenge 2025 qualification round, problem B ("Word Boundaries", Language X, ★★☆). Audio + problem from lingchallenge.org; audio is streamed from their server. Previous: ← Problem A · Phonetic Transcription · Next: Problem C · Word Order →