linguistic discussion

8/10/2019 Linguistic Discussion

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sec.A (20 m)

1.which statement is false about english

A.belongs to west germanic group brnch of the indo-european fmily

B.sound change dring the mid-english eroded inflection

C.historically eng. has been enriched by loan words French n latin

D.descended frm latin which both latin n english r members of the indo-euro lang.family

2.A speech community consists of people who

A.live in the same area or district.

B.live in same area and use the same linguistic code.

C.use different linguistic codes and live in the same area.

D.use the linguistic code regardless of where they stay.

3.The following are a number of facts pertaining to language except

A.As time changes, all languages would also go through changes in one aspect or another.

B.Language though they are equally complex, some are just primitive as compared to some others.

C.All human languages utilize a finite set of discrete sounds that are combined to form meaningful

elements.

D.The relationship between the sounds and meanings of spoken languages and between the gestures

and meanings of sign languages are for the most part arbitrary.

4.Which word contains the CCVC[C-consonant,V-vowel] syllable

structure?

A.gnat

B.whip


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C.know

D.bridge

5.Which of the following explains the concept of displacement?

A.Sounds take on meaning only when they are combined in certain ways.

B.The ability to produce a sentence which has never been heard before.

C.The ability to communicate about things which are removed in time or place.

D.The lack of natural or intrinsic relationship between the way a word is pronounced [or signed] and its

meaning.

6.Which of the statements below describe features of speech?

I.It is less organized and more casual.

II.It is acquired naturally and automatically.

III.It is very organized and tends to be more formal.

1V.Ideas are formulated spontaneously and simultaneously.

A.I,II,IV

B.I,III,IV

C.I,II,III

D.II,III,IV

7.Obviously one can be lying down ,seated , or standing up to convey messages. Are we stouched or

straight up ? Are our legs crossed our arm folded? Are we leaning against the wall or a table nearby?

Such positions convey a degree of formality and the degree of relaxation in the communication

exchange.


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Which of the non-verbal communication elements describes the above situation?

A.Gestures

B.Postures

C.Physical Contact

DFacial Expression

8. allows the speaker to combine sounds to produce new words.

A.Duality

B.Productivity

C.Arbitrariness

D.Discreteness

9.The word which contains diphthong

is

A. Glow

B. Swap

C. Clean

D. Brought

10.The word dance can be pronounced as either (da:ns/or/daena/.Therefore.the sounds/a/ and/ as/

are


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A.Phonemes

B.Allophones

C.Allomorphs

D.Morphemes

11.Which of the following words contains four morphemes?

A.Legibility

B.Dependable

C.Decrystalized

D.Misinterpretation

12.Which of the following word contains a free morpheme and two bound morphemes?

A.Mens

B.Supportive

C.Unbelievably

D.Entertainment

13.Which of the following is generated by the phrase structure rule VPV+NP+PP

A.Rolled down the hill

B.Was a terrible accident

C.Cut the vegetable with a knife

D.Feel free to give your comments


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14. constituent structure trees would reveal three aspects of the syntatic knowledge of sentence

structures except for

A. the ambiguity of a sentence

B. the linear order of the words

C. the grouping of the words into structural constituent

D. the syntactic category of each structural constituent

The moon is bigger than the sun

15. Which of these syntactic rules does the above sentence conform to?

A. syntax is independent of truth

B.syntax is independent of meaning

C.syntax accounts for the grammaticality of sentence

D. syntax accounts for the ambiguity of meaning in sentence

16. Which of these is a compound sentence?

A. Jack and Jill went up the hill

B. Bond aimed and fired a shot at the robber

C. She is late to work because of the heavy traffic jam

D. Mother cooks breakfast,lunch and dinner everyday

17. Read the pair of the sentences provided below.


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Sentence 1: The nurse treated Johan's wound with great care

Sentence 2: The teacher treated her pupils to a grand dinner

Indentify the meaning relationship between the word treated in sentence 1 and sentence 2

A. synonymy

B.Antonymy

C. Polysemy

D. Hyponymy

18. Ashley is a bachelor

With reference to the statement above,the following are true EXCEPT

A. Ashley is a male

B. Ashley is a widower

C. Ashley is at the present time not married

D. Ashley is available for a steady relationship

19. Tiara : Have you taken your dinner?

Rahman: I think Juliet is hungry

In the above conversation, Rahman is violating maxim of

A. quality

B.manner

C.quantity

D.relevance


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20. Deixis refers to words and expression whose references rely solely on the circumstance of the

utterance and can be only be understood in the light of these circumstances(Fromkin,2011)

Based on the definition given, identify which of the following sentences contains all the three deictic

expressions.

