Decoding the Code Language

To decode the phrase 'how are they', we need to find the individual code words for 'how', 'are', and 'they' by comparing the given coded phrases in the certain code language.

Step-by-Step Decoding Process

• Given phrases and codes:
• Sentence 1: 'how are you' → 'so me lo'
• Sentence 2: 'you are intelligent' → 'the lo me'
• Sentence 3: 'are they lazy' → 'me ca ya'

Finding Common Codes

• Compare Sentence 1 ('how are you' is 'so me lo') and Sentence 2 ('you are intelligent' is 'the lo me'):
• Common words: 'you', 'are'
• Common codes: 'me', 'lo'
• This indicates that 'you' and 'are' are coded as 'me' and 'lo', but we don't know which word corresponds to which code yet from just these two sentences.

• Compare Sentence 1 ('how are you' is 'so me lo') and Sentence 3 ('are they lazy' is 'me ca ya'):
• Common word: 'are'
• Common code: 'me'
• This comparison helps us uniquely identify the code for 'are'.
• Therefore, 'are' → 'me'.

Deducing Other Word Codes

• From the comparison of Sentence 1 and 2, we knew 'you' and 'are' were 'me' and 'lo'. Since we now know 'are' is 'me', 'you' must be the other common code, 'lo'.
• 'you' → 'lo'.
• Now, let's look at Sentence 1 again: 'how are you' is 'so me lo'. We have deduced that 'are' is 'me' and 'you' is 'lo'. The only remaining word is 'how', and the only remaining code is 'so'.
• 'how' → 'so'.
• Next, consider Sentence 3: 'are they lazy' is 'me ca ya'. We know 'are' is 'me'. The remaining words are 'they lazy', and the remaining codes are 'ca ya'.
• 'they lazy' → 'ca ya'. At this point, we know 'they' is either 'ca' or 'ya', and 'lazy' is the other.

Finding the Code for 'they' and the Final Code

We are asked to find the code for 'how are they'. We have already found the codes for 'how' ('so') and 'are' ('me'). We need the code for 'they'.

From the deduction steps, we know 'how' is 'so' and 'are' is 'me'. The word 'they' is part of the phrase 'are they lazy' which is coded as 'me ca ya'. Since 'are' is 'me', 'they lazy' corresponds to 'ca ya'.

We are looking for the code for 'how are they'. Based on the codes we have found ('how' → 'so', 'are' → 'me'), the code for 'how are they' must start with 'so me' followed by the code for 'they'.

Let's look at the provided options. Option 4 is 'so me ca'. This option follows the pattern we expect, suggesting that 'they' is coded as 'ca'. If 'they' is 'ca', then from 'they lazy' → 'ca ya', 'lazy' must be 'ya'.

• Based on this deduction:
• 'how' → 'so'
• 'are' → 'me'
• 'you' → 'lo'
• 'they' → 'ca'
• 'lazy' → 'ya'

Let's verify all the word-code pairs against the original sentences:

All deductions are consistent with the given information.

Final Code for 'how are they'

Using the deduced codes:

• 'how' is coded as 'so'
• 'are' is coded as 'me'
• 'they' is coded as 'ca'

Combining these codes, 'how are they' is coded as 'so me ca'.

Revision Table: Code Language Analysis

Additional Information: Mastering Coding-Decoding

Coding-decoding questions are a common part of reasoning sections in many competitive exams. They require careful observation and logical deduction. Here are some tips:

• Always look for elements common to two or more coded messages.
• Compare the common elements (words or codes) to isolate the code for single words.
• Systematically list the word-code pairs you find.
• Use the deduced pairs to decode the target phrase.
• If there are remaining words and codes that cannot be uniquely paired by comparison, check the options provided. The structure of the target phrase's code in the options can often help you make the final assignments, as seen in finding the code for 'they' in this problem.
• Practice different types of coding-decoding questions to improve speed and accuracy.