Sample 2

Section B
Q1
(a) State 2 types of non-verbal and give examples for each type. (4m)
Paralanguage: sighing, fillers
Hand gesture: waving, OK sign
(b) Identify 2 properties of language that differentiate human language from
animal communication. Explain briefly each property. (6m)
Ambiguity:
Displacement:
Q2
Write the phonetic symbols for the sound underline in each of the following words.
(4m)
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

rose
beach
yellow
shut

/s/
/ /
/j/
/ /

Q3
Describe the initial phoneme of the following words. (4m)
word

Voiced/ voiceless

Place of
articulation

Manner of
articulation

toy

voiceless

alveolar

plosive

bilabial
Palatealveolar

approximant

Examp
le:
i.

wing

ii.

chair

Voiceless

iii.
iv.

friend
niece

Voiceless
Voiced

fricative
alveolar

Q4
Identify the morphemes in the words below. Underline the free morphemes and
circle the bound morphemes. (4m)
Example: trend
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

sinful
vulnerable
industrial
inadequately

Q5
Identify the type of underlined morphemes and state the function in each of the
sentence below. (4m)
No.
Examp
le:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Sentence
The doctor observed the patient
closely.
He drives to work every
morning.
The closure of the North-South
Highway has caused massive
traffic jam.
The journey was longer than I
expected.
Azlina was very pleased when
she got the promotion.

Type of Morpheme
inflectional
inflectional

Function
To indicate the
past tense
To indicate single
present tense

Q6
Study the ambiguous sentence below. Write two interpretations of the sentence in
the space given. Draw two tree diagrams to explain the two interpretations.
The police hit the robber with a
rod.
Interpretation i: The police use a rod to hit the robber.

Interpretation ii: The robber with a rod was hit by the police.

Q7
Identify the sematic relationship of the words in bold in the sentence below. (5m)
Example: He is tall but his brother is short.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

v.

( Antonymy )

People normally write with their right hand.

(
)
The intelligent boy gave a brilliant suggestion.
( Synonymy )
The beautiful princess patted the ugly frog.
( Antonymy )
The company director decided to branch out his business by setting up a
new branch in a nearby town.
(
homonymy )
Straighten your bow before you bow to the crowd. ( homograph )

Q8
Give 3 hyponyms for the superordinate: movement. (3m)
Movement:
Walk,
i.
ii.
iii.

Dance
Run
Fly

Q9
In studying speech acts, the importance of context is evident. Explain how the
following statements can have different meanings in a different context.
Example: The College Principal does not tolerate impunctuality of the staff.
Meaning 1: It is to warn the staff not to come late.
Meaning 2: It is to inform new staff about the rules of the college.
i.

The room is stuffy.

Meaning 1: It is to inform the person in the room to switch on the fan.
Meaning 2:

ii.

Youre driving very fast.

Meaning 1: It is to inform the driver to slow down.
Meaning 2: It is to

iii.

There is poisonous spider in the bathroom.

Meaning 1:
Meaning 2:

Q10
Identify the type of deixis in the text. Give an example for each type. (6m)

August marks the start of an interesting time for those people born under the
horoscope of Leo. The Leos love beautiful and expensive things. The Merdeka
month is also celebrated in August. In conjunction with the Merdeka month, most
shopping malls, particularly those special areas like entrances and lobbies are
decorated not only with our Merdeka flags, but also with pictures of brave lions.
Special discounts are given to selected items for those Leos. So, this is indeed
special for the Leos.
No.
i.
ii.
iii.

Type of deixis

Example

Section C (20m)
Write an essay of about 300 words on any one of the following topics.

1. Discuss three differences between speech and writing. Provide relevant

examples for each difference.
2. Knowledge of syntax is essential for teachers of English to teach effectively.
Discuss the above statement based on three aspects of syntax.
3. Discuss Grices Cooperative Principles based on the dialogue below. Support
your discussion with examples from the dialogue.
A: When is Sitis birthday?
B: Next week, 3oth August.
A: What shall we buy for her birthday?
B: She would love to have the latest Harry Potter movie. I have noticed that she
has a collection of Harry Potter movies in her room. They are stacked neatly in her
cupboard.
A: Shall we buy her the blue-ray DVD or the normal CD?
B: I think the blue-ray DVD is of better quality but it is expensive. The normal CD
is cheaper but the quality of the sound and visual effects is not as clear. So, the
blue-ray DVD is a btter choice.
A: Where shall we go to get the blue-ray DVD?
B: To the Speedy video outlet at Empire Gallery, Subang Jaya. It has a wide
collection of DVDs. After all, it is just a 5 minutes drive from our home.

