Selected MCQsof Linguistics

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Imtiaz Ahmad (M.Phil. Linguistics)
1
SELECTED MCQ'S OF LINGUISTICS

Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad
M.Phil. Linguistics
Ghazi University Dera Ghazi Khan
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form,
by photocopying or by any electronic or mechanical means,
including information storage or retrieval systems,
without permission in writing from both the copyright
owner and the publisher of this book.
2
Preface:-
Assalam-O-Alaikum !!
I hope that all the students / learners will be fine by the grace of ALLAH
Almighty. I am an M.Phil. English Scholar and I have faced many
difficulties as an English language learner, especially when I applied for
admission in M.Phil. English in Ghazi University Dera Ghazi Khan. But
before I was admitted, I had to take a departmental test of the institute and I
didn't even have the material to prepare for this test. Even, due to the lack of
material I lost a year. Due to not getting admission, I gathered sufficient
material and information about English language and its all different areas. I
have selected many topics for preparation and gave enough time to these
topics and next year when I applied for the departmental test, Alhamdulillah
I got amazing marks and then enrolled in my M.Phil. English degree in
Ghazi University Dera Ghazi Khan.
In fact, I wasted a year because we use English as a second language in our

daily lives even in our educational institutions , so that's why we have such
problems. Not only me but most Pakistani students go through such a
situation. So, I have decided to tackle this situation, I analyse and revised all
the required topics related to English language and then put them in the form
of a small MCQ's EBook and share it with all you students. I hope that these
selected MCQ's will be beneficial for all the students who want to take
admission in M.Phil. English (Linguistics). At the end, I hope all of you
students will appreciate my small effort and make the most of it.
Regards For:
Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad
M.Phil. Linguistics
Ghazi University Dera Ghazi Khan
3
Selected MCQ's of Linguistics:-

1. A term which refers to the sequential characteristics of language. When
we construct WORDS and SENTENCES we follow a certain order in
arranging the individual items.
A. Syntagmatic
B. Synergy
C. Performance
D. N. O. T
2. 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
3. The study of signs is termed as_________?
A. Semiotics
B. Semantics
C. Paradigmatic
D. Parole
4. 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
5. __________ is term introduced by CHOMSKY to describe ‘the actual use

of language in concrete situations’:
4
A. Performance
B. Parole
C. Paradigmatic
D. N. O. T
6. The system of communication within a community?
A. Langue
B. Parole
C. Paradigmatic
D. N. O. T
7. A pair of terms introduced by Noam CHOMSKY 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
8. The study of language and mind, which has greatly advanced our
understanding of the way in which we acquire language is_________?
A. Sociolinguistics
B. Psycholinguistics
C. Bio linguistics
D. None of these
9. 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. Ferdinand De Saussure
B. Albert Chomsky
C. Noam Chomsky
D. Noah Webster
10. There are __ consonant sounds in English IPA?

A. 22
5
B. 23
C. 24
D. 25
11. There are _ vowel sounds in English IPA?
A. 19
B. 20
C. 21
D. 22
12. Noam Chomsky was born in _ ?
A. December 7, 1928
B. December 8, 1928
C. December 9, 1928
D. December 10, 1928
13. Father of modern linguistics is _ ?
A. Noam Chomsky
B. Ferdinand De Saussure
C. None of these
D. Both A and B
14. The theory of Bio linguistics is given by_____?
A. Noam Chomsky
C. Steven Pinker
D. Enoch Powell
15. Transformational-generative grammar is a broad theory used to model,

encode, and deduce a native speaker’s linguistic capabilities, was
developed by_________?
A. Noam Chomsky
C. Leon Battista Alberti
D. Enoch Powell
6
16. Chomsky developed Transformational-Generative Grammar in________?
A. 1950
B. 1951
C. 1952
D. 1953
17. Competence is a term to describe the knowledge possessed by native

users of a language which enables them to speak and understand their
language fluently was introduced by________?
A. Ferdinand De Saussure
B. Enoch Powel
C. Noam Chomsky
D. None of these
18. _______ is a term denotes historical perspective for studying language ?
A. Synchrony
B. Diachrony
C. Both a and b
D. None of these
19. “Reflections on Language” is a book written by Noam Chomsky

in__________?
A. 1975
B. 1976
C. 1977
D. 1988
20. “The Syntactic Structures” is a book written by Noam Chomsky

in__________?
A. 1957
B 1958
C. 1959
D. 1960
7
21. The study of relationships between two or more languages and the
investigation whether the common languages have a common ancestor
is called___________?
A. Psycho linguistics
B. Sociolinguistics
C. Comparative linguistics
D. None of these
22. Morphology is the branch of linguistics which deals with?
A. The study of the structure of sounds and symbols.

