1. Admit Pass No.
Entrance Tests 2008
M Phil (Linguistics and Phonetics)
Time: 3 hours Max. Marks 110
Notes and Instructions
1. The question paper has six sections (A,B,C,D,E and F)
2. All questions in Section C are compulsory. Answer them on the question paper
itself. (Section C carries 20 marks)
3. Answer six questions in all from the other five Sections (i.e. A,B,D,E, and F),
choosing not more than two from any Section. Use the answer book provided to
answer these questions.
4. Answer the questions in each Section together.
5. After you complete the test, hand in the entire question paper along with the answer
book.
Section A
I. Give the derivation of the following sentences (as per Chomsky 1981). For each
sentence provide a D- Structure representation and an S- Structure representation,
and discuss the assignment of theta roles and case. (15)
1. The trial is expected early next month.
2. Bill appears to have left.
3. John is likely to be invited to the party.
II. Determine the antecedents of the anaphors in the following. Show how the
occurrence of the anaphors is consistent with the relevant binding principles. (15)
1. She is believed to have nominated herself.
2. They seemed to like each other’s comments.
3. Bill promised Lucy to behave himself.
III. Account for the ungrammaticality of the following sentences. (15)
1.*Who do they think that will arrive first?
2.*Who did John make the claim that he saw last week?
3.*Which man do you wonder when will invite Mary?

2. Section B
IV. Examine the English data below and answer the questions. (15)
Set 1
i. inability ii. inefficient iii. inescapable iv. inert
vi. inaction
a. Identify the prefix, its meaning and write the Word Formation Rule that
describes the data.
b. Identify the odd word in Set 1 above and explain why it is different from the
other words in the Set.
Set 2
i. impossible ii. imbalance iii. immobile iv. invalid
c. Describe the changes (if any) that occur in the prefix using distinctive
features.
Set 3
i. innocuous ii. illegal iii. irreverence iv. illogical
d. Describe the changes that occur in the shape of the prefix using distinctive
features.
e. Do the generalizations you have made so far account for the words ‘impotent’
and ‘impair’? Why/Why not?
V. Examine the Slovak data below and answers the questions. (15)
Set 1
i. krik ‘shout’ ii. kura ‘chicken iii. kri:k ‘bush’
iv. ku:ra ‘cure’ v. rad ‘row’ vi. gra:d degree’
a. Is vowel length distinctive in this language? Why?
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3. Set 2
Nom.sg Gen.pl
i. piv + ɔ pi:v ‘beer’
ii. put + ɔ pu:t ‘chain’
iii. lan + ɔ la:n ‘cable’
Noun Diminutive
iv. znak zna:tʃ +ik ‘sign’
v. puk pu:tʃ + ik ‘bud’
b. Write a rule to account for the stem vowel alternation in the data above
specifying the morphological environments (if required).
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4. c. Write a rule (using distinctive features) to account for the stem final
consonant alternation.
Set 3
Neuter Nouns
Nom.sg Nom.pl Dat.pl. Loc.pl. Gloss
i. lan + ɔ lan + a: lan + a:m lan + a:ch ‘cable’
ii. sta:d + ɔ sta:d + a sta:d + am sta:d + ach ‘herd’
iii. tʃi:sl + ɔ tʃi:sk + a tʃi:sl + am tʃi:sl + ach ‘number’
Nom.sg. Agentive
iv. hut +a hut + ni:k ‘steel works’
v. monta:ʒ monta:ʒ +nik ‘assembling’
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5. vi. tʃalu:n tʃalu:n +nik ‘wallpaper’
d. Write a rule to account for the vowel alternation in the suffixes.
e. Describe informally the pattern of vowel alternations in the stem and
the suffixes.
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6. VI. Examine the data below from Sudanese Arabic and answer the questions:
(15)
Set 1
i. ¹bana ‘he built’ ii. ¹?akal ‘he ate’ iii. ?a¹guul ‘I say’
iv. ¹?aakul ‘I eat’ v. baa¹been ‘two doors’ vi. ¹maktab ‘office’
a. Syllabify the words in i, v and vi.
b. When are final syllables stressed in disyllables?
