1. An ideal speaker is one who can
(A) Speak more than one language
(B) Speak very clearly
(C) Produce all grammatical sentences of a language
(D) Use large number of idioms in his/her speech
Answer: (C)
2. Following are the types of language universals:
I. Formal
II. Substantive
III. Absolute
IV. Partial
Codes:
(A) Only I and II is correct.
(B) Only II and III is correct.
(C) Only III and IV is correct.
(D) Only I, II and III is correct
Answer: (D)
3. Find the correct order:
I. Prescriptive approach
II. Descriptive approach
III. Concept of Language Faculty
IV. Computational Linguistics
Codes:
(A) I II III IV
(B) I II IV III
(C) III I II IV
(D) III II I IV
Answer: (A)
4. Find the correct order:
I. Distinctive feature
II. Phoneme
III. Phone
IV. Syllable
Codes:
(A) IV I III II
(B) I III II IV
(C) III II I IV
(D) II III I IV
Answer: (B)
5. Match the items in the List – I with List – II and select the correct answer from the codes given below:
List – I List – II
a. Location of speech and referent i. Arbitrariness
b. Conventional relation between object and word ii. Displacement
c. Role of speaker and listener iii. Denotation
d. Referential function of language iv. Interchangeability
Codes:
a b c d
(A) ii i iv iii
(B) iii iv ii i
(C) iv iii i ii
(D) i ii iii iv
Answer: (A)
6. Match the items in the List – I with List – II and select the correct answer from the codes given below:
List – I List – II
a. Underlying system of language i. Complementary distribution
b. Only one of them can occur in the same context ii. Language
c. Both are present iii. Paradigmatic
d. Only one of them is present iv. Syntagmatic
Codes:
a b c d
(A) iii iv ii i
(B) iv i iii ii
(C) iii iv i ii
(D) ii i iv iii
Answer: (D)
7. Assertion (I): The approach which studies only the written form of language is called prescriptivism.
Assertion (II): Only written form is the true representation of a language.
Codes:
(A) Both (I) and (II) are false.
(B) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(C) (I) is false but (II) is true
(D) (I) is true but (II) is false.
Answer: (D)
8. Assertion (I): We can study social variation through speech.
Assertion (II): The branch of linguistics which studies speech differences among speakers of a language is called psycholinguistics.
Codes:
(A) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(B) Both (I) and (II) are false.
(C) (I) is true but (II) is false.
(D) (I) is false but (II) is true.
Answer: (C)
9. The term ‘Organology’ later come to be known as
(A) Pathology
(B) Disability
(C) Phrenology
(D) Neurology
Answer: (C)
10. Assertion (I): Jargon aphasia results in the substitution of one sound for another.
Assertion (II): Patients with Wernicke’s aphasia often produce such jargon.
Codes:
(A) (I) is true and (II) is false.
(B) (I) is false and (II) is true.
(C) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(D) Both (I) and (II) are false.
Answer: (C)
11. The period during which language acquisition proceeds easily, swiftly and without external intervention is called
(A) Developmental period
(B) Critical period
(C) Acquired period
(D) Abnormal period
Answer: (B)
12. The rules children construct are
(A) Grammar dependent
(B) Lexical dependent
(C) Structure dependent
(D) Sound dependent
Answer: (C)
13. ________ was used as the label for the secret language of beggars and street merchants.
(A) Stang
(B) Taboo
(C) Argot
(D) Euphemism
Answer: (C)
14. Assertion (I): A parser is the machine or engine that is responsible for applying the rules.
Assertion (II): A parser can have different strategies for applying rules.
Codes:
(A) Both (I) and (II) are false.
(B) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(C) (I) is true and (II) is false.
(D) (I) is false and (II) is true.
Answer: (B)
15. A system of writing Mandarin with a modified Roman alphabet is known as
(A) Hangul
(B) Pinyin
(C) Kanji
(D) Katakana
Answer: (B)
16. A movement towards greater uniformity and less variation among dialect is
(A) Dialect levelling
(B) Dialect mapping
(C) Accent
(D) Isogloss
Answer: (A)
17. The theory that language determines the world-view of its speech community has been proposed by
(A) Charles F. Hockett
(B) E.A. Nida
(C) William Labov
(D) Sapir Whorf
Answer: (D)
18. Which of the following speech sounds are Dravidian loans into Indo- Aryan?
(A) Retroflexes
(B) Velars
(C) Semi-vowels
(D) Fricatives
Answer: (A)
19. English [h] and [y] are phonemes on the basis of
(A) Complementary distribution
(B) Parallel distribution
(C) Defective distribution
(D) Free variation
Answer: (C)
20. Assertion (I): English [p] and [b] are in constant phonological opposition.
Assertion (II): English [p] and [pH] are in complementary distribution.
