Linguistics MCQS

1. A term introduced by the linguist SAUSSURE which refers to the state of a language as it
exists at any given time -------------
A. Synchrony B. Diachrony C. Paradigmatic D. N. O. T

2. What is the Scientific Study of Language?

• Syntax • Linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Psycolinguistics

3. What is the Study of Sentence Construction?

• Syntax • Linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Psycolinguistics

4. ---------- Is the study of words, how they are formed, and their relationship to other words in
the same language.
• Syntax • Linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Psycolinguistics

5. Study of Human Speech Sounds is ------------

• Syntax • Linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Psycolinguistics

6. The Study of Meaning is -------------

• Syntax • Linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Psycolinguistics

7. The Study of Language in Social Interaction is ?

• Syntax • linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Psycolinguistics

8. -------- is the study of the interrelation between linguistic factors and psychological aspects.
• Syntax • Linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Psycolinguistics

9. Language might be started by the imitation of sounds which early men and women heard
around them. This describes:
• Ye-heave-ho theory • Bow-wow theory • Oral-gesture theory • Divine source theory

10. The biological basis of formation and development of human language is called:
• Glossogentics • Biogenctics • Physogcnitcs • Morphology

11. Human beings can talk about their present, past and future. This property of language is
called
•Duality •Arbitrariness •Displacement •Productivity

12. There is no connection between a linguistic form and its meaning describes:
• Duality • Arbitrariness • Displacement • Productivity

13. We can utter new and novel words and sentences but animal can't. It describes which
property?
•Duality • Arbitrariness •Displacement • Praftiinthytt.

14. A little change in the sound can change the meaning describes which property of human
language?
•Duality •Displacement •Discreetness •Cultural Transmission

15. The general study of characteristics of speech sounds is called -------------

•Phonetics •Phonology • Articulatory Phonetics •Auditory Phonetics • Acoustic
Phonetics

16. The study of movement of speech organs in articulation of speech or the study of how the
speech sounds are made is called -----------
 • Phonetics N Phonology •Articulatory Phonetics •Auditory Phonetics •Acoustic
Phonetics

17. The study of perceptions of speech sounds is called ------------

• Phonetics • Phonology • Articulatory Phonetics • Auditory Phonetics • Acoustic
Phonetics

18. The use of the verb google in the phrase `google it' represents a case of word formation via
• Borrowing • Coinage • Conversion • Derivation

19. Acoustic phonetics is the study of

• The production of speech sounds in languages
• The generation of speech sounds by robots
• The physical properties of speech sounds
• The perception of speech sounds by humans

20. The study of signs is termed as ?

• Semiotics • Semantics • Paradigmatic • Parole

21. The bound morpheme ‘er’ acts as an inflectional morpheme in

• Actor • Character • Quieter • Writer

22. If a syntactic rule is applied more than once in generating a sentence then this is known as
• Movement • Transformation • Recursion • complementation

23. When the meaning of one form is included in another, the relationship between them is
described as ------
• Antonymy • Synonymy • Hyponomy • Polyseny

24. The knowledge of the physical context of the speaker is necessary to make sense of ‘ t ‘
• Deictic expressions • Presupposition • Reference • Entialment

25. In its general sense it refers to the creative capacity of language users to produce an endless
number of new sentences, in contrast to the communication systems of animals is called ?
A. Productivity B. Langue C. Paradigmatic D. Parole

26. Is term introduced by CHOMSKY to describe 'the actual use of language in concrete
situations'
A. Performance B. Parole C. Paradigmatic D. N. 0. T

27. The system of communication within a community.

A. Langue B. Parole C. Paradigmatic D. N. O. T

28. A pair of terms introduced by Noam CI-IOMSKY in 1965 to describe native speakers'
intuitions about the grammatical correctness, or otherwise, of sentences.
A. Both b and c B. Diachrony/Synchrony C. Acceptable/Unacceptable
D. N. O. T

29. The study of language and mind, which has greatly advanced our understanding of the way
in which we acquire language is ?
A. Sociolinguistics B. Psycholinguisctics C. Biolinguistics D. None of
these