B. Study of the structure of letters.
C. The study of the structure of words
D. N. O. T
23. Which among the following is an example acronym ?
A. Smog
B. UNESCO
C. Buzz
D. Edit
24. Which among the following is an example for portmanteau____?
A. Smog
B. UNESCO
C. Buzz
D. Edit
25. Words such as ‘UNESCO’ and ‘RADAR’ are instances of ____________?
A. Compounding
B. Acronym
C. Reduplicates
D. Conversion
26. Words such as ‘edit’ and ‘house__keep’ are instances of ____________?
A. Compounding
8
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Backformation
27. Words such as ‘smog’ and ‘motel’ are instances of ____________?
A. Compounding
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Backformation
28. __ is a process of word formation whereby new words are formed by

subtracting a root by deleting final syllable which is misunderstood as a
suffix?
A. Compounding
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Backformation
29. ___ involves a different analysis of the structure of the word by attaching
a consonant at the end of a word or a vowel at the beginning of the next
word
A. Portmanteau
B. Onomatopoeia
C. Clipping
D. Meta analysis
30. ___ is a process of word formation wherein new words are coined by
combining the segments of two different existing words?
A. Compounding
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Backformation.
31. The /d/ in ‘middle’ is an instance of __?
A. Lateral plosion
9
B. Alveolar plosion
C. Nasal plosion
D. Incomplete plosion.
32. The /p/ in ‘top__most’ is a ____?
A. Bilabial plosion
B. Alveolar plosion
C. Nasal plosion
D. Incomplete plosion.
33. Which among the following pairs are Velar plosives ?
A. /p/ & /b/

B. /m/ & /v/
C. /t/ &/d/
D. /k/ & /g/
34. Which among the following are bilabial plosive sounds in English?
A. /p/ & /b/

B. /m/ & /v/
C. /t/ &/d/
D. /k/ & /g/
35. The classification of vowels into half__close vowels and half__open

vowels is based on ____?
A. The position of the lips

B. The part of the tongue that is raised
C. The height to which the tongue is raised
D. All the above
36. The classification of vowels into close vowels and open vowels is based
on__?

D. All the above
10
37. The classification of vowels into high vowels and low vowels is based on
__?

D. All the above
38. The classification of vowels into front vowels and back vowels is based
on ___ ?

D. All the above
39. On the basis of the criterion of the state of the tension of the tongue,
vowels can be classified into ___?
A. Round vowels & unrounded vowels

B. Front vowels & back vowels
C. High vowels & low vowels
D. Tense vowels & lax vowels
40. According to the part of the tongue that is raised, vowels can be
classified into ___?

D. Tense vowels &lax vowels
41. Which among the following dimensions can the vowels in English be
classified ?

D. All the above
11
42. The phonemes which do not occur in the same linguistic environment
and which when occur so, do not bring about a change in meaning are
said to be in ___?
A. Complementary distribution
B. Contrastive distribution
C. Non-complementary distribution
D. None of the above
43. The pronunciation of English practised by the educated people at the

public schools came to be called ___?
A. Standard English
B. Received Pronunciation
C. Standard pronunciation
D. Recognized pronunciation
44. The IPA came into existence in the year__________?
A. 1889
B. 1998
C. 1989
D. 1888
45. Words with more than three syllables are called ___ words?
A. Multisyllabic
B. Disyllabic
C. Try syllabic
D. Polysyllabic
46. The word ‘examination’ is a ___ word?
A. Monosyllabic
B. Disyllabic
C. Try syllabic
D. Polysyllabic
12
47. The /k/ in ‘kill’ and ‘skill’ are ?
A. Allophones
B. Allomorphs
C. Morpheme variants
D. Minimal pairs
48. The clear /l/ and the dark /l/ may be considered to be the __ of the same
phoneme /l/?
A. Allophones
B. Allomorphs
D. Minimal pairs
49. Which among the following are the main properties of grammar ?
A. To account by its rules for the infinite sentences of a language

