Artificial language decoding — select the word that could mean “occupant” Given translations: • briftamint = militant • uftonel = occupied • uftonalene = occupation Which constructed word could stand for “occupant”?

Introduction / Context:
The problem focuses on morphological families. We see one family around “ufton–” (occupied, occupation). The target “occupant” is the agent/person who occupies, so we should pair the “occupy/occupation” root with a person/agent suffix inferred from another example.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• ufton– appears in both “uftonel” (occupied) and “uftonalene” (occupation) → root = occupy/occupation.
• briftamint = militant suggests “–mint” is a person/agent suffix (one who is militant).
• We aim for “occupant” = one who occupies = occupy-root + agent-suffix.

Concept / Approach:
Build the new noun by combining the appropriate root with the agentive pattern learned from an unrelated example. This mirrors how English forms families (occupy → occupant) via consistent suffixes.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
The constructed form parallels the pattern “militant”: root + agentive. No other option pairs the occupation root with the person suffix appropriately.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• elbrifta: reorders parts of “brifta–” and “el”; unrelated to occupy.
• elamint: uses agentive “–mint” but no “ufton–” root; lacks connection to occupy.
• briftalene: “–alene” mapped to “occupation”, not the person.
• uftonata: invented ending with no evidence it denotes a person.

Common Pitfalls:
Picking a word that “sounds right” instead of applying the discovered morphology. Always anchor both parts in evidence from the given list.

Final Answer:
uftonamint