Set 2
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7. i. ?a¹kalna ‘we ate’ ii. ¹katabu ‘they wrote’
iii. ¹katabat ‘she wrote’ v. jama¹leen ‘two camels
v. masaa¹kiin ‘poor (pl)’ vi. hamma¹liin ‘parters’
vii. makta¹been ‘library’ viii.¹tarjamu ‘he translated’
ix. tar¹jamna ‘we translated’
c. When are final syllables stressed in trisyllables?
d. When are penult syllables stressed in trisyllables?
e. How many types of syllables occur word finally?
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8. f. How many types of syllables occur elsewhere?
g. Make a single statement regarding stress placement in this variety of
Arabic.
h. Where would the stress fall on a word like jamalna ‘our camel’ and
jamalak ‘your camel’? Why?
i. Is the stress on the word [ja¹mala] ‘her camel’ problematic for your
analysis? Why/Why not?
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9. Admit Pass No.
Section C
(Note: Answers to be written in the space given.)
VII. Rearrange the following sentences in proper, coherent order. Use the space
provided below to indicate the order in which you think they should occur.
Organize the sentences in two paragraphs. Do not write the sentences again. (10)
a. Please would you allow Prem and I to go for a movie?
b. India may have won the match had they not gone and dropped 2 catches.
c. It’s one of the most unique monuments in Hyderabad
d. Neither fire nor flood are ever likely to stop him on a journey
e. This is one of the those problems that really is difficult to solve.
f. Like most small cars, I find the new Santro driver excellently on rough
surfaces.
g. They asked if I were going with them.
h. Preeti hardly knew no one at the meeting.
i. The Rajadhani Express now a days goes directly to Bangalore.
j. You should have tried to have tried to have let me know at once.
The order should be
Paragraph 1: Sentence numbers ……………………………………………………
Paragraph 2: Sentence numbers ……………………………………………………
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10. IX. Say whether each of the following sentences is acceptable or not. Give an
acceptable version wherever you disapprove of the grammar/usage (not the content)
of the sentence given. (10)
1. When asked to explain Britain’s wartime policy, Prime Minister Winston
Churchill responded with these monosyllables: “It is to wage war by sea, land
and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us.”
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2. Short words are as good as long ones, and short, old words like sun, grass and
home are best of all.
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3. Make them the spine and the heart of what you speak and write.
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4. When you speak and write, no law says that you have to use big words.
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5. For centuries the finest poets and orators have recognized the power of small
words.
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6. A lot of small words, more than you might think, can meet your needs with a
strength, grace and charm that large words lack.
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11. 7. So use them wherever you can.
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8. In fact, one study shows that 11 words account for 25% of all spoken English
and all 11 are monosyllable.
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9. You don’t have to be a great author or statesman to tap the energy and
eloquence of small words.
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10. The above paragraph is composed entirely of words of one syllable.
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Section D
IX. Mark the primary stress in the following words: (15)
a. conjecture f. gazette
b. hostility g. communication
c. shipwreck h. performance
d. characterize I. alcoholic
e. appointment j. demonstrate
X. Underline the tonic syllable in the following sentences, based on the context given.
An example has been provided: (15)
e.g. I haven’t got a credit card.
i) Why are you paying in cash?
I haven’t got a credit card.
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12. ii) You can pay by a credit card.
I haven’t got a credit card.
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13. I’m a graphic designer.
1. What kind of a designer are you?
____________________________________________
What do you do?
____________________________________________
2. I like jazz and classical.
1. What kind of music do you like?
___________________________________________
2. Which do you prefer, jazz or classical?
___________________________________________
3. Is your seat 29F?
1. She is not sure she heard the number correctly.
___________________________________________
2. She is not sure she heard the letter
correctly.___________________________________________
4. Is that your phone?
1. He can see somebody’s mobile phone on the seat.
____________________________________________
2. He can hear an electronic sound from someone’s pocket.
5. Yes, two brothers.
1. You have some brothers, don’t you?
____________________________________________
2. Do you have any brothers or sisters?
_____________________________________________
XI Complete the following statements in one or more words: (15)
a) V.O.T. refers to ____________________________.
b) [ τ=♦ 8εΙ)ν ] is an example of _______________________transcription.
c) / λ / is realized as a _____________ lateral before vowels.
d) The primary accent is placed on the ___________syllable in a compound
word like groundnut.
e) Varieties of a language which differ in respect of grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation are called _____________.
f) / ϕ / and / ω / are also called ___________.