B. To be explicit about the grammaticality of sentences
C. To predict all and the only possible grammatical sentences of a
language
D. All the above
50. The theory of Transformational Generative Grammar is contained in?
A. Chomsky’s “Syntactic Structures”

B. Chomsky’s “Aspects of the theory of Syntax”
C. Leonard Bloomfield’s “Language”
D. Both “A’ & “B”
51. The two great linguists who have contributed much to frame the device
of Immediate Constituent analysis are __?
A. Leonard Bloomfield & Noam Chomsky

B. Leonard Bloomfield & Max Muller
C. Max Muller & Herman Gundert
D. Edward Sapir & Ferdinand de Saussure
52. ___ is a method of word formation whereby on or more syllables are

removed from longer words ?
13
A. Portmanteau
B. Onomatopoeia
C. Clipping
D. Metanalysis
53. The – s in ‘she sings well’ is ?
A. An adjective forming morpheme

B. Plural morpheme
C. Possessive morpheme
D. Morpheme signaling third person singular
54. The – or in ‘actor’ is ?

B. Plural morpheme
D. Noun forming morpheme
55. The –s in ‘john’s’ is ?

B. Plural morpheme
D. Past morpheme
56. The –ish in the word ‘childish’ is ?

B. Plural morpheme
D. Past morpheme
57. The final consonants /s/, /z/ and /iz/ in the words ‘cats’, ‘dogs’ and
‘boxes’ are instances of ?
A. Allophones
B. Allomorphs
14
C. Minimal pairs
58. The form ‘dog’ is a __ morpheme?
A. A free morpheme
B. Free variation
C. Bound morpheme
D. None of these
59. A minimal meaningful unit in the grammatical system of a language is

called ?
A. Syllable
B. Phoneme
C. Morpheme
D. Allomorph
60. /m/ is a __ consonant ?
A. Bilabial
B. Bilabial__nasal
C. Velar
D. Glottal
61. How many types of phonetic transcriptions are generally followed ?
A. Only one
B. Two
C. Innumerable
62. The term ___ refers to omissions of certain sounds, syllables or even
words in continuous speech?
A. Alliteration
B. Assonance
C. Elision
15
63. The term _ refers to the phenomenon of pauses in speech?
A. Stress
B. Pitch
C. Intonation
D. Juncture
64. How many stressed are generally marked ?
A. Only one
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
65. __ is the degree of force with which a sound of syllable is uttered ?

A. Stress
B. Pitch
C. Intonation
D. Juncture
66. __ are also called secondary phonemes?
A. Suprasegmentals
B. Morphemes
C. Allomorphs
D. Allophones
67. The final /n/ in the words ‘sudden’ and ‘mutton’ are ?
A. Syllabic consonants
B. Sibilants
C. Suffixes
68. Syllables in which the consonant functions as nucleus are called ?
B. Sibilants
C. Suffixes
16
69. The word ‘bank’ in ‘on the banks on the river’ and ‘banks are financial
institutions’ is called a __ ?
A. Allophones
B. Homophones
C. Homographs
D. Homonyms
70. __ is used to designate words pronounced differently though identically?
A. Allophones
B. Homophones
C. Homographs
D. Homonyms
71. The term __ is used to designate words which are spelt differently but
pronounced alike and which are different in meaning
A. Allophones
B. Homophones
C. Homographs
D. Homonyms
72. The consonants /j/ and /w/ are called ?
A. Semi-vowels
B. Laterals
C. Sibilants
D. Trills
73. How many nasal sounds are there in the English Language ?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
74. The ‘r’ in red is articulated as a __ ?
17
A. Trill
B. Lateral
C. Frictionless continuant
D. Semi-vowel
75. The consonant /s/ is called __ ?
A. Sibilant
B. Lateral
C. Nasal
D. Semi-vowel
76. /f/ and /v/ are called ?
A. Plosives
B. Affricates
C. Fricatives
D. Trill
77. The initial sound in ‘chair’ and ‘jam’ are examples for __ ?
A. Plosives
B. Affricates
C. Fricatives
D. Trill
78. Which of the following patterns of intonation, is used to indicate that the
speaker implies things which are not explicitly expressed __ ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
79. Which of the following patterns of intonation is used in polite requests ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
18
80. Which of the following patterns of intonation is used in listing the items ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
81. Which of the following patterns of intonation is used in commands ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
82. Which of the following patterns of intonation is used in declarative