Sample 3
Q1

a. Define the term paralanguage. (2m)

Paralanguage is sound produced that does not have any meanings to it.
b. Explain how paralanguage is independent of linguistic elements. Support your
explanation with an example. (3m).
Q2
a. What is descriptive grammar? Give an example of a descriptive grammar
rule. (2m)
b. Grammatically judgments do not depend on whether the sentence is
meaningful and true. Give an example of sentence for each aspect. (2m)
i.
The sun rises from the north.
ii.
Visible air drains out from the printer.
Q3
Write the phonemic symbol and give an example of a word for each sound
described. (4m)
No.
E.g.
i.
ii.

Description
Mid, slightly, half open, central,
neutral
Low, open, front, slightly spread
High, back, close, rounded, long

symbol
/

Word

them

Q4
Write the appropriate phonemic symbol representing the sound of the underlined
letter(s) in each word below. (2m)
E.g.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

tough
brink
other
please
sachet

/f/

/t

Q5
It was three in the morning and my mum looked pale and breathless. Her pulse
rate was getting slower and slower. Quickly, I walked up the hill to fetch the
doctor. I could see an owl perched on a tree. I could hear dogs barking and
howling in the distance. My heart was beating rapidly. Suddenly, there was a
bright light at the end of the path. I felt relieved to see the doctors house right
before my eyes.

Read and identify from the above text the following (4m):
i.

Two sets of minimal pairs

ii.
iii
.

A word with centring diphthong

A word with a diphthong

Q6
a. Identify the free and bound morphemes for each word. (4m)
Words
e.g. correctly
disengage
inspiring
react
intensity

Free morpheme
correct
engage
inspire
act
intense

Bound morpheme
ly
dis
ing
re
ty

b. For each of the words in bold in the sentence below: (6m)

i. State whether the affix is derivational or inflectional
ii. Analyse its function
Sentence

Type of morpheme

Function

e.g.
I never graduated from college.

Inflectional

To indicate the past form of a verb.

His gift is bigger than everyone

elses.
He was raised in a different
generation.
She was fairly happy with her
result.
She always cooks special dishes
for her friends.

derivational

inflectional

To indicate single present tense of a

verb.

Q7
Two tree diagrams can illustrate syntactic ambiguity. Write two interpretations of
meaning for the statement below. Draw two tree diagrams to represent the two
meanings in the following ambiguous sentence.
Jenny hit the boy with
a bat.
Interpretation 1: Jenny used a bat to hit the boy.
Interpretation 2: The boy with a bat was hit by Jenny.

Q8
Read the passage below carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Dorothea never regretted that she had given up her position and fortune to marry
Will Ladislaw, and he would have held it the greatest shame as well as sorrow if
she had regretted. They were bound to each other by a love stronger than any
other impulses which could have marred it. No life would have been possible to
Dorothea which was not filled with emotion. Now, she had a life filled with a
beneficient activity where she had not the doubtful pains of discovering and
marking out for herself.
Will Ladislaw became an ardent public man, working well in those times when
reforms had begun with a young hopefulness of immediate good. Dorothea could
not have been more happy, since wrongs existed, and that her husband should
be in the thick of struggle against them, and that she should give him wifely help.
Many who knew her, thought it a pity that so substantive and rare a creature
should have been absorbed into the life of another, and be only known in a
certain circle as a wife and mother.
a. Identify a pair of antonyms in the text. (1m)
b. List two examples of collocations form the text. (2m)
i. F
ii. Dsd
c. State three co-hyponyms for the superordinate term emotion. (3m)
i. Angry
ii. Sad
iii. Excited
d. Give two synonyms of your own that could replace the word happy. (2m)
i. pleased
ii. delighted
e. Identify two examples of figurative language from the text. (2m)
i. _____
ii. ______
Q9
Name the maxims of the Cooperative Principles that have been violated in the
following exchanges. Provide an explanation to support your answer.
A: Where does Professor
Harry live?
B: Somewhere in the Klang
Valley.

(3m)
Maxim violated:
Explanation:

Husband: How does the curry

taste?
Wife: Well, I am not particular
about food.
(3m)
Maxim violated:
Explanation:
Q10
i.

Explain the implicature in the utterance below. (3m)

Joe is poor but

happy.

ii.

Rewrite the above sentence without changing the

implicature of the utterance.

Section C
Answer one question (20m)
1. Discuss three rules of syntax in determining the syntactic structures. Provide
relevant examples.
2. Knowledge of semantics is important to TESL students. To what extent do you
agree with the statement? Justify your answer with relevant examples.
3. Speech acts play an essential role in our daily communication. Discuss this
statement with reference to the locutionary, illocutionary and periocutionry
levels of speech acts. Provide relevant examples.

