In Lithuanian literature and language, what linguistic term describes the phenomenon where two related vowel grades alternate systematically within related word roots, such as 'gerti' and 'girti'?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Vowel ablaut (balsių kaita)
- Step 1: Balsių kaita (qualitative and quantitative Indo-European ablaut) is preserved abundantly in Baltic verb morphology and noun derivation. Answer: Vowel ablaut (balsių kaita). Why not the others: Palatalization refers to softening before front vowels; assimilation is sound harmonization.
Practise more Literature, Language and Text Analysis.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed Brandos Atestatas (Lithuania) mock tests.
More Literature, Language and Text Analysis questions
- Which poet wrote 'Metai' (The Seasons), the first great work of Lithuanian literature, in the eighteenth century?
- In which verse form did Donelaitis write 'Metai'?
- Which book, printed in Königsberg in 1547, is the first printed book in the Lithuanian language?
- Which poet is the author of 'Pavasario balsai' (Voices of Spring), published in 1895?
- Who wrote the words and music of the Lithuanian national anthem 'Tautiška giesmė', first published in 1898?
- Which Lithuanian writer, known by her pen name Žemaitė, belongs to the realist tradition?