sentences uttered as ordinary statements ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
83. The preceding sound influencing the following sound is an instance of _

assimilation?
A. Progressive
B. Regressive
C. Reciprocal
84. The two sounds influencing each other and combine to produce a third
sound is an instance of __ assimilation?
A. Progressive
B. Regressive
C. Reciprocal
D. Regressive
19
85. In the pronunciation of the word ‘ink’ the alveolar /n/ becoming a velar
sound is an instance of __ ?
A. Progressive
B. Regressive
C. Reciprocal
86. The special features which affect speech sounds such as stress, pitch
intonation and juncture are called ___?
A. Suprasegmentals phonemes
B. Secondary phonemes
C. Prosodic features
D. All the above
87. The initial sounds in the words ‘ship’, ‘church’ and ‘judge; are examples
for ?
A. Palato-alveolar
B. Palatal
C. Velar
D. Bilabial
88. /f/and /v/ are ___ ?
A. Dental
B. Labio-dental
C. Bilabial
D. Alveolar
89. __ are sounds articulated in the glottis ?
A. Glottal
B. Velar
C. Palatal
90. __ are produced involving the tip of the tongue and the back part of the
teeth ridge ?
20
A. Post__alveolar
B. Palate__alveolar
C. Palatal
D. Velar
91. ___ are articulated by raising the front of the tongue towards the hard
palate ?
A. Post__alveolar
B. Palate__alveolar
C. Palatal
D. Velar
92. Sounds articulated by the tip of the tongue placed against the upper
teeth are called ?
A. Dental
B. Labiodental
C. Bilabial
D. Alveolar
93. Sounds articulated by two lips are called ?
A. Dental
B. Bilabial
C. Labiodental
D. Alveolar
94. __ is a unit of speech which is at a level higher than the speech sound or
phoneme ?
A. Syllable
B. Stress
C. Intonation
D. Pitch
95. __ are words which differ only in one phoneme ?
A. Diphthongs
21
B. Triphthongs
C. Semi__vowels
D. Minimal pairs
96. __ is a monosyllabic vowel combination of a diphthong and a the weak

vowel ?
A. Triaphthong
B. Triaphone
C. Triphthong
D. Triology
97. The study of meaning is called ?
A. Phonology
B. Morphology
C. Syntax
D. Semantics
98. __ is the scientific study of language?
A. Philology
B. Phonology
C. Phonetics
D. Linguistics
99. Which among the following is an example for onomatopoeia ?
A. Smog
B. UNESCO
C. Buzz
D. Edit
100. Words composed of two or more elements that are identical or slightly
different are called ?
A. Compounding
B. Acronym
C. Reduplicates
D. Conversion
22
101. Words such as ‘phone’ and ‘photo’ are instances of ?
A. Compounding
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Clipping
102. Words such as ‘black__leg’ and ‘flash__light’ are instances of ?
A. Compounding
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Backformation
103. ___is a process of word formation wherein one or more syllables are
removed from an existing long words?
A. Compounding
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Clipping
104. ___ is a process of word formation by which new words are formed by
attaching prefixes or suffixes to the base form?
A. Compounding
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Backformation
105. ___ is a processes of word formation wherein two or more existing

words are simply combined ?
A. Compounding
B. Portmanteau
C. Derivation
D. Backformation
23
106. The /t/ in little is an instance of ?
A. Lateral plosion
B. Alveolar plosion
C. Nasal plosion
D. Incomplete plosion
107. The /k/ sound in ‘act ‘and ‘picture’ is a ?
A. Bilabial plosion
B. Alveolar plosion
C. Nasal plosion
D. Incomplete plosion
108. Which among the following pairs are Alveolar plosives ?
A. /p/ & /b/

B. /m/ & /v/
C. /t/ &/d/
D. /k/ & /g/
109. The classification of vowels into half__high vowels and half__low vowels
is based on ?

D. All the above
110. The classification of vowels into tense vowels and lax vowels is based on?

D. The state of the tension of the tongue
111. The classification of vowels into front vowels, back vowels and center
vowels is based on ?