Sample 4
Section B
Q1
Given below the statements which define a language. Briefly explain the
statements. Illustrate with an example each.
a. Language is a set of arbitrary symbols. (3m)
i.
Explanation:
ii.
Example:
b. Language operates in a speech community or culture. (3m)
i.
Explanation:
ii.
Example:
Q2
a. Give the symbol and description of the final sound in the following words in
terms of place and manner of articulation. (4m)

e.
g.
i.
ii.

Word

Symbol

Place of
articulation

Manner of
articulation

sing

//

velar

nasal

numb
bath

/m/

nasal
dental

b. Transcribe the following words into phonetic script. (3m)

e.
g.
i.
ii.
iii.

Word

Phonetic script

pill

/pl /

Fame
Spend
breathe
Q3
Break the following sentence into the following morphological elements: (3m)
L = Lexical
complications.
F = Functional
I = Inflectional
D = Derivational

e.g. They love the

they = F
love = L
the = F

compile = L
-tion = D
-s = I
The silly joker died.
F = the; L = silly; L = joke; L = die; D = -er; I = -ed
Q4
For each of the underlined words shown below, do the following: (9m)
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
That is the most foolish thing Ive
ever done.

(a)
fool +
ish

(b)
Derivationa
l

Mahmud likes watching television

during his free time.

like + s

Inflectional

The boys were excited to go on the

school trip.
The payment must be made at the
counter.

excite +
d
pay +
ment

e.g.
i.
ii.
iii.

Inflectional
derivationa
l

(c)
Changing noun to
adjective
To indicate a single
present tense of a
verb
To indicate a past
tense of a verb
Changing verb to
noun

Q5
Language users sometimes experience difficulty in understanding sentences uttered
by their interlocutors. One reason for this occurrence is due to ambiguity. Describe
lexical ambiguity and give two examples to illustrate.
Q6
Draw two tree diagrams to show the ambiguity of the structure:
They put the box on the table by the window.
Q7
Identify the semantic relationship of the word pairs (in bold) in the sentences below:
Example: you have to be cruel to be kind.
(Antonymy)
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

At present, she will present her paper only to the board.

(
)
I was trembling when the ground started shaking.
( Synonym )
It is not fair to change a higher fare for a short distance.
(
)
The cold-hearted stepmother chased Hansel and Gretel our in the cold.
(
)

v.

The rich usually do not understand the hardship of the poor.

)

Q8
Paraphrase the following sentence in two different ways to show that you
understand the ambiguity involved:
Example: Smoking grass can be nauseating.
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.

a. Joe made up his mind to travel by boat.
b. Joe
Q9
Write the phonetic symbols for the sound underlined in each of the following words.
(4m)
e.g.

Word
Hate

i.

Time

ii.
iii.
iv.

Tour
Joy
fear

Symbol
/e/
/ a /

Q10
List and label the deictic expressions found in the text. (6m)
This month marks the start of the rabbit year in the Chinese zodiac. Those people
born in the year of the rabbit the forth position in the zodiac are thought to be
articulate, talented and ambitious. This year is perceived to be 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 Rabbit theme. That creates an
atmosphere of gaiety.
No.
e.g
.
i.
ii.
iv.

Types of deixis

Phrases

Place deixis

Those special sports

Section C:
Answer one question only. (20m)
1. Culture encompasses language. As culture changes along with time,
technology advancement and globalization, language is also not spared.
Language has changed considerably in terms of vocabulary. Discuss and
illustrate five ways in which new words are formed and in which existing
words take on new meanings.
2. Why is it important for an English language teacher to have a sound
knowledge of syntax? Support your answer with relevant examples based on
at least three aspects of Syntax.
3. Analyse the dialogue based on Grices Cooperative Principles. Explain the
principles and support your explanation with examples from the dialogue.
A: Shall we buy our niece this novel?
B: Yes, thats 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 Aherns. I saw them in her room the other day. They
are arranged neatly on the bookshelf.
A: Let 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 novels on romance and sci-fi thriller. I
love this book store; the books are arranged according to the authors
last name.
A: Have you found it?
B: Here it is!

Semantic relationship
Synonymy: words with similar meaning
Antonymy: words with opposite meaning
Homonymy: words with same spelling but different meaning
Homographs: words spelled alike but pronounced differently in each of their
meanings
Hyponymy: a word with a particular meaning that is included in a more general
word, for example dog and cat are hyponymy of animal
Homophone: a word that is pronounced like another word but has a different
spelling or meaning, example some and some

Ambiguities
Transcribe
Articulations
Suffix (derivational/ inflectional)
Deixis
Aspect of syntax
Grices Cooperative Principles