A. I saw a big sale

B. There was a big sale yesterday

C. He saw a big sale there yesterday

D. There was a really big sale there yesterday

----------------------DONE----------------------------------

sec. B (60 m)

answer all questions.

1. briefly explain the statements .

a) Language is a set of arbiatrary symbols(ANSWER PAGE 14)

exp:

eg:

b) Language operates in a speech community or culture.(ANSWER PAGE 14)


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love=L

the=F

compile=L

-tion= D

-s=I

question: The silly joker died

?

?

?

?

4.for each of the underlined words shown below, do the following:

a) identify the suffix by breaking the word into parts using a slash (+) mark,

b)state whether the suffix is derivational or inflectional

c) briefly justify your decision by explaining how the suffix works.

no. | sentence / (a) / (b) / (c)

0. | eg:

| that is the most foolish thing i've ever done / fool + lish /derivational /change noun to adj

1. | mahmud likes watching tv during his fee time/ LIKE/S /INFLECTIONAL/ INDICATE 3RD PERSON

SINGULAR

2. | the boys were excited to go on the school trip/ EXCITE/D / INFLECTIONAL/CHANGING ADJECYIVE

TO VERB

3. | the payment must be made at the counter /PAY//MENT /DERIVATIONAL/ CHANGING VERB TO

NOUN


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5.lang. users s/times experience difficulty in understanding sntences utterd by their interiocutors. one

reason for this occurrence is due to ambiguity. describe lexical ambiguity and give 2 examples to

illustrate.

6.draw 2 tree diagrams to show the ambiguity of the structure:

" They put the box on the table by the window."

a)

b)

Q.7.Identify the semantic relationship of the word pairs ( in bold) in the sentences below.

Example: You have to be cruel to be kind.

1.

Atpresent, she will presenther paper only to the board.-HOMOGRAPHS

2.

I was tremblingwhen the ground startedshaking.-SYNONYMY

3.

It is not fair to charge a higherfarefor a short distance.-HOMOPHONE

4.

The coldhearted stepmother chased Hansel and Gretel out in the cold.-POLYSEMY

5.

Therichusually do not understand the hardship of the poor.-ANTONYM

Q. 8.

Paraphrase the following sentences in two different ways to show that you understand ambiguity

involved:

Example: Smoking grass can be nauseating.


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A) Putting grass in a pipe and smoking it can make you sick.

B) Fumes from the smoldering grass can make you sick.

Joe finally decided on the boat.

i- JOE FINALLY DECIDED WHICH BOAT TO BUY

ii- JOE DECIDED ON THE BOAT

Question 9.

Write the phonetic symbols for the sound underlined in each of the following words.

Word Symbol

0 hate /et/

i time

ii tour

iii joy

iv fear

Q.10.

List and label the deictic expressions in the text.

This month marks the start of the rabbit year in the Chinese zodiac Those people born in the year of the

rabbit -the fourth position in the zodiacare thought to be articulate talented and ambitious. This year


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is perceived to be a lucky year especially for these rabbits. In conjunction with the lunar new year

celebration, most shopping complexes, particularly those special spots like entrances and main halls

have been decorated based on the rabbittheme. That creates an atmosphere of gaiety.

(adapted from readers digest, feb 2011)

Types of deixis / phrases

0.eg: place deixis / those special spots

i. PERSON DEIXIS / THOSE PEOPLE BORN

ii. TIME DEIXIS / THIS MONTH

iii. TEXTUAL DEIXIS / THIS YEAR

-------------------------------------------------

sec.c= essay(20m)

-choose 1-

1. culture encompasses language. as culture changes along with time,technology advancement and

globalization,language is also not spared.language has change considerably in terms of

vocabulary.discuss n illustrate 5 ways in which new words are formed n in which existing words take on

new meanings.


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2. why is it important for an english lang. teacher to have a sound knowledge of syntax? support your

answer with relevant examples based on at least 3 aspects of syntax.

3. analyse the dialogue based on Grice's cooperative prinsiples. explain n support with examples frm the

dialogue.

A: Shall we buy our niece this novel?

B: Yes, that's a good idea. she loves reading. your sister told me.

A: Is there any genre that she likes?

B: I think she would love chic lit. I know she has a collection of those, especially Cecelia Ahern's.I saw

them in her room other day. they are arranged neatly on the bookshelf.

A:Let's go and find if there is any latest title by her favourite author. now,where can we find chic lit?

B: they are over there. next to the novels on romance and sci-fi thriller . I love this book store, the booksare arranged according to the authors' last name.

A: Have you found it?

B: Her it is!

ok...finish ~diana

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