Codes:
(A) (I) is true and (II) is false.
(B) (I) is false and (II) is true.
(C) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(D) Both (I) and (II) are false.
Answer: (C)
21. The study of man’s sound-producing possibilities and the functioning of his speech mechanism is called
(A) Descriptive phonetics
(B) Evolutionary phonetics
(C) General phonetics
(D) Normative phonetics
Answer: (C)
22. The IPA symbol [y] stands for
(A) Front close unrounded vowel
(B) Central close unrounded vowel
(C) Front midway between close and close-mid vowel
(D) Front close rounded vowel
Answer: (D)
23. Affricates involve
(A) Close approximation
(B) Open approximation
(C) Zero strictures
(D) Zero stricture and close approximation
Answer: (D)
24. Closed velum acts as the initiator in the articulation of
(A) Plosives
(B) Clicks
(C) Implosives
(D) Ejectives
Answer: (B)
25. A closed syllable is a syllable which is
(A) Arrested by a consonant
(B) Has no arresting consonant
(C) Has a releasing consonant
(D) Has no releasing consonant
Answer: (A)
26. Assertion (I): Secondary articulation involves more constriction of the vocal tract than the primary articulation does.
Assertion (II): The secondary articulation may be either in front of, or behind of the primary articulation.
Codes:
(A) (I) is false and (II) is true.
(B) (I) is true and (II) is false.
(C) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(D) Both (I) and (II) are false.
Answer: (A)
27. Once an inflectional affix is added to a word
(A) No further attachment of the derivational affix to the word is possible.
(B) Both inflectional and derivational affixes can be added.
(C) Nothing happens to root-word
(D) The word becomes a clitic
Answer: (A)
28. Match the items in the List – I with those in List – II:
List – I List – II
a. Root i. a form of word that changes into another word
b. Stem ii. a form of word that takes derivations
c. Base iii. a form of word that takes inflections
d. Suppletion iv. after all affixations are taken out
Codes:
a b c d
(A) i iv ii iii
(B) iv iii ii i
(C) i iii iv ii
(D) iv i iii ii
Answer: (B)
29. Declension of nouns in inflectional languages means:
(a) Nouns with gender and number
(b) Nouns with grammaticalization
(c) Nouns with tense, aspect and mood
(d) Nouns with case endings
Codes:
(A) only (a) is correct.
(B) (a), (b), (c) are correct
(C) (a) and (d) are correct
(D) None of the above is correct
Answer: (C)
30. Assertion (I): Linguistic items ‘–s’, ‘–z’ and ‘–iz’ are phonologically conditioned allomorphs.
Assertion (II): Amongst the three allomorphs ‘–s’, ‘–z’ and ‘–iz’, the ‘–z’ is the underlying morpheme for plural marker in English.
Codes:
(A) Both (I) and (II) are false.
(B) Only (I) is true and (II) is false.
(C) Only (II) is true and (I) is false
(D) Both (I) and (II) are true.
Answer: (D)
31. In revised extended standard theory, the modifications are made with the inclusion of
(A) Logical forms and cognitive systems
(B) Phrase structure grammar
(C) Psycholinguistics
(D) Neurolinguistics
Answer: (A)
32. Transformational rules are
(A) Structure preserving
(B) Meaning preserving
(C) Grammar preserving
(D) Meaning changing
Answer: (B)
33. In the following conversation of X and Y, what conversational maxim is seemingly violated by X and Y?
X: My present situation is more of heaven on earth.
Y: Indeed, but to think that time changes yesterday is amazing.
(A) Maxim of quality
(B) Maxim of manner
(C) Maxim of relation
(D) Maxim of quantity
Answer: (C)
34. Assertion (I): Lexicography is the study of words in such a way that it includes their nature and function as symbols and their meaning in relation to epistemology.
Assertion (II): Semantics is the study of meaning in language.
Codes:
(A) (I) is true, (II) is false
(B) (I) is false, (II) is true.
(C) Both (I) and (II) are false.
(D) Both (I) and (II) are true.