24

D. All the above
112. The classification of vowels into round vowels and unrounded vowels is
based on ?

D. All the above.
113. According to the height to which the tongue is raised, vowels can be
classified into ?

114. According to the position of lips vowels can be divided into ?

115. __ is the process by which new words are coined by combining the
segments of two different words ?
A. Portmanteau
B. Onomatopoeia
C. Clipping
D. Metanalysis
116. The substitution of the aspirated /k/ for the un__aspirated /k/ in the
word ‘sky’ does not alter the meaning of the word. It is an instance of ?
A. Complementary distribution
B. Contrastive distribution
25
C. Non__complementary distribution
117. Phonemes which effect meaning change in the same linguistic

environment are said to be in ?
A. Contrastive distribution
B. Complementary distribution
C. Non__contrastive distribution
118. ___ is the system of phonetic notation composed of symbols and letters
devised by the International Phonetic Association?
A. The international phonetic script

B. The international phonetic alphabet
C. The international phonemic script
D. The intelligible phonetic script.
119. A syllabic division is marked with ?
A. A slash
B. An arrow mark
C. A hyphen
D. A vertical bar
120. The initial /l/ and the final /l/ in the word ‘little’ are ?
A. Allophones
B. Allomorphs
D. Minimal pairs
121. In which of the following words, is the sound /k/ aspirated ?
A. Kill
B. Skill
C. Skin
D. Skit
26
122. Which among the following terms denotes the formal agreement
between various constituent elements of a language ?
A. Concord
B. Gerund
C. Phrase structure
123. In transformational Generative Grammar, the ‘Generative’ means ?
A. ‘to produce’
B. ‘to develop’
C. ‘to predict’
D. All the above
124. ___ is the device used in modern linguistics for grouping together words
and phrases so as to remove ambiguity of construction?
A. Transformational Generative grammar

B. The phrase structure Grammar
C. Immediate Constituent Analysis
D. All the above
125. Words which represent the sounds of their referents are called ?
A. Portmanteau
B. Onomatopoeia
C. Clipping
D. Metanalysis
126. The shortened forms like ‘photo’ for photograph is an instance of ?

A. Portmanteau
B. Onomatopoeia
C. Clipping
D. Metanalysis
127. The –en in ‘strengthen’ is a ?

B. Plural morpheme
27
D. Verb forming morpheme
128. The final /t/ in walked is ?

B. Plural morpheme
D. Past morpheme
129. The –s in ‘boys’ is ?

B. Plural morpheme
D. Past morpheme
130. The final sounds /t/, /d/, and /id/ in the words packed, bagged and
patted are instances of ?
A. Allophones
B. Allomorphs
C. Minimal pairs
131. Morpheme alternates are called ?
A. Allophones
B. Allomorphs
C. Minimal pairs
132. The ‘ing’ in sleeping is an example of ?
A. A free morpheme
B. Free variation
C. Bound morpheme
D. None of these
28
133. How many classes of morphemes can be identified in a language ?
A. Only one
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
134. ___ is concerned with the selection and organization of speech sounds in
a language?
A. Phonology
B. Morphology
C. Semantics
D. Syntax
135. ___ refers to significant changes of pitch and stress pertaining to

sentences?
A. Intonation
B. Stress
C. Pitch
D. Juncture
136. ___ is the accent on certain words within the a sentence?
A. Semantics
B. Syntax
C. Sentence__stress
137. Stress is used for the sake of ?
A. Emphasis
B. Loudness
C. Double meaning
138. ___ are also called prosodic features?
A. Suprasegmentals
29
B. Morphemes
C. Allomorphs
D. Allophones
139. The final /m/ in the word ‘Prism’ is an instance of ?
B. Sibilants
C. Suffixes
140. The older term used to designate the study of languages is called?
A. Philology
B. Haplology
C. Phonology
D. Semiology
141. Which among the following is not an aim of linguistics?
A. To study the nature of language

B. To establish a theory of language
C. To propound stories of the origin of language
D. To describe a language and all languages
142. Which among the following does not constitute the scientific nature of
linguistics ?
A. Systematic gathering and analysis of data