30. Who argues that language is a unique evolutionary development of the human species and
distinguished from modes of communication used by any other animal species ?
 A. Ferdenand de Sassure B. Albert Chomsky C. Noam Chomsky D. Noah
Webster

31. Which one of the following is a feature of speakers rather than their speech
a) Cohesion b) Coherence c) Entailment d) Deictic expressions

32. There are consonant sounds in English IPA.

A. 22 B. 23 C. 24 D. 25

33. The term Interlanguage refers to

a) A language which is a mixture of two languages
b) A system of rules used by the speakers of a language
c) A system of rules designed to be used by the learners of 12
d) A system of rules generated by the speakers of Ll who are learning 12
34. Which one of the following constitutes an Adjacency Pair in Conversation Analysis?
a) Two similar questions asked in rapid succession
b) A mechanism used to repair an embarrassing mistake
c) An interviewer and interviewee sitting next to each other
d) Two linked phases of conversation

35. Which one of the following statement is true of discourse?

a) Discourse could be found in interview data
b) Discourse is how language operates in real life communicative events
c) Discourse is language at a level which is broader than a sentence
d) All of these

36. The co-existence of two different varieties of language in a society which differ in their social
status is known as -----------.
a) Multiculturalism b) Pidginization c) linguistic relativity d) dinglossia

37. A hybrid language which develops its own grammar and vocabulary and also acquires the
status of the native language of a group of speakers is knows as a
a) Pidgin b) Sign language c) Anti-language d)
Creole

38. The cult of seeing postmodernism as the converse of the ideals of the Enlightenment is
opposed by
a) Jean-Francois Lyotard b) Roland Barthes c) Jurgen Habermas d) Michel
Foucault

39. Which of the following lived during the Romantic Age in the history of English literature?
a) John Clare b) Richard Hooker c) Allan Ramsay d) Samuel Richardson

40. When the vocal cords are spread apart and the air from the lungs passes between them
unimpeded(without any stoppage) the sound is called:
a. Unvoiced b. Voiceless c. Both d. Voiced

41. When there is some vibration in vocal cord while producing sound, the sound will be:
a. Voiced b. Unvoiced c. Voiceless d. None

42. Total number of vowel and consonant sounds in English respectively:

a. 24, 20 b. 20,24 c. 22, 22 d. 19, 25

43. The sounds in English language are classified as Bilabials, Dentals, Alveolar etc. it is
according to their:
a. Place of Articulation b. Manner of Articulation c. Both d. None
44. The sounds which are formed using both upper and lower lips (/m/, /b/,/w/) are called:
a. Bilabials b. Labiodentals c. Denials d. Alveolar

45. /f/ and /v/ are:

a. Bilabials b. Labiodentals c. Dentals d. Alveolar

46. /t/, /d/, /s/, /n/ ad /z/ are called because they are pronounced with the front part of the tongue
on the:
a. alveolar ridge. b. Bilabials c. Labiodentals d. Dentals e.
Alveolar

47. /k/ and /g/ are called:

a. Bilabials b. Velars c. Dentals d. Alveolar

48. /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/,/k/ and /g/ are 6:

a. Plosives b. Nasals c. Liquids d. Fricatives

49. The consonants having the air push through the narrow opening are called:
a. Plosives b. Nasals c. Liquids d. Fricatives
50. Find out liquid consonants:
a. / l / , / r / b. / l /,/m/ c. / l /,/ n / d./t/,/p/

51. In American English if /t/ occurs between vowels, it is pronounced as Id/; for example,
writer as rider and metal as medal. Name this term.
a. Flapping b. Taping c. Stopping d. Mashing

52. The only lateral sound is:

a. / l / b. / t / c. / b / d. / h /

53. The sounds are mostly articulated with obstruction in the vocal cart.
a. Vowel b. Consonant c. Abstract d. Diphthongs

54. The sounds which are pronounced without any obstruction in air passage, and are produced
with a free flow of air are called:
a. Vowel b. Consonant c. Abstract d. Diphthongs

