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VCE Aboriginal Languages of Victoria study materials
VCE Aboriginal Languages of Victoria study resources

VCE Aboriginal Languages of Victoria practice questions

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Question 1Unit 3, Outcome 1

In VCE Aboriginal Languages of Victoria, which term describes the process by which a language is passed from older speakers to children in the home?

  1. Loanword adaptation
  2. Code-switching
  3. Language reclamation
  4. Intergenerational transmission Correct answer.

Explanation

Intergenerational transmission refers specifically to the everyday passing of a language from one generation to the next, typically within families. It is the mechanism most closely tied to whether a language remains strong or becomes endangered, because a break in transmission is a warning sign.

Question 2Unit 3, Outcome 1

A Victorian Aboriginal community records Elders telling stories and singing songs so the material can be used in a school program. Which outcome does this activity most directly support?

  1. Translating government documents
  2. Measuring speaker fluency
  3. Archiving oral knowledge for language revitalisation Correct answer.
  4. Standardising spelling conventions

Explanation

Recording Elders' speech and songs creates an archive of authentic oral knowledge that can support teaching and revitalisation. Such recordings preserve pronunciation, vocabulary and cultural context that written notes alone often cannot capture.

Question 3Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which statement best describes the relationship between Aboriginal languages and Country in Victorian contexts?

  1. Languages are unrelated to the physical environment
  2. Languages encode knowledge of places, plants and seasonal events Correct answer.
  3. Languages are only used for ceremonial purposes
  4. Languages are identical across all of Victoria

Explanation

Aboriginal languages carry detailed ecological and geographic knowledge, including names for places, plants, animals and seasonal changes. This means language loss can also mean loss of environmental knowledge, which is why language work is often tied to caring for Country.

Question 4Unit 3, Outcome 1

A student notices that a word in a Victorian Aboriginal language has a different meaning depending on whether it is said with a long or short vowel. What does this demonstrate?

  1. All vowels in the language are long
  2. Vowel length can be phonemically contrastive Correct answer.
  3. Vowel length is always meaningless
  4. Consonants carry no meaning

Explanation

When a difference in vowel length changes a word's meaning, that length is phonemically contrastive, meaning it functions as a meaningful sound distinction. Learners must therefore hear and produce length accurately to be understood.

Question 5Unit 3, Outcome 1

What is a morpheme?

  1. The smallest unit of meaning in a word Correct answer.
  2. A single speech sound
  3. A complete sentence
  4. A regional variety of a language

Explanation

A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of a word, such as a root or an affix that adds grammatical information. Words can contain several morphemes, which is why morphemes are smaller than words but still carry meaning.

Question 6Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which of the following is the best example of a loanword process in a Victorian Aboriginal language?

  1. An Elder teaches a word to a child
  2. A community adapts an English word to its own sound patterns Correct answer.
  3. A speaker uses only traditional vocabulary
  4. A learner writes a word with a capital letter

Explanation

Loanwords are words borrowed from another language and reshaped to fit the borrowing language's sound system and grammar. Adapting an English word to local pronunciation patterns is exactly this process.

Question 7Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which approach best supports respectful language research in a Victorian Aboriginal community?

  1. Publishing recordings without asking permission
  2. Following community protocols and gaining informed consent Correct answer.
  3. Assuming all knowledge is public
  4. Ignoring Elders' advice about sensitive material

Explanation

Respectful research requires following community protocols and obtaining informed consent before recording, storing or publishing language material. Some knowledge is restricted or sensitive, so decisions about access belong with the community.

Question 8Unit 3, Outcome 1

A language program pairs fluent Elders with young adults who then teach children. Which feature of this program is most significant for long-term language survival?

  1. It relies on a single teacher
  2. It measures test scores only
  3. It avoids using written materials
  4. It builds new speakers who can continue transmission Correct answer.

Explanation

The key factor for survival is creating new speakers who can then use the language with children, restoring transmission across generations. Programs that only measure scores or depend on one person are less sustainable.

Question 9Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which statement best explains why some Victorian Aboriginal languages are described as 'sleeping' rather than 'extinct'?

  1. No one has ever studied them
  2. They are identical to English
  3. Communities are actively reviving them from records and memory Correct answer.
  4. They were never spoken in Victoria

Explanation

The term 'sleeping' reflects the fact that communities are actively reviving these languages using archival records, memory and Elders' knowledge. It signals ongoing life and effort rather than permanent loss.

