Roll No.

ANNA UNIVERSITY (UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS)

B.E. /B.Tech.- END SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS, NOV DEC 2020
MIXED
Semester I
HU 5275 FUNDAMENTALS OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS
(Regulation 2019)

Time: 3 hours Answer ALL Questions Max.Marks : 100

PART- A (10 x 2 = 20 Marks)

Q. No Answer the following questions in about 75 words each. Marks

1 Write a brief note on Universal grammar. 2
2 How are form and meaning related in language? 2
3 What are the differences between content and function words? Explain with 2
examples
4 What are malapropisms and how do they occur? Explain with examples. 2
5 Explain structural ambiguity with examples. 2
6 What are idioms? How do they reflect the uniqueness of a language? Explain with 2
examples.
7 Write the phonetic transcription of the following sentences using the IPA to reflect 2
Indian pronunciation.
a. Cricket is a very popular game in India.
b. Many Indians are multilingual.
8 What are diphthongs? Explain with examples. 2
9 What is lexicography? Explain with illustrations. 2
10 How does the application of linguistics help in language teaching and learning? 2

PART- B (5 x 13 = 65 Marks)

Q. No Answer the following questions in about 250 words each. Marks

11 (a) Explain in detail the unique features of human language with examples. 13
OR
11 (b) How do animals communicate? Is animal language similar to human language? 13
Explain with examples.
12 (a) Examine in detail inflectional and derivational morphology as applied to the 13
English language. Provide relevant examples and illustrations in your answer.
OR
12 (b) How does the knowledge of morphology help a learner to build his/her 13
vocabulary? Explain with examples.
13 (a) Examine the different sentence patterns that are used in English with examples. 13
OR
13 (b) Examine the concept of speech act with examples. 13
14 (a) How many speech sounds are used in English? Give a detailed account of 13
consonant sounds, explaining their place and manner of articulation and voicing.
OR
14 (b) Give a detailed account of English monothongs and diphthongs using the criteria 13
of tongue location and tongue position.
15 (a) How does the study of sociolinguistics help in creating mutual understanding, 13
tolerance and respect among different linguistic communities?
OR
15 (b) Critically examine the recent developments in computational linguistics . 13

PART- C (1 x 15 = 15 Marks)
(Q. No 16 is Compulsory)
Q. No Answer the following question in about 350 words. Marks
16 Read the following case study and then answer the questions given below: 15

Mr. Natarajan of Namakkal in Tamilnadu, working as an Assistant Professor in a

private college in Padappai Chennai, had murdered his wife, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi,
since she came to know about his illegal affair with another woman. After her
murder, he made a complaint to the police that his wife Vijayalakshmi was
missing.
In his complaint there was a sentence – “engu thedinaalum kidaikka maattaal”-
‘She will not be found, even if searched everywhere.’
This gave the clue to doubt him.
The sentence can be interpreted as ‘I know that you may not be able to find her
since something has happened to her, which I know.’ The police set up a trap to
arrest him. Knowing that he would be arrested, he surrendered before the Court in
Namakkal town in Tamilnadu, his native place. Natarajan confessed to the
murder in the presence of police officers on 16 July 2012.
In the confession, Natarajan repeatedly used the first person pronoun ‘I’ several
times , while describing how he had murdered his wife. Further, ‘I only’ was
deliberately used in the confession so that the police may not doubt anybody else.
But this gave them the clue that there may have been somebody else also. Finally,
the police arrested his girlfriend who was also with him when the murder took
place.

Critically examine the given case study and comment on the application of
linguistics in solving crimes. Also comment on how forensic linguistics can be
useful in a multilingual society like India. What are the challenges that this
forensic linguistics faces in our country?