55. Mark the number of diphthongs and diphthongs respectively.

a. 12, 8 b. 8,12 c. 14.6 d. 14.8

56. The study of speech patterns is called:

a. Phonetics b. Phonology c. Morphology d. Pragmatics

57. The smallest unit of speech sound is called:

a. Morpheme b. Phoneme c. Lexeme d. Allophone

58. The versions of one phone are called:

a. Morpheme b. Phoneme c. Lexeme d. Allophone

59. A sound pronounced with one puff of air is called ( a sound with one vowel sound):
a. Vowel b. Consonant c. Syllable d. Coda

60. Syllable consists of onset and rime while rime is further divided into:
a. Onset and nucleus b. Onset and coda c. Nucleus and onset d. Nucleus and
coda
61. The consonants after the nucleus are called:
a. Rime b. Onset c. Coda d. Syllable

62. The syllables having onset and nucleus but not coda are called:
a. Open syllables b. Closed syllable c. Light syllable d. Heavy syllable

63. The syllables having nucleus and coda but no onset are called:
a. Open syllables b. Closed syllable c. Light syllable d. Heavy syllable

64. There are one or more consonants before or after nucleus which describes:
a. Consonant Cluster b. Elision c. Assimilation d. Syllable

65. The omission or deletion of some sound from a word is known as:
a. Consonant Cluster b. Elision c. Assimilation d. Syllable

66. When the name of a company becomes the name of its product, it is called:
a. Coinage b. Calques c. Blending d. Compounding

67. When one part of a word is joined with other part of other word, we get a new word. This
process is known as:
a. Coinage b. Calques c. Blending d. compounding

68. When one part of a word is joined with other part of other word, we get a new word. Such
type of words in linguistics terminology are called:
a. Acronyms b. Portmanteau/Blending c. Palindrome d. Slang

69. If a word of more than one syllable is reduced to a shorten form ( for example; laboratory to
lab, gasoline to gas, advertisement to ad) this process will be termed as:
a. Compounding b. Clipping c. Hypocorism d. Conversion

70. If a long word is reduced to single syllable and then "y" or "ie" is added to end to make new
words (example handkerchief to hankie, and breakfast to breaky) the process: is called
a. Compounding b. Clipping c. Hypocorism d. Conversion

71. A change in the function of a word, when a noun is used as verb or a verb is used as a noun
it is called:
a. Compounding b. Clipping c. Hypocorism d. Conversion

72. NASA, NATO, UNESCO are the example of:

a. Abbreviations b. Acronyms c. Compounding d. Mixing

73. To form new words by attaching affixes with existing words is called:
a. Abbreviation b. Acronym c. Conversion d. Derivation

74. The study of forms ( words) is called:

a. Phonetics b. Phonology c. Morphology d. Assimilation

75. Originally, morphology is a:

a. linguistic term b. literary term c. Biological term d. Mathematical term

76. A minimal unit of meaning or grammatical function or a minimum unit of word is called:
a. Phoneme b. Morpheme c. Lexeme d. Phone

77. A word or a group of word which has one meaning is called:

a. Phoneme b. Morpheme c. Lexeme d. Phone
78. The morphemes which are independent to give meaning and they can stand by as single
words are called:
a. Free morphemes b. Bound morphemes c. Inflectional morphemes d. Derivational
morphemes

79. The morphemes which are dependent to other words give meaning and they cannot stand by
as single words are called:
a. Free morphemes b. Bound morphemes c. Lexical morphemes d. Derivational
morphemes

80. All the affixes in English are:

a. Free morphemes b. Bound morphemes c. Lexical morphemes d. Independent
morphemes

81. The word to which affixes are attached is technically known as:
a. Phoneme b. Morpheme c. Stem d. Lexeme

82. All the affixes in English are:

a. Free morphemes b. Bound morphemes c. Lexical morphemes d. Independent
morphemes

83. Nouns, verbs and adjectives come under:

a. Lexical morphemes b. Functional morphemes c. Derivational morphemes d. inflectional
morphemes

84. Articles, pronouns and prepositions cover:

a. Lexical morphemes b. Functional morphemes c. Derivational morphemes d.
Inflectional morphemes

85. Which of type of morphemes is used to indicate the grammatical function of a word:
a. Lexical morphemes b. Functional morphemes c. Derivational morphemes d.
Inflectional morphemes