Question 10Unit 3, Outcome 1

In a sentence, a Victorian Aboriginal language marks whether an action was done by one person or by several people. This is an example of which grammatical category?

  1. Definiteness
  2. Case marking on nouns
  3. Number agreement on the verb Correct answer.
  4. Tense marking

Explanation

Marking whether participants are singular or plural is a matter of number, and when the verb reflects this it is number agreement. Tense concerns time, case concerns grammatical role, and definiteness concerns specificity.

Question 11Unit 3, Outcome 1

A student compares two Victorian Aboriginal languages and finds they use different word orders for the same kind of statement. What does this show?

  1. All languages share one fixed order
  2. The languages must be unrelated
  3. Word order carries no information
  4. Word order is a language-specific convention Correct answer.

Explanation

Word order is a grammatical convention that varies between languages, and even closely related languages may differ. It can also carry information such as focus, so it is not fixed across all languages.

Question 12Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which practice best demonstrates a community-controlled approach to language revitalisation?

  1. An outside researcher publishes freely
  2. A community decides which words may be published and how Correct answer.
  3. A school adopts a program without consultation
  4. A government body sets all curriculum content

Explanation

Community-controlled revitalisation means the community holds authority over decisions about language, including what may be shared and how. This respects cultural ownership and ensures the work serves community goals.

Question 13Unit 3, Outcome 1

Why do linguists often use a standardised practical orthography when writing a Victorian Aboriginal language?

  1. It replaces the spoken language entirely
  2. It gives consistent written forms that learners and speakers can share Correct answer.
  3. It converts the language into English
  4. It removes all variation from speech

Explanation

A practical orthography provides consistent written conventions so that materials, signage and teaching resources match across contexts. It supports literacy and sharing but does not eliminate spoken variation or replace the language itself.

Question 14Unit 3, Outcome 1

A learner hears a sound in a Victorian Aboriginal language that does not exist in English and keeps substituting an English sound. What is the most useful next step?

  1. Practise distinguishing and producing the sound with a fluent speaker Correct answer.
  2. Write the sound as an English letter and ignore it
  3. Assume the sound is unimportant
  4. Avoid speaking the language

Explanation

Sounds absent from a learner's first language often need focused practice in perception and production, best guided by a fluent speaker. Substituting an English sound can change meaning or mark the speech as inaccurate.

Question 15Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which statement best describes the role of place names in maintaining Victorian Aboriginal languages?

  1. They have no connection to language
  2. They are purely decorative labels
  3. They keep language visible in public life and carry cultural knowledge Correct answer.
  4. They are always translations from English

Explanation

Place names derived from Aboriginal languages keep those languages visible in public spaces and often encode knowledge about the landscape. Their use can support awareness and pride, and they are not simply decorative.

Question 16Unit 3, Outcome 1

A community wants to create new vocabulary for digital technology. Which strategy is most consistent with language revitalisation principles?

  1. Using only words recorded before 1900
  2. Deriving new terms from the language's own resources with community approval Correct answer.
  3. Refusing to discuss technology in the language
  4. Borrowing English terms without any adaptation

Explanation

Creating new terms from a language's own roots and patterns, with community agreement, keeps the language dynamic and internally coherent. Languages have always adapted to new technology, and community approval ensures the process is controlled.

Question 17Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which is the clearest indicator that a revitalisation program is succeeding?

  1. Speakers use the language spontaneously in everyday settings Correct answer.
  2. Attendance at classes is high
  3. A grant has been awarded
  4. A textbook has been printed

Explanation

The strongest sign of success is spontaneous everyday use, because it shows the language has moved beyond lessons into real communication. Attendance, textbooks and funding are inputs that support this but do not prove it.

Question 18Unit 3, Outcome 1

A word in a Victorian Aboriginal language can be analysed as containing a root plus two suffixes. How many morphemes does the word contain?

  1. One
  2. Four
  3. Three Correct answer.
  4. Two

Explanation

Counting morphemes means counting each meaningful unit: one root plus two suffixes gives three morphemes. The number of syllables or letters is irrelevant to this count.

Question 19Unit 3, Outcome 1

Why might a community choose to restrict access to certain recordings of songs or ceremonies?

