LINGUISTICS
Paper – II
Note : This paper contains fifty (50) objective type questions of two (2) marks each. All questions are compulsory.
1. Charles F. Hockett originally believed there to be 13 design features, out of which the features reserved for humans in this list are :
(1) two
(2) three
(3) four
(4) None
2. A standard set of basic written symbols or graphemes used to write a language based on the general principle that the letters represent phonemes of the spoken language is called
(1) phonemic writing
(2) alphabet
(3) ideography
(4) logography
3. Within the linguistic theory André Martinet used a term to refer to the two levels of structure in which speech can be analysed the term is
(1) double signifier
(2) signifié
(3) coarticulation
(4) double articulation
4. A broad transcription is a transcription that
(1) broadly ignores the difficult sounds
(2) includes symbols for only the syllables
(3) includes symbols for all the phones and write them between [ ].
(4) includes symbols for the phonemes and write them between slashes. //.
5. When we study language as it exists at any given point in time we are looking at it from a point of view called
(1) synchronic
(2) diachronic
(3) structural
(4) tagmemic
6. Assertion (I) : The eighteenth to nineteenth centuries saw the development of comparative philology arising from the discovery and gradual identification of the Indo-European language family.
Assertion (II) : For the most part, however, nineteenth century comparative philology took the western classical tradition in a new direction by focusing on phonological systems.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(2) (I) is true, (II) is wrong.
(3) (I) is wrong, (II) is true.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are wrong.
7. The necessary conditions which have to be imposed on the construction of grammars in order for them to be able to operate are :
(1) implicational universals
(2) formal universals
(3) substantive universals
(4) statistical universals
8. The traditional term for a grammatical class of words is
(1) forms
(2) adpositions
(3) parts of speech
(4) particles
9. A regionally or socially distinctive variety of language, identified by a particular set of words and grammatical structures is
(1) sociolect
(2) register
(3) dialect
(4) restricted code
10. Assertion (I) : Animal communication is the transfer of information from group of animals to one or more group of animals.
Assertion (II) : Human communication through language is distinctively discrete and characterized by many design features of language.
Codes :
(1) (I) is correct, (II) is wrong.
(2) (I) is wrong, (II) is correct.
(3) Both (I) and (II) are wrong.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are correct.
11. Match the following List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below :
12. Assertion (I) : Pitch variation is found in all languages, and its function is same in all languages.
Assertion (II) : One is always very conscious of the rise and fall in one’s own speech.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(2) (I) is true, but (II) is false.
(3) (I) is false, but (II) is true.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are false.
13. Assertion (I) : Frequencies are interpreted by the listener in terms of pitch, that is, whether a sound seems relatively higher or lower than its neighbours.
Assertion (II) : Pitch meters cannot display intonation patterns since they cannot measure changing frequencies.
Codes :
(1) (I) is true, but (II) is false.
(2) (I) is false, but (II) is true.
(3) Both (I) and (II) are false.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are true.
14. Match the following in List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the following codes :
15. Variant forms of sounds that do not change the meaning of a word, and are all very similar to one another, but occur in phonetic contexts, differ from one another are called
(1) Phonemes
(2) Allophones
(3) Archiphonemes
(4) Geminates
16. The overlapping of adjacent articulations is known as
(1) Secondary articulation
(2) Adjacency pair
(3) Double articulation
(4) Coarticulation
17. Words such as radar, laser etc. are a result of
(1) Diminition
(2) Abbreviation
(3) Acronymy
(4) Back formation
18. Assertion (I) : The standard theory was proposed by Chomsky in his book ‘Syntactic Structures’.
Assertion (II) : The modified version of standard theory was the extended standard theory.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are correct.
(2) (I) is correct, but (II) is false.
(3) (I) is false, but (II) is correct.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are false.
19. Assertion (I) : The pro-drop parameter determines whether the subject of a clause can be suppressed.
Assertion (II) : Determining the parametric values for a given language is known as parameter setting.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are correct.
(2) (I) is correct, but (II) is false.
(3) (I) is false, but (II) is correct.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are false.
20. Which of the following is the appropriate term for the string ‘Boys and Girls’ ?
(1) Complex Noun Phrase
(2) Co-ordinate structure
(3) Dependent clause
(4) Wh – Island
21. Which of the following is not true for ‘Aspects model’ ?
(1) Base provides input to deep structure.
(2) Transformations change meaning.
(3) Deep structure goes to surface structure via transformations.
(4) Syntax is generative and semantics is interpretive.
22. Which of the following correctly describes ‘it’ in the sentence ‘It was raining’ ?
(1) Anticipatory
(2) Extrapositive
(3) Dummy
(4) Preparatory
23. From the perspective of syntactic constructions using distributional criteria, which of the following is an endocentric construction ?
(1) The big house
(2) The man fell on the grass
(3) On the table
(4) Birds fly
24. Match List – I with List – II and select the correct response from the codes given below :
25. Language used for establishing social contact rather than for exchanging information is said to perform the
(1) phatic function
(2) emotive function
(3) referential function
(4) cognitive function
26. The ambiguity solely due to the alternative meanings of an individual lexical item is referred to as
(1) structural ambiguity
(2) grammatical ambiguity
(3) metaphorical ambiguity
(4) lexical ambiguity
27. A term derived from formal logic that refers to a relation between a pair of sentences such that the truth of the second sentence necessarily follows from the truth of the first is
(1) implicature
(2) entailment
(3) inclusion
(4) hyponymy
28. Assertion (I) : Indo-Aryan languages are known for their full relative clause constructions.
Assertion (II) : Dravidian languages are known for their reduced relative clause or participial constructions.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(2) (I) is true, but (II) is false.