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14. g) In a sentence, the secondary accent without _________________ may be
manifested by qualitative, quantitative or rhythmic prominence.
h) A brief period of voicelessness during and immediately after the release of an
articulatory stricture is called ______________.
i) The glottalic egressive airstream mechanism is used to produce
____________.
j) In an elliptical question to indicate ‘surprise’, a ___________tone is used.
Section E
XII. a) Briefly explain the difference between the R.P. (Received Pronunciation) and
‘Standard British English’ (5)
b) Explain and illustrate the relationships between bilingualism and diglossia for
the following contexts: (10)
i) Both diglossia and bilingualism
ii) Diglossia without bilingualism
XIII. a) “The work of William Labov is usually regarded as setting the pattern for
studies of linguistic variation…… One of his first major studies of linguistic
variation was an investigation of the ( r ) variable in New York City
(Labov,1966)” (Wardhaugh 1986). Discuss the concept of linguistic variation
with reference to the above statement.
OR
b) Prepare a questionnaire to study language attitudes towards the mother tongue
and English in a city in India (15)
XIV. a) You are given four options for each of the following statements. Tick the
correct option. (10x1 =10)
i) Language usually refers to
a) the dialect used by most of the people
b) the standard dialect
c) the dialect of a particular area
d) none of the above
ii) According to Ferguson, literature in a diglossic community is written in
a) the low variety
b) the high variety
c) both the low and high varieties
d) none of the above
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15. iii) A Creole is a language
a) which is used by the colonizer
b) which has several native speakers
c) which has no native speakers
d) none of the above
vi) English in India is used in High domains by
a) standard speakers in English
b) ambilinguals
c) the speakers at the centre point on the cline of bilingualism
d) none of the above
v) According to Fishman,’Home’ and ‘Place of work’ are called
a) role-relationships
b) topics
c) domains
d) locales
vi) It is accepted that women in comparison to men generally use
a) a prestigious dialect
b) a non-prestigious dialect
c) a lower - class dialect
d) none of the above
vii) When one studies linguistic variation in a society, one studies the
speech of
a) only the middle class
b) middle and upper class
c) all the classes
d) only the lower class
viii) The matched –guise technique is used to study
a) language attitudes
b) language use
c) linguistic variation
d) none of the above
ix) A flight attendant en route from London to Hong Kong makes an
announcement in English first and then in Chinese. This is an example of
a) code switching
b) code-mixing
c) both code-switching and mixing
d) none of the above
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16. x) Diglossia is considered to be
a) a societal choice
b) an individual’s choice
c) a choice according to gender
d) a choice according to class
b) List with examples the syntactic features of Indian English. Briefly explain the
differences between the syntactic features of Indian English and Standard
British English. (5)
Section F
XVI. a) Briefly explain the term ‘universe of discourse’ ? Illustrate your answer. (5)
b) Briefly explain the term ‘utterance ‘. Illustrate your answer. (5)
c) What do you understand by the concept of ‘predicate’ in Semantics?
Illustrate your answer. (5)
XVII. a) Explain and illustrate the term’binary antonymy’ (2)
b) Explain and illustrate the term ‘gradable antonyms’ (2)
c) Explain and illustrate the term ‘homonymy’ (2)
d) What is the difference between ‘perlocutionary’ and ‘illocutionary’ acts ? (4)
e) In each of the following sentences identify the participant roles (5)
i. The teacher moved the book with a stick
ii. I saw Sunita at the railway station
iii. Lucknow is very hot in summer
iv. This book was published in 2001
v. Reema gave Mohit a book
XVIII. a) Translate the following into logical notation. (10)
i) Bush met Edward and Rita
ii) Vanita went to Delhi and she met Manish
iii) Karan will take Anita or Madhu and Sonali
iv) Either David and Elizabeth is a teacher
v) Kunal and Edward are British
b) What is an illocutionary act? Illustrate your answer. (5)
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