  1. Some knowledge is culturally restricted to particular people or contexts Correct answer.
  2. Restriction prevents all research
  3. Songs have no linguistic value
  4. Recordings are always of poor quality

Explanation

Cultural protocols may limit who can hear or see certain knowledge, and recordings can carry those restrictions. Respecting such limits is part of ethical language work and does not mean research is impossible.

Question 20Unit 3, Outcome 1

A speaker switches between a Victorian Aboriginal language and English depending on who is present. What is the best linguistic description of this behaviour?

  1. Proof the language is dying
  2. Contextual code-switching shaped by audience and setting Correct answer.
  3. Random and meaningless variation
  4. A sign that the speaker lacks competence

Explanation

Code-switching is a systematic, socially meaningful practice in which speakers choose languages according to audience, setting or topic. It is a normal feature of bilingual communities rather than evidence of incompetence or decline.

Question 21Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which factor most directly threatens the vitality of a Victorian Aboriginal language?

  1. Community radio programs in the language
  2. Increased publication of dictionaries
  3. More language classes for adults
  4. A break in transmission so children no longer hear the language at home Correct answer.

Explanation

The most direct threat is a break in intergenerational transmission, because children stop acquiring the language naturally. Dictionaries, classes and media can all support vitality but cannot fully replace everyday home use.

Question 22Unit 3, Outcome 1

Two related Victorian Aboriginal languages share many cognates but differ in their pronoun systems. What does this best illustrate?

  1. Related languages can diverge in specific subsystems while sharing inherited vocabulary Correct answer.
  2. The languages cannot be related
  3. Pronouns are never inherited
  4. Shared vocabulary proves the languages are identical

Explanation

Related languages inherit much vocabulary but can innovate independently in particular grammatical subsystems such as pronouns. Shared cognates indicate common ancestry, while differences show separate development.

Question 23Unit 3, Outcome 1

A revival program must decide between reviving an older documented form and adopting current community usage. Which principle best guides this decision?

  1. The community's own goals and authority should determine the choice Correct answer.
  2. Current usage is always wrong
  3. The oldest record is always correct
  4. Outside experts should decide alone

Explanation

Revival involves value judgements about identity and use, so the community's goals and authority should guide decisions. Documentary records inform the process, but they do not automatically override living community preferences.

Question 24Unit 3, Outcome 1

A linguist reconstructs a proto-form to explain systematic sound correspondences between two Victorian Aboriginal languages. What is the status of such a reconstruction?

  1. A hypothesis supported by regular correspondences, open to revision Correct answer.
  2. A directly observed historical fact
  3. A modern loanword
  4. A translation from English

Explanation

Reconstructed proto-forms are hypotheses inferred from regular sound correspondences across related languages. They are strengthened or revised as more evidence appears, so they are not directly observed facts.

Question 25Unit 3, Outcome 1

A school program teaches only isolated word lists without grammar or conversation. What is the most likely limitation of this approach?

  1. It guarantees everyday use of the language
  2. Learners may know vocabulary but be unable to construct meaningful utterances Correct answer.
  3. Learners will automatically become fluent
  4. It removes the need for community involvement

Explanation

Vocabulary without grammar or conversational practice limits learners to naming things rather than communicating. Fluent use requires understanding how words combine and opportunities to use them interactively.

Question 26Unit 3, Outcome 1

A Victorian Aboriginal language community decides that a particular set of ancestral recordings will be available only to initiated men. Which concept does this decision most directly illustrate?

  1. Lexicostatistical classification of related languages
  2. Cultural protocols governing knowledge access Correct answer.
  3. Phonological adaptation of loanwords
  4. Orthographic standardisation for literacy

Explanation

Access restrictions reflect cultural protocols, which are community rules about who may hear, see or hold certain knowledge. Such protocols are part of the wider system of law and custodianship that surrounds language material, not a linguistic property of the words themselves. Recognising these rules is essential to ethical language work.

Question 27Unit 3, Outcome 1

A language team is deciding how to spell a sound that varies between two neighbouring communities. Which approach best reflects sound language planning?

  1. Choose one community's spelling and require the other to adopt it
  2. Avoid writing the sound at all until a single pronunciation is enforced
  3. Adopt the spelling used in the oldest colonial-era word list without consultation
  4. Consult both communities and agree on a shared convention that can be revised later Correct answer.

