Hi guzzlers,

Today’s puzzle concerns the South American language Aymara. It’s testing you on the sort of linguistics skills that might help you get you a job at Google, according today’s article in which a Google exec says that an understanding of language is the key to the next giant leap in technology.

The roughly two million speakers of Aymara live in the area around Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake, in the Andes between Bolivia and Peru. Some of its speakers – the Uros – actually live “on” the lake. Their homes are built on artificial islands, made from woven reeds, that float on the water.

Below, seven Uros fishermen describe their catch. Can you work out who caught what? But watch out! One of the fishermen is lying.

The seven catches. Illustration: NACLO

1. “Mä hach’a challwawa challwataxa.”

2. “Kimsa hach’a challwawa challwataxa.”

3. “Mä challwa mä hach’a challwampiwa challwataxa.”

4. “Mä hach’a challwa kimsa challwallampiwa challwataxa.”

5. “Paya challwallawa challwataxa.”

6. “Mä challwalla paya challwampiwa challwataxa.”

7. “Kimsa challwa paya challwallampiwa challwataxa.”

The puzzle is different from the ones I usually post in this column. In addition to deductive logic and pattern-spotting, you’ll need some basic intuition about languages.

Beware: it’s hard. But not impossible. The question is taken from the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad, a competition for high school students. The brightest contestants are able to solve it. If you want to print out the problem, click this link here.

Here are some tips: isolate all the patterns you can see. Work out which are the likely words for ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’, and ‘fish’. And then curse Aymara for its idiosyncrasies!

I’ll be back at 5pm UK time with the solution.

UPDATE: click here for the solution

Usually here I write (in my shouty voice) NO SPOILERS. There is always someone who ignores my appeal, so if you want to work on the problem with no help DO NOT SCROLL BELOW THE LINE!

However, since today’s problem is hard, feel free to mention the patterns that you see and suggest what they might mean. If you know you have the correct final answer, PLEASE DO NOT POST IT, but otherwise discuss the subtleties of this puzzle, the joys of Lake Titicaca, linguistics, the future of technology and fish.

Thanks to the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad for today’s puzzle, and also to the UK Linguistics Olympiad. If you are a teacher or a parent (or a keen student!) with an interest in languages, I’d recommend checking them out – and encouraging your pupils/children to join the competition. They are open for any school age and ability.

I set a puzzle here every two weeks on a Monday. I’m always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.

I’m the author of several books of popular maths, including the puzzle books Can You Solve My Problems? and Puzzle Ninja.

I also co-write Football School, the children’s book series that explains the world through football. The third volume (left) is just out. In it there are chapters on the maths of the coin-toss, the chemistry of pitch markings, the biophysics of dribbling, the biology of footballers’ feet, the history of the first football club, the design and technology of trophies, the politics of Spain, and much much more.