B. Determination of causal relationship between facts
C. Chronological presentation of data
D. Verification, validation and generalization
143. ___ is the study of how the mentally represented grammar of language is
employed in the production and comprehension of speech?
A. Sociolinguistics
B. Psycholinguistics
C. Neuron__linguistics
D. Physio –linguistics
30
144. A person who can use more than two languages ?
A. Multilingual
B. Polylingual
C. Bilingual
D. N.O.T
145. ___ refers to the linguistic norm specific to a geographical area, social
class or status affecting mutual intelligibility ?
A. Dialect
B. Idiolect
C. Register
D. Slang
146. A person who has the ability to use only one language is called ?
A. Monologue
B. Monolingual
C. Monolingual
147. A collection of similar Idiolect make up ?
A. Dialect
B. Idiolects
C. Register
D. Slang
148. Which among the following implies the underlying rules governing the
combination and organization of the elements of language ?
A. Language
B. Parole
C. Competence
D. Both langue and Competence
149. Who introduced in linguistics the concept similar to Saussure’s Langue

and Parole ?
31
A. Charles Sanders Pierce

B. Leonard bloom Field
C. Noam Chomsky
D. Edward Sapir
150. Who introduced in linguistics the concept of Langue and Parole ?

C. Noam Chomsky
D. Edward Sapir
151. The term semiotics was introduced by ?

C. Noam Chomsky
D. Edward Sapir
152. The type of study which focus on the analysis of the systematic
interrelation of the elements of a single language at a particular time is
called?
A. Synchronic
B. Diachronic
C. Semiotic
D. Onomatopoeic
153. There is no positive relationship between a speech and sound. This

property of language is referred to as ?
A. Arbitrariness
B. Recursiveness
C. Displacement
D. Transference
154. It is possible to write down spoken language and read aloud the written
material. This property of language is called ?
32
A. Duality of structure
B. Recursiveness
C. Displacement
D. Transference
155. Using a finite set of rules a speaker can produce innumerable

grammatical utterances. This property of language is called ?
B. Recursiveness
C. Displacement
D. Transference
156. Which among the following is an exception to the property of

arbitrariness of language ?
A. Onomatopoeia
B. Homophones
C. Homonyms
D. Portmanteau
157. Words like ‘Buzz’, ‘Hiss’, ‘thud’ etc. which represents the sounds of their
referents are known as ?
A. Onomatopoeia
B. Homophones
C. Homonyms
D. Portmanteau
158. The Yo__He__Ho Theory of the origin of language was advanced by ?
A. Wilhelm Wundt and Sir Richard Paget

B. Noire
C. Max__Muller
D. Otto Jespersen
159. The theory which Is based upon the assumption that language has been
formed from the words uttered by groups of persons engaged in joint
burdensome labour ?
33
A. The Yo__He__Ho Theory

B. The Gesture theory
C. The Poo__Pooh theory
D. Ding__Dong theory
160. The theory which is based on the assumption that language originated in
the sense of rhythm innate in man ?
A. Ding Dong theory

B. The Bow__Vow theory
D. The Gesture theory
161. Which among the following is not a characteristic feature of language ?
A. Language is systematic
B. Language is arbitrary
C. Language is dynamic
D. Language is instinctive
162. Who defined language as “a set or (finite or infinite) sentences, each

finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements” ?
A. Noam Chomsky
C. Edward Sapir
163. The final /l/ in the words ‘bottle’, ‘cattle’ and ‘little’ are examples of ?
B. Sibilants
C. Suffixes
164. The present__tense form of the verb ‘read’ and its past__tense which is
pronounced as ‘red’ is an example of ?
A. Allophones
B. Homophones
34
C. Homographs
D. Homonyms
165. The words denoting the colour ‘red’ and the past__tense of the verb
‘read’ ; ‘right’ and’ ‘write’; and ‘site’ and sight’ are examples for ?
A. Allophones
B. Homophones
C. Homographs
D. Homonyms
166. Certain morphemes have more than one meaning and can be
understood in more than one way. They are called ?
A. Allophones
B. Homophones
C. Homographs
D. Homonyms
167. The different concrete phonetic variation of the same phoneme are
called ?
A. Allophones
B. Homophones
C. Homographs
D. Homonyms
168. Semi__vowels are also known as ?
A. Approximants
B. Laterals
C. Sibilants
D. Trills
169. How many nasal sounds are there in the Malayalam language ?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
35
170. The consonant /l/ is called ?
A. Sibilant
B. Lateral
C. Nasal
D. Semi__vowel
171. /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/ are examples for ?
A. Plosives
B. Affricates
C. fricatives
D. Trill
172. Which of the following patterns of intonation, is used in W.H. questions

asked in a warm and friendly way indicating extra politeness ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
173. Which of the following patterns of intonation is used in declarative

sentences uttered as questions ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
174. Which of the following patterns of intonation is used in tag questions