Explanation

Practical orthographies are social decisions as much as linguistic ones, so they work best when the communities who will use them negotiate and agree on a convention. Building in the possibility of revision lets the spelling system adapt as usage develops. This balances consistency with community authority.

Question 28Unit 3, Outcome 1

A learner notices that a verb in a Victorian Aboriginal language changes form depending on whether the object is a single item or many items. What kind of grammatical information is being encoded?

  1. Case marking on nouns
  2. Evidentiality
  3. Tense
  4. Number agreement Correct answer.

Explanation

When a verb's shape responds to how many entities are involved, the language is marking number, a type of agreement. Number can appear on verbs as well as on nouns and pronouns. Tense, by contrast, locates an event in time rather than counting participants.

Question 29Unit 3, Outcome 1

Two Victorian Aboriginal languages each have a word for 'water' that is historically unrelated. What does this single comparison allow a linguist to conclude?

  1. The languages diverged less than 500 years ago
  2. Nothing definite about relatedness, because a single non-cognate pair is not evidence Correct answer.
  3. One language borrowed the word from the other
  4. The two languages are certainly unrelated

Explanation

Relatedness is established from systematic correspondences across many vocabulary items and grammatical patterns, not from one pair of words. Languages can replace individual words through borrowing or innovation while remaining related. A single mismatch therefore proves nothing on its own.

Question 30Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which activity would best develop learners' grammatical competence rather than only their vocabulary?

  1. Building original sentences about daily routines using verbs and pronouns Correct answer.
  2. Memorising a list of animal names
  3. Repeating single words after a recording
  4. Copying a chart of pronouns without using them

Explanation

Grammatical competence grows when learners use forms productively to express meaning, which requires combining words according to the language's rules. Producing original sentences forces attention to word order, agreement and morphology. Word-level activities build lexical knowledge but not the system that links words together.

Question 31Unit 3, Outcome 1

A community language team records an Elder using a word that is not in any historical source. How should this be treated in the language database?

  1. Rejected, because only historically attested words may be recorded
  2. Silently merged with the nearest historical spelling
  3. Recorded as current community usage with the speaker and date noted Correct answer.
  4. Marked as an error and corrected to the older form

Explanation

Living speakers are authoritative sources for contemporary usage, which may include words that documentation never captured. Good records note who provided a form and when, so that its status is transparent. This keeps the database honest about the difference between historical attestation and present-day speech.

Question 32Unit 3, Outcome 1

A student asks why some Victorian Aboriginal languages have several different spellings in historical records for what appears to be the same word. Which explanation is most accurate?

  1. Each spelling represents a completely different word
  2. Aboriginal speakers deliberately confused the recorders
  3. The languages changed their spelling rules every decade
  4. The recorders used different conventions and heard unfamiliar sounds through English categories Correct answer.

Explanation

Historical spellings were produced by people with varying training, using English letters that do not match all the sounds of the language. Unfamiliar contrasts were often heard through the closest English equivalents, producing varied transcriptions of one form. This is why modern orthographies are developed systematically.

Question 33Unit 3, Outcome 1

A revival program wants to name a new community health service. Which naming process is most consistent with community-controlled revitalisation?

  1. Inventing a word with no speakers involved to save time
  2. Using a word from an unrelated language because it sounds authentic
  3. Having Elders and speakers approve a term built from the language's own resources Correct answer.
  4. Choosing an English acronym and translating it word for word

Explanation

Community-controlled revitalisation means decisions about the language rest with its speakers and Elders. Forming a term from the language's own roots and morphemes, with their approval, keeps the new word consistent with the language's structure and authority. This is the standard approach to creating modern vocabulary.

Question 34Unit 3, Outcome 1

A linguist describes a Victorian Aboriginal language as having a small consonant inventory. What does this mean?

  1. It has very few words
  2. It has few distinct consonant phonemes Correct answer.
  3. It has no vowels
  4. It is spoken by very few people

Explanation

An inventory is the set of contrastive sounds a language uses, so a small consonant inventory means few distinct consonant phonemes. This is a structural property of the sound system, independent of how many words or speakers the language has. Australian languages commonly have such inventories.

Question 35Unit 3, Outcome 1

A learner produces a retroflex consonant where the language requires an alveolar one, and a speaker misunderstands the word. What does this show about the two sounds?