Answer: (B)
35. Match the linguistic forms of the utterance from the List – I and the functions of these forms with the List – II:
List – I List – II
a. May I use your pen? i. Interrogative question
b. Did you attend the lecture? ii. Interrogative- Request
c. Leave the room! iii. Declaration- Information
d. I lost the opportunity iv. Imperative- Command
Codes:
a b c d
(A) iv iii ii i
(B) ii i iv iii
(C) i ii iii iv
(D) ii iv i iii
Answer: (B)
36. When a constituent is moved to the front of a sentence, then it functions as “topic”. This process is called
(A) Subjectivisation
(B) Topicalisation
(C) Complementation
(D) Objectivisation
Answer: (B)
37. The output of the basic component of the Generative Grammar is
(A) Deep structure
(B) Surface structure
(C) Syntactic structure
(D) Semantic component
Answer: (A)
38. Semantic properties of a constituent are specified with the help of
(A) Distinctive features
(B) Suprasegmental features
(C) Syntactic features
(D) Segmental features
Answer: (C)
39. “We congratulate you on your success” is an example of
(A) Commissive Act
(B) Expressive Act
(C) Representative Act
(D) Directive Act
Answer: (B)
40. A construction where a single clause has been divided into two separate sections is known as
(A) Complex sentence
(B) Compound sentence
(C) Complement sentence
(D) Cleft sentence
Answer: (D)
41. The set of techniques developed over move than a century and half that permits us to recover linguistic constructs of earlier stages in a family of related languages is known as
(A) Contrastive method
(B) Comparative method
(C) Synchronic method
(D) None of the above
Answer: (B)
42. Assertion (I): At the level of phonology all South Asian languages exhibit a contrast between front unrounded vowel and rounded back vowels.
Assertion (II): All South Asian languages except “Khasi” which is a verb medial language share common structural characteristics at the level of sentence.
Codes:
(A) Both (I) and (II) are true.
(B) Both (I) and (II) are false.
(C) (I) is true and (II) is false.
(D) (II) is true and (I) is false.
Answer: (A)
43. In some languages words typically contain a linear sequence of morphs and therefore these languages are known as
(A) Isolating
(B) Agglutinating
(C) Inflectional
(D) None of the above
Answer: (B)
44. Match the items from List – I with those in List – II and select the correct answer from the codes given below:
List – I List – II
a. Trubetzkoy i. Sociolinguistic Area
b. Emeneau ii. Sprachbund
c. Weinreich iii. Linguistic Area
d. P.B. Pandit iv. Convergence Area
Codes:
a b c d
(A) iii ii i iv
(B) ii iii iv i
(C) i ii iii iv
(D) iv iii ii i
Answer: (B)
45. Match the items from List – I with those in List – II and select the correct answer from the codes given below:
List – I List – II
a. South Munda i. Santali, Mundari
b. North Munda ii. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
c. Korku iii. Ho, Bhumij, Korwa
d. Mundri sub group iv. Kharia Jaung
Codes:
a b c d
(A) ii i iii iv
(B) iii ii i iv
(C) i ii iii iv
(D) iv i ii iii
Answer: (D)
46. ‘Khowar’, ‘Torwali’ and ‘Shina’ belong to
(A) Dravidian family of languages
(B) Tibeto-Burman
(C) Austro-Asiatic
(D) Dardic
Answer: (D)
47. Partial reduplication of words where an initial consonant or syllable is replaced in the reduplicated word is known as
(A) Reduplication
(B) Echo-words
(C) Conjunctive participle
(D) None of the above
Answer: (B)
48. Assertion (A): The ‘guna’ increment is an Indo-European phenomenon.
Assertion (B): The “V ddhi” increment is specifically Indian in origin.
Codes:
(A) Both (A) and (B) are correct.
(B) Both (A) and (B) are wrong.
(C) (A) is correct, (B) is wrong.
(D) (B) is correct and (A) is wrong.
Answer: (A)
49. The exploitation of patterns in the synchronic grammar of a single language or dialect to recover information about its prehistory is
(A) Standard method of reconstruction
(B) Synchronic grammar
(C) Diachronic grammar
(D) Internal reconstruction
Answer: (D)
50. The first Germanic sound shift or Rask’s rule is also known as
(A) Grimm’s Law
(B) Grassman’s Law
(C) Neogrammarian Rule
(D) None of the above
Answer: (A)