which imply that the speaker is certain about what is said ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
36
175. Which of the following patterns of intonation is used in W.H questions ?
A. The falling
B. The rising
C. The fall__rise
176. The American pronunciation of the word ‘issue’ is an instance of _ type

of assimilation?
A. Progressive
B. Regressive
C. Reciprocal
177. The voiced sound /z/ denoting the plural morpheme in the word ‘dogs’ is
an instance of assimilation?
A. Progressive
B. Regressive
C. Reciprocal
D. None of these
178. /h/ in the word ‘he’ is a __ sound?
A. Velar
B. Glottal
C. Palatal
D. Alveolar
179. The initial consonant in ‘Young’ is a __ sound?
A. Palatal
B. Velar
C. Dental
D. Glottal
180. /t/. /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/ are ?
A. Alveolar
37
B. Post__alveolar
C. Palatal
D. Dental;
181. /p/, /b/, /m/ and /w/ are ?
A. Bilabial
B. Dental;
C. Velar
D. Glottal
182. __ are articulated by raising the back of the tongue towards the soft
palate?
A. Post__alveolar
B. Palate__alveolar
C. Palatal
D. Velar
183. __ articulated by the tip and the blade of the tongue against the teeth
ridge with raising of the front of the tongue towards the palate ?
A. Post__alveolar
B. Palate__alveolar
C. Palatal
D. Velar
184. Sounds articulated with the tip of the tongue or the blade of the tongue
against the teeth ridge are called ?
A. Dental
B. Bilabial
C. Labiodental
D. Alveolar
185. Sounds articulated by the lower lip placed against the upper teeth are
called ?
A. Dental
B. Bilabial
38
C. Labiodental
D. Alveolar
186. __ is the process by which one speech sound gets changed to another
under the influence of another ?
A. Onomatopoeia
B. Assimilation
C. Regression
D. Progression
187. ___ are gliding sounds during the articulation of which, the speech
organs glide from one vowel position to another ?
A. Diphthongs
B. Triphthongs
C. Semi__vowels
D. Minimal pairs
188. The study of the way that sequences of words are ordered into phrases,
clauses, and sentences is called ?
A. Phonology
B. Morphology
C. Syntax
D. Semantics
189. The study of elementary speech sounds is called ?
A. Phonology
B. Morphology
C. Syntax
D. Semantics
190. Which among the following is not a branch of linguistics ?
A. Phonology
B. Morphology
C. Semantics
D. Philology
39
191. Which among the following does not constitute the general methodology
of science ?
A. Controlled observation
B. Hypothesis formulation
C. Analysis, generalization and prediction
D. Speculation
192. ___ is the discipline where the methodological perspectives of both

linguistics and sociology converges ?
A. Linguistics of sociology
B. Sociolinguistics
C. Sociology of linguistics
D. None of these
193. ___ refers to an individual’s equal and native command of two or more
languages?
A. Bilingualism
B. Polyglotism
C. Multilingualism
194. A person who can use two languages is called?

A. Bilinguals
B. Monolingual
C. Duo__lingual
D. Multi lingual
195. Who introduced in linguistics the concept of Competence and

Performance ?

C. Noam Chomsky
D. Edward Sapir
40
196. Who introduced in linguistics the concept similar to Chomsky’s

competence and Performance ?

B. Leonard bloom Filed
C. Ferdinand De Saussure
D. Edward Sapir
197. Which among the following implies the actual meaningful utterance of
the individual speaking or writing a given language ?
A. Language
B. Parole
C. performance
D. Both parole and performance
198. ___ is the totality of the speech habits of an individual ?
A. Dialect
B. Idiolect
C. Register
D. Slang
199. The language variety which has certain features which are typical of
certain disciplines, topics, fields, occupations and social roles played by
the speaker, is called ?
A. Dialect
B. Idiolect
C. Register
D. Slang
200. The term ‘semiology’ was introduced by ?

C. Noam Chomsky
D. Edward Sapir
41
201. The systematic study of signs is called ?
A. Semiotics
B. Semiology
C. Both “A” & “B”
D. Neither “a” not “b”
202. The type of study of the changes in language over a span of time is
called?
A. Synchronic
B. Diachronic
C. Semiotic
D. Onomatopoeic
203. Language is never static. It goes on changing. This property of language is

called ?
A. Dynamic
B. Recursiveness
C. Displacement
D. Transference
204. Human beings can talk about experiences, objects and events which are
not present at the time and place of speaking. This property of language
is called ?
B. Recursiveness
C. Displacement
D. Transference
205. Human language is structured at the levels of phonemes and morphemes

and at the level of words. This property of language is called ?
B. Recursiveness
C. Displacement
D. Transference.
42
206. Who found the odd one out ?
A. Ferdinand de Saussure
B. Edward Sapir
C. Leonard Bloomfield
D. Herman Gundert
207. The Musical Theory of the origin of language was advanced by ?