  1. They differ only in spelling
  2. They are allophones in free variation
  3. They are both loan phonemes from English
  4. They contrast phonemically in this language Correct answer.

Explanation

When substituting one sound for another changes the meaning a speaker hears, the two sounds are separate phonemes that contrast in the language. This is the classic minimal-pair test for phonemic status. Free variation, by contrast, would not affect meaning.

Question 36Unit 3, Outcome 1

Which statement best describes how kinship terms in many Victorian Aboriginal languages differ from English kinship vocabulary?

  1. They can encode social responsibilities and expected behaviour as well as relationship Correct answer.
  2. They have no connection to social organisation
  3. They encode only biological relationships
  4. They are always borrowed from English

Explanation

Kinship vocabulary in many Aboriginal languages is embedded in systems of social organisation that specify obligations, avoidance and appropriate behaviour between people. A term therefore identifies a relationship and a set of expected actions. This makes kinship terminology a grammatical and social system, not a simple list of family labels.

Question 37Unit 3, Outcome 1

A language class wants to show how a suffix changes a verb's meaning. Which task best assesses learners' understanding of this morphology?

  1. Reading a paragraph aloud without translation
  2. Listing ten nouns for plants
  3. Matching a verb with and without the suffix to their meanings, then using both in sentences Correct answer.
  4. Reciting the alphabet of the practical orthography

Explanation

Assessing morphological understanding requires learners to connect a form-meaning contrast with actual use. Matching suffixed and unsuffixed forms to meanings tests recognition, and producing sentences tests productive control. Together they show whether the learner grasps what the suffix contributes.

Question 38Unit 3, Outcome 1

A researcher finds that a Victorian Aboriginal language uses a different pronoun for 'we two' and 'we all'. What does this indicate about the pronoun system?

  1. It distinguishes inclusive and exclusive reference only
  2. It borrows pronouns from a neighbouring language
  3. It has no person distinctions
  4. It marks dual and plural number Correct answer.

Explanation

A form meaning exactly two people alongside a form meaning three or more shows a dual-plural number distinction. Number is a grammatical category that pronouns frequently mark, and Australian languages often distinguish two from more than two. The contrast concerns quantity, not who is included.

Question 39Unit 3, Outcome 1

Why is a word list collected in the 1840s by a settler with no linguistic training still useful to a language team today?

  1. It may preserve forms and place names not recorded elsewhere, if treated with caution Correct answer.
  2. It provides a reliable pronunciation guide for modern learners
  3. It proves the language was never spoken widely
  4. It settles all questions about the language's grammar

Explanation

Early records are valuable because they may be the only surviving evidence for particular words or names, but their reliability varies with the recorder's ear and conventions. Language teams therefore use them as one source among several, cross-checking against other records and community knowledge. Value and caution go together.

Question 40Unit 3, Outcome 1

A community decides that children will learn the language mainly through immersion in everyday activities such as cooking and gathering. Which principle does this approach reflect?

  1. Grammar should never be taught explicitly
  2. Language learning is most effective when embedded in meaningful daily activity Correct answer.
  3. Only written texts can preserve a language
  4. Children learn languages only through memorisation

Explanation

Immersion in real activities gives learners language tied to context, action and repetition, which supports comprehension and use. This reflects the principle that language is learned through meaningful interaction rather than isolated study. It is a common foundation of community language programs.

Question 41Unit 3, Outcome 2

In VCE Aboriginal Languages of Victoria, which term describes the process by which a community reclaims and strengthens a language that is no longer spoken fluently by children?

  1. Language standardisation
  2. Language revival Correct answer.
  3. Language shift
  4. Language borrowing

Explanation

Language revival refers to deliberate community efforts to bring a language back into active use after a break in intergenerational transmission. It typically involves archival research, teaching programs and community planning. The other terms describe different sociolinguistic processes.

Question 42Unit 3, Outcome 2

Which statement best describes the relationship between Aboriginal languages of Victoria and the land on which they are spoken?

  1. Languages are identical across all of Victoria
  2. Languages are only used in formal ceremonial settings
  3. Languages are portable and carry no connection to place
  4. Languages are tied to Country, with stories and names embedded in specific places Correct answer.

Explanation

In Victorian Aboriginal languages, knowledge of Country is encoded in place names, songlines and stories, so language and land are understood as inseparable. This means language revival work is often connected to caring for Country. The other statements contradict this well-documented relationship.