(3) (I) is false, but (II) is true.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are false.
29. In historical linguistics, the merger of features from two or more segments into a single segment, is called
(1) dissimilation
(2) coalescence
(3) assimilation
(4) epenthesis
30. What kind of borrowing occurs in the rendering of ‘Peace courier’ as / ša:nti du:t / in Hindi ?
(1) loan shift
(2) vernacularisation
(3) loan blend
(4) loan translation
31. A language for which there is no probative evidence whatsoever for outside genetic relationship is called an isolate :
(1) Khasi
(2) Nagamese
(3) Sinhala
(4) Burushaski
32. The glottal stop is a characteristic feature of which language family ?
(1) Tibeto – Burman
(2) Austro – Asiatic
(3) Dravidian
(4) Indo – Aryan
33. If in a language the morphemes used in a word can be easily identified and assigned meanings or grammatical functions, what type of language is it ?
(1) Polysynthetic
(2) Synthetic
(3) Inflectional
(4) Agglutinative
34. The two basic claims that sound change is regular and is purely phonetically conditioned have come to characterize
(1) Verner’s law
(2) Sphota theory
(3) the Wackernagel’s law
(4) Neogrammarianism
35. In historical linguistics, the phenomenon, by which a phoneme is modified in a subset of the lexicon, and spreads to other lexical items, is
(1) lexical homogeneity
(2) lexical diffusion
(3) phonemic extension
(4) lexical crystallization
36. The number of major language families whose interaction has led India to be a linguistic area is :
(1) 3
(2) 4
(3) 5
(4) 6
37. Assertion (I) : Diachronic studies of languages presuppose synchronic studies.
Assertion (II) : Diachronic and synchronic studies are not interdependent.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are correct.
(2) (I) is correct, but (II) is wrong.
(3) (I) is wrong, but (II) is correct.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are wrong.
38. Which of the following is not correct in the context of sociolinguistic variation ?
(1) Linguistic variants result from spatial differences.
(2) Linguistic variants result from class-specific linguistic behaviour.
(3) Linguistic variants result from situational factors such as formal v/s informal conversational contexts.
(4) Linguistic variants result from the linguistic competence of a speaker.
39. Speakers who participate in interactions based on social and cultural norms and values that are regulated, represented and recreated through discursive practices are said to comprise
(1) A speech community
(2) A diglossic situation
(3) A bilingual competence
(4) A disadvantaged community
40. Assertion (I) : The term competence refers to the knowledge of the native language which is acquired alongwith the language used by an ideal speaker / listener of a heterogenous speech community.
Assertion (II) : The ability to produce and understand grammatically well-formed utterances alongwith the knowledge of their appropriateness in the context in which they are made is known as communicative competence.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are correct.
(2) (I) is correct, but (II) is false.
(3) (I) is false, but (II) is correct.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are false.
41. The use of statistical model to indicate the probability of use of a speaker’s choice between at least two linguistic alternatives and their dependency on linguistic and extralinguistic environmental conditions is known as
(1) variable rule
(2) categorial rule
(3) lexical rule
(4) transformational rule
42. Assertion (I) : Pidginization and creilozation differ from other language contact phenomena.
Assertion (II) : Neither pidgins nor creoles can be justifiably viewed as changed versions of the languages in contact.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are correct.
(2) (I) is correct, (II) is false.
(3) (I) is false, (II) is correct.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are false.
43. The scholar who first declared to the world that in addition to the primary dialects of the language, there is a very divergent, highly codified, superposed variety, the vehicle of a large and respected body of written literature, but it is not used by any section of the community for ordinary conversation, was
(1) Joshua Fishman
(2) Charles Ferguson
(3) John Gumperz
(4) Zellig Harris
44. Assertion (I) : Language acquisition takes place in an infant and a young child at a time when he/she is acquiring many other skills and knowledge about the world.
Assertion (II) : Language learning normally starts at a later stage, when language performance has already become established and many other physical and mental processes of maturation are complete or nearing completion.
Codes :
(1) Both (I) and (II) are correct.
(2) (I) is correct, but (II) is false.
(3) (I) is false, but (II) is correct.
(4) Both (I) and (II) are false.
45. “Thanda Matlab Coca Cola” (Cold drink means Coca cola) is an example of
(1) Metonymy
(2) Metaphor
(3) Semantic drift
(4) Semantic change
46. The scholar who first introduced the term Inter Language (IL) was
(1) S. Pit Corder
(2) Robert Lado
(3) Larry Selinker
(4) Noam Chomsky
47. Match the following List – I with List – II and select the correct answer from the following codes :
48. Any vocal activity in the larynx whose role is neither of initiation nor of articulation is generally termed as :
(1) burst
(2) aspiration
(3) phonation
(4) stricture
49. Match the items in List – I with List – II and select the correct answer from the codes given below :
50. Linguistic units which cannot be substituted for each other without a change in meaning can be referred to as
(1) complementation
(2) contrast
(3) free variation
(4) phonation
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