B. Noire
C. Max__Muller
D. Otto Jespersen
208. The Ding__Dong theory of the origin of language was advanced by ?

B. Noire
C. Max Muller
D. Otto Jespersen
209. The theory which is based on the assumption that language originated as
a result of the involuntary exclamations of pain, surprise, pleasure or
wonder ?
A. Ding Dong theory

B. The Bow__vow theory
210. The theory which is based on the assumption that language originated as
a result of human instinct to imitate sounds ?
A. Ding Dong theory

B. The Bow-vow theory
C. The Pooh-pooh theory
43
211. Who defined language as “a purely human and non-instinctive method of

communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily
produced symbols” ?
A. Noam Chomsky
B. Ferdinand de Saussure
C. Edward Sapir
44
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Selected MCQ's of Linguistics

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SELECTED MCQ'S OF LINGUISTICS

In fact, I wasted a year because we use English as a second language in our

Selected MCQ's of Linguistics:-

2. A term introduced by the linguist SAUSSURE which refers to the state of

3. The study of signs is termed as_________?

4. In its general sense it refers to the creative capacity of language users to

5. __________ is term introduced by CHOMSKY to describe ‘the actual use

6. The system of communication within a community?

7. A pair of terms introduced by Noam CHOMSKY in 1965 to describe native

9. Who argues that language is a unique evolutionary development of the

10. There are __ consonant sounds in English IPA?

11. There are _ vowel sounds in English IPA?

12. Noam Chomsky was born in _ ?

13. Father of modern linguistics is _ ?

14. The theory of Bio linguistics is given by_____?

15. Transformational-generative grammar is a broad theory used to model,

16. Chomsky developed Transformational-Generative Grammar in________?

17. Competence is a term to describe the knowledge possessed by native

18. _______ is a term denotes historical perspective for studying language ?

19. “Reflections on Language” is a book written by Noam Chomsky

20. “The Syntactic Structures” is a book written by Noam Chomsky

22. Morphology is the branch of linguistics which deals with?

A. The study of the structure of sounds and symbols.

23. Which among the following is an example acronym ?

24. Which among the following is an example for portmanteau____?

25. Words such as ‘UNESCO’ and ‘RADAR’ are instances of ____________?

26. Words such as ‘edit’ and ‘house__keep’ are instances of ____________?

27. Words such as ‘smog’ and ‘motel’ are instances of ____________?

28. __ is a process of word formation whereby new words are formed by

31. The /d/ in ‘middle’ is an instance of __?

32. The /p/ in ‘top__most’ is a ____?

33. Which among the following pairs are Velar plosives ?

A. /p/ & /b/

A. /p/ & /b/

35. The classification of vowels into half__close vowels and half__open

A. The position of the lips

A. The position of the lips

A. The position of the lips

A. The position of the lips

A. Round vowels & unrounded vowels

A. Round vowels & unrounded vowels

A. The position of the lips

43. The pronunciation of English practised by the educated people at the

44. The IPA came into existence in the year__________?

46. The word ‘examination’ is a ___ word?

47. The /k/ in ‘kill’ and ‘skill’ are ?

A. To account by its rules for the infinite sentences of a language

50. The theory of Transformational Generative Grammar is contained in?

A. Chomsky’s “Syntactic Structures”

A. Leonard Bloomfield & Noam Chomsky

52. ___ is a method of word formation whereby on or more syllables are

53. The – s in ‘she sings well’ is ?

A. An adjective forming morpheme

54. The – or in ‘actor’ is ?

A. An adjective forming morpheme

55. The –s in ‘john’s’ is ?

A. An adjective forming morpheme

26. Words such as ‘edit’ and ‘housekeep’ are instances of __________?

32. The /p/ in ‘topmost’ is a __?

35. The classification of vowels into halfclose vowels and halfopen

102. Words such as ‘blackleg’ and ‘flashlight’ are instances of ?