86. There are total ----------------- inflectional morphemes in English language.

a. 5 b. 6 c. 8 d. 10

87. The study of rules of a language covers:

a. Grammar b. Syntax c. Semantics d. Pragmatics

88. "I shot an Elephant in my Pajamas" is example of:

a. Surface Structure b. Deep Structure

89. The information given about the Subject in a sentence is called:

a. Infinitive b. Gerund c. Participle d. Predicate

90. Painting, Smoking, Fishing are the examples of:

a. Infinitive b. Gerund c. Participle d. Predicate

91. Class, Team and Committee are the examples of:

a. Proper Noun b. Material Noun c. Collective Noun d. Concrete Noun

92. Following two languages are considered Classical languages:

a. Arabic and Greek b. Greek and Latin c. Greek and English d. Latin and Dutch

93. Which of the following approaches deals with the set of grammar rules and focuses on the
teaching of grammar rules?
 a. Descriptive Approach b. Prescriptive Approach c. Generative approach d. Mystic
approach

94. Mention the approach which discourages the too much focus on rules of language, according
to it, how language is used is important rather than how language should be used.
a. Descriptive Approach b. Prescriptive Approach c. Generative approach d. Mystic
approach

95. Syntax is originally taken from a word:

a. Greek b. Latin c. Germen d. Russian

96. The study of order or arrangements of words is called:

a. Grammar b. Syntax c. Semantics a. pragmatics

97. The study of meaning of forms is called:

a. Grammar b. Syntax c. Semantics d. Pragmatics

98. "The table was listening to the music". This sentence syntactically is correct, but wrong
a. Semantically b. Grammatically c. Pragmatically d. Morphologically

99. When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another form it is called:
a. Hyponymy b. Polysemy c. Homonymy d. Prototypes

100. Horse is of animal:

a. Hyponymy b. Polysemy c. Homonymy d. Prototypes

101. When two words have different spellings have same pronunciations (for example, meet,
meat, flour flower) they are called:
a. Homonyms b. Homophones c. hyponyms d. Metonyms

102. When one word has two or more meanings or two words have two different meanings but
same spellings are called. (examples; bank- of river, bank- a financial institution).
a. Homonyms b. Homophones C. Hyponyms d. Metonyms

103. When one form have different meanings which are all related by extension, the term is
named:
a. Hyponymy b. Polysemy c. Homonymy d. Prototypes

104. Words frequently occurring together are termed as ( examples; husband and wife, salt and
pepper)
a. Synecdoche b. Metonymy c. Collocation d. polysemy

105. When a part represents a whole entity it is known as:

a. Synecdoche b. Metonymy c. Collocation d. Polysemy

106. The study of intended speaker meaning is called:

a. Semantics b. Syntax c. Pragmatics d. grammar

107. The set of words used in the same phrase or sentence is called linguistics context. It is also known
as:
a. Co-text b. Dixie c. Anaphora d. Inference

108. Words that cannot be interpreted at all without the physical context of the speaker are
called:
a. Co-text b. Dixies c. Anaphora d. Inference
109. Any additional information used by the listener to connect what is said to what must be
meant is called:
a. Co-text b. Dixies c. Anaphora d. Inference

110. A subsequent reference to an already introduced entity is called:

a. Co-text b. Dixies c. Anaphora d. Inference

111. Linkage of ideas in a text is called:

a. Cohesion b. Coherence c. Anaphora d. Co-text

112. A conventional knowledge structure which exists in memory is called:

a. Cohesion b. Schema c. Anaphora d. Co-text

113. When we feel extreme difficulty in production of speech which part of our brain is damaged?
a. Broca' Area b. Wernicke's area c. Motor cortex d. Arcuate fasciculus

114. Damage in Wernicke's Area of brain causes difficulty in:

a. Speech production b. Speech comprehension c. Speech listening d. Speech memorizing

115. Which of the following part of the brain controls the articulatory muscles, jaw, tongue and
lynx?
a. Broca' Area b. Wernicke's area c. Motor cortex

116. Which of the following parts forms a crucial connection between Brcoa's area and
Wernicke's area?
a. Vex Area b. Motor cortex c. Arcuate fasciculus

117. Language ability is located in of the brain:

a. Right Hemisphere b. Left Hemisphere c. Both d. None

118. The inability to produce or comprehend the speech because of damage to certain parts of
brain is called:
a. Anaphora b. Aphasia c. Cataphora d. Diexes

