Three Jars in the Afternoon and Other Linguistic Tasks

This book contains linguistic tasks dedicated to a wide variety of languages from around the world. No special knowledge is required to solve them: most readers likely do not know Swedish or Georgian, and it is unlikely that anyone knows the Dyirbal and Straits languages. Nevertheless, a key can be found for each task by logically reasoning how the unknown language is structured and how it differs from Russian. Each task is accompanied by hints, detailed solutions, and, most importantly, a postscript in which interesting linguistic phenomena presented in the task are discussed in more detail. The materials in this collection were published on the popular science website «Elements», but have been significantly revised and expanded for this book. The collection will be useful for both schoolchildren participating in linguistic Olympiads and adults interested in the languages and cultures of the world's peoples.