Question 43Unit 3, Outcome 2

A student researching a Victorian Aboriginal language finds two different spellings of the same word in older written records. What is the most appropriate first step?

  1. Choose the spelling that appears most often in the older records
  2. Consult the relevant language community and authoritative community-endorsed sources Correct answer.
  3. Invent a new spelling that looks consistent with the other word
  4. Assume the records are wrong and omit the word

Explanation

Aboriginal communities hold authority over their languages, so spelling and orthography decisions should follow community-endorsed conventions. Older records often reflect inconsistent colonial transcription practices. Consulting the community ensures respectful and accurate use.

Question 44Unit 3, Outcome 2

Which of the following best defines 'intergenerational transmission' in the context of Victorian Aboriginal languages?

  1. The translation of a language into English for archival purposes
  2. The borrowing of words between neighbouring languages
  3. The teaching of a language only in universities
  4. The passing of a language from older to younger generations through everyday use Correct answer.

Explanation

Intergenerational transmission occurs when children acquire a language naturally from parents, grandparents and community members in daily interaction. When this chain is broken, a language may need revival efforts. It is the key indicator of a language's ongoing vitality.

Question 45Unit 3, Outcome 2

A community decides to record Elders speaking their language for future learners. Which term best describes this activity?

  1. Language documentation Correct answer.
  2. Language contact
  3. Language purism
  4. Language shift

Explanation

Language documentation involves systematically recording speech, vocabulary and cultural knowledge, often with audio and video, to create a lasting record. It supports revival and teaching. The other terms describe unrelated sociolinguistic concepts.

Question 46Unit 3, Outcome 2

When a Victorian Aboriginal language has no traditional word for a modern object such as a computer, what is a common community approach?

  1. Always use the English word and never adapt it
  2. Refuse to discuss modern objects in the language
  3. Borrow a word from an unrelated overseas language
  4. Create a new term using the language's own resources or extend an existing word's meaning Correct answer.

Explanation

Languages commonly extend meaning or build new words from existing morphemes to name new concepts, a process called semantic extension or neologism. Communities often lead these decisions so new terms fit the language's grammar and sound system. This keeps the language usable in contemporary life.

Question 47Unit 3, Outcome 2

Which of these is an example of a language resource that supports VCE students learning a Victorian Aboriginal language?

  1. A guide to Australian native plants only
  2. A community-produced dictionary with example sentences Correct answer.
  3. A book of European history
  4. A monolingual English thesaurus

Explanation

Community-produced dictionaries and word lists with example sentences give learners reliable vocabulary and usage endorsed by language owners. Such resources are central to revival and school programs. The other items do not provide language-learning content.

Question 48Unit 3, Outcome 2

What does the term 'Country' mean when used by Victorian Aboriginal communities in language discussions?

  1. A relational concept of land, water, sky and the knowledge and responsibilities connected to them Correct answer.
  2. Only land legally owned under a freehold title
  3. Any rural area outside a city
  4. A term used only in English translations

Explanation

Country is a relational concept encompassing land, waters, skies and the cultural knowledge, stories and obligations tied to them. Language is understood as part of Country. This concept shapes how language knowledge is shared and cared for.

Question 49Unit 3, Outcome 2

A learner notices that an Elder uses a different word order in sentences than a textbook. What is the best interpretation?

  1. The textbook must be entirely discarded
  2. The Elder is making consistent errors
  3. Variation may reflect dialect, register or community usage that the textbook simplifies Correct answer.
  4. Word order has no meaning in the language

Explanation

Textbooks often present one simplified variety, while actual speech shows dialect and register variation. Elders are authoritative speakers, so differences should be explored respectfully. Understanding variation is part of language analysis.

Question 50Unit 3, Outcome 2

In a language revival context, why is it important to distinguish between words that are securely documented and those that are reconstructed?

  1. Reconstructed forms are hypotheses and should be marked so learners know their status Correct answer.
  2. Documented words are always wrong
  3. Reconstruction is forbidden in all communities
  4. The distinction does not matter for teaching

Explanation

Reconstructed forms are inferred from comparative or historical evidence and carry less certainty than attested words. Marking their status maintains accuracy and respects community decision-making about what is taught. This helps learners understand the evidence base of revival materials.