119. When the baby is three month old, they can produce velar sounds /k/, /g/ and vowels /i/ and
/u/ this stage is known as:
a. Cooing b. Babbling c. holophrastic d. Telegraphic

120. By the six month, a baby can produce nasal and fricative sounds. This stage is called:
a. Cooing b. Babbling c. 1.Iolophrastic d. Telegraphic

121. What is difference between acquisition of a language and learning of a language?

a. Learning is natural while acquisition is conscious way of getting language
b. Acquisition is natural and learning is conscious effort to get language
c. Acquisition focuses on grammar while learning not
d. None

122. Which one is a traditional method of learning a language?

a. GTM b. Audio lingual c. Silent d. Drill method

123. When you mix Ll and L2 and make another language is called:
a. Interlanguage b. Forelangue c. Post language d. Coding

124. While speaking one language if we shift to another language it is called:

a. Code Mixing b. Code Switching c. Coding d. None
125. In conversation, if we use the words of two languages it is called:
a. Code Mixing b. Code Switching c. Coding d. None

126. English is derived from which of the following major language:

a. Latin b. Greek c. German

127. A particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group is
called
a. Accent b. Dialect c. Bilingualism d. Pidgin

128. Dialect is peculiar to vocabulary while accent is peculiar to of a specific group of people:
a. Grammar b. Spelling c. Pronunciation d. Tenses

129. A variety of language developed for some practical purpose among groups of people who
don't know each other languages is called:
a. Pidgin b. Creole c. Dialect d. Accent

130. When a language developed for some practical purpose goes beyond that purpose and
becomes the first language of social community, it is called:
a. Pidgin b. Creole c. Dialect d. Accent

131. The personal dialect of each individual speaker of a language is called:

a. Register b. Jargon c. Diglossia d. Idiolect

132. Variations in a language according to use in specific situations is called:

a. Register b. Jargon c. Diglossia d. Idiolect

133. Technical vocabulary associated with a specific field or group is called:

a. Register b. Jargon c. Diglossia d. Idiolect

134. When we speak two varieties of one language in a society, one is formal and other is
informal, it is called:
a. Register b. Jargon c. Diglossia d. Idiolect

135. The study of language in relation to brain is called:

a. Sociolinguistics b. Psycholinguistics c. Neurolinguistics d. Applied linguistics

136. The study of language in relation to society is called:

a. Sociolinguistics b. Psycholinguistics c. Neurolinguistics d. Applied linguistics

137. According to Chomsky, the native speakers knowledge of his language, the system of rules
he has mastered, his ability to produce and understand a vast number of new sentences is
a. Competence b. Performance c. Both none d. None

138. Who gave the concept of competence and performance?

a. Chomsky b. Sapir c. D e Saussure d. Watson

139. The concept of language and parole is given by:

a. Chomsky b. Sapir c. De Saussure d. Watson

140. The set of all possible grammatical sentences in the language is called:
a. Langue b. Parole c. Performance d. None

141. The set of all utterances that have actually been produced in the language is called:
a. Langue b. Parole c. Competence d. None
142. The major names related to the theory of Behaviorism are:
a. Chomsky and De Saussure b. Watson and De Saussure
c. Fried and Chomsky d. Skinner and Watson

143. "Big" and "small" are the examples of antonyms.

a. Gradable b. Non-Gradable c. Both d. None

144. According to we perceive the world as our language leads us to perceive it.
a. Sapir- Whorf hypothesis b. Behaviorism
c. Performance and competence d. Lange and parole

145. The originator of theory of Structuralism is:

a. De Saussure b. Chomsky c. Skinner d. Watson

146. The study of language through its history is called:

a. Diachronic study b. Synchronic study c. Both d. None of Them

147. Omission of a word or more from a sentence is called:

a. Elision b. Ellipsis c. Assimilation d. Analogy

148. The study and analysis of text in regard to their linguistic and literary style is called:
a. Sociolinguistics b. Stylistics c. Psycholinguistics d. Historical linguistics

149. The concept of LAD was given by:

a. Chomsky b. Skinner c. Dc Saussure d. G.B. Watson