About Artificial Language
An artificial language question states a rule for turning English words into coded words, gives one or two examples of the rule in action, and asks you to code a word you have not seen. Nothing has to be guessed: the rule is given, and the work is to apply it exactly to every letter of the new word.
What you need to understand
- The rule is an operation on the letters, not on the meaning. The word to be coded is a string of letters and nothing else.
- Check the rule against the examples before using it. If the rule as you have understood it does not reproduce the example, your understanding is wrong and no amount of care on the target word will help.
- Direction matters. Shifting every letter on by one and shifting every letter back by one are different rules and give different answers.
- Watch the ends of the alphabet. A shift that moves z on by one has to come back round to a, and a shift that moves a back by one has to come round to z.
- Some rules work on position rather than on letters, such as exchanging the first two letters and then the next two. An odd letter at the end stays where it is.
- The length never changes. Every rule here produces a word of the same length as the original, so an option of a different length is wrong at a glance.
How to work through these questions
- Read the rule slowly and say it back to yourself in your own words before touching the letters.
- Take the first example and apply the rule to it. If you do not get the coded word the question gives, re-read the rule: the example is the check on your understanding.
- Apply the rule to the second example as well. Two examples that both come out right mean the rule is understood.
- Write the target word out with space between the letters, and work through it one letter at a time.
- Deal with the awkward letters first, which are a and z, so that the wrapping is not left to the end where it is easily forgotten.
- Check the length of your answer against the target word, then read the options and reject any of a different length straight away.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Reading the rule as the reverse of what it says, so that a rule shifting letters on is applied backwards.
- Forgetting the wrap at the end of the alphabet and writing a letter that does not exist after z.
- Applying the rule to the meaning of the word rather than to its letters.
- Assuming the rule from a single example. One example is often consistent with two rules, and the second example is there to settle which.
- Losing count part way through a long word and shifting one letter twice.
- Choosing an option that is the right word under a different rule, which is what the wrong options are built from.
Worked example
In a certain code language, every letter is replaced by the letter that comes next in the alphabet, and z becomes a. If lamp is written as mbnq, how is river written?
- Check the rule against the example. The rule says shift every letter on by one, and lamp becomes mbnq: l to m, a to b, m to n, p to q. The rule fits.
- Write the target out letter by letter: r, i, v, e, r.
- Shift each one on: r becomes s, i becomes j, v becomes w, e becomes f, and the last r becomes s again.
- No letter here is z, so the wrap at the end of the alphabet does not arise in this word.
- The answer is sjwfs, which is the same length as river, as every answer must be.
Answer: sjwfs
Practice questions with answers
A few Artificial Language questions with the full solution shown, so you can see
how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.
Question 1
In a certain code language, every letter is replaced by the letter that comes next in the alphabet, and z becomes a.
For example, 'orchard' is written as 'psdibse', and 'bridge' as 'csjehf'.
How is 'compass' written in this code?
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A
ocpmsas
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B
ttbqnpd
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C
bnlozrr
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D
dpnqbtt
Answer: Option D — with explanation
The rule given is that every letter is replaced by the letter that comes next in the alphabet, and z becomes a.\nTaking the first example, 'orchard' becomes 'psdibse', which agrees with the rule as stated.\nApplying the same rule to 'compass' gives 'dpnqbtt'.\nEach of the other options is what 'compass' becomes under a different rule, which is what a reader produces after misreading the rule.
Common mistakes
- this is what 'compass' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: ocpmsas
- this is what 'compass' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: ttbqnpd
- this is what 'compass' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: bnlozrr
Question 2
In a certain code language, the first two letters change places, then the next two, and so on.
For example, 'garden' is written as 'agdrne', and 'forest' as 'oferts'.
How is 'compass' written in this code?
-
A
ttbqnpd
-
B
ocpmsas
-
C
ssapmoc
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D
bnlozrr
Answer: Option B — with explanation
The rule given is that the first two letters change places, then the next two, and so on.\nTaking the first example, 'garden' becomes 'agdrne', which agrees with the rule as stated.\nApplying the same rule to 'compass' gives 'ocpmsas'.\nEach of the other options is what 'compass' becomes under a different rule, which is what a reader produces after misreading the rule.
Common mistakes
- this is what 'compass' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: bnlozrr
- this is what 'compass' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: ssapmoc
- this is what 'compass' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: ttbqnpd
Question 3
In a certain code language, every letter is replaced by the letter that comes next in the alphabet, and z becomes a.
For example, 'mountain' is written as 'npvoubjo', and 'market' as 'nbslfu'.
How is 'cloud' written in this code?
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A
duolc
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B
bkntc
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C
dmpve
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D
lcuod
Answer: Option C — with explanation
The rule given is that every letter is replaced by the letter that comes next in the alphabet, and z becomes a.\nTaking the first example, 'mountain' becomes 'npvoubjo', which agrees with the rule as stated.\nApplying the same rule to 'cloud' gives 'dmpve'.\nEach of the other options is what 'cloud' becomes under a different rule, which is what a reader produces after misreading the rule.
Common mistakes
- this is what 'cloud' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: duolc
- this is what 'cloud' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: lcuod
- this is what 'cloud' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: bkntc
Question 4
In a certain code language, the first two letters change places, then the next two, and so on.
For example, 'cloud' is written as 'lcuod', and 'village' as 'ivllgae'.
How is 'lamp' written in this code?
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A
qnbm
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B
alpm
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C
mbnq
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D
kzlo
Answer: Option B — with explanation
The rule given is that the first two letters change places, then the next two, and so on.\nTaking the first example, 'cloud' becomes 'lcuod', which agrees with the rule as stated.\nApplying the same rule to 'lamp' gives 'alpm'.\nEach of the other options is what 'lamp' becomes under a different rule, which is what a reader produces after misreading the rule.
Common mistakes
- this is what 'lamp' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: mbnq
- this is what 'lamp' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: qnbm
- this is what 'lamp' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: kzlo
Question 5
In a certain code language, the word is written backwards and every letter is then replaced by the next one in the alphabet.
For example, 'harbour' is written as 'svpcsbi', and 'tower' as 'sfxpu'.
How is 'window' written in this code?
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A
xpeojx
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B
iwdnwo
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C
xjoepx
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D
wodniw
Answer: Option A — with explanation
The rule given is that the word is written backwards and every letter is then replaced by the next one in the alphabet.\nTaking the first example, 'harbour' becomes 'svpcsbi', which agrees with the rule as stated.\nApplying the same rule to 'window' gives 'xpeojx'.\nEach of the other options is what 'window' becomes under a different rule, which is what a reader produces after misreading the rule.
Common mistakes
- this is what 'window' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: iwdnwo
- this is what 'window' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: xjoepx
- this is what 'window' becomes under a different rule, not under the rule given: wodniw
Frequently asked questions
What if the rule seems to fit the first example but not the second?
Then the rule has been misread. Both examples come from the same rule, so one of them fitting and the other not means your reading is wrong, and the second example is what will tell you how.
Do I need to know the meaning of the word?
No. The rule works on the letters only. A word you have never seen would do just as well, which is why these questions can use any word at all.
How do I handle a letter at the end of the alphabet?
Treat the alphabet as a ring. After z comes a, and before a comes z. Do this letter by letter rather than at the end, where it is easy to forget.
Why are the wrong options so similar to the right one?
They are the results of applying other rules to the same word - reversing it, or shifting it the other way. They are exactly the answers a reader produces after misreading the rule, which is what makes them worth offering.
