UGC NET English Aug 2024 Shift 2: Linguistics & Language Solved

Correct Answer: 1) C and E only

Explanation: This question connects the sociological foundations of Emile Durkheim with the linguistic structuralism of Ferdinand de Saussure.

• Emile Durkheim (C): As a sociologist, he defined social facts as ways of acting and thinking that are external to the individual and endowed with coercive power. He used collective consciousness to describe shared social beliefs.
• Ferdinand de Saussure (E): Greatly influenced by Durkheim, Saussure treated langue (the system of language) as a social fact—a collective product of a speech community that no single individual can create or change.

Why others are incorrect: Noam Chomsky (D) focuses on Internalized Language (I-language) and innate mental structures, which is an individualistic approach rather than a collective sociological one. Bloomfield (B) followed a behaviorist path, and Boas (A) focused on cultural relativism.

Correct Answer: 1 (Alexander Murrey)

Explanation: Alexander Murray (often spelled Murrey in older exam papers) was a Scottish philologist who wrote History of European Languages; or, Researches into the Affinities of the Teutonic, Greek, Celtic, Sclavonic, and Indian Nations, published posthumously in 1823.

Notes on other Linguists:

• William Jones: Famous for his 1786 "Third Anniversary Discourse" where he noted the common ancestry of Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin, laying the foundation for Comparative Philology.
• Leonard Bloomfield: A central figure in American structural linguistics, best known for his definitive textbook Language (1933).
• A.S. Diamond: Author of The History and Origin of Language (1959), which explores the development of communication.

Correct Answer: 1 (A–II, B–III, C–IV, D–I)

Explanation: This question tests foundational concepts from Ferdinand de Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics (1916). He established that language is a system of relationships.

• Langue (A–II): The abstract, social system of language shared by a community. It is the rules and conventions that make speech possible.
• Parole (B–III): The actual, individual act of speaking or writing. It is the concrete usage of langue.
• Signifier (C–IV): The physical form of the sign—the sound pattern or the written "word" itself.
• Signified (D–I): The mental concept or "meaning conveyed" that the signifier represents.

Correct Answer: 2) A, B, E only

Explanation: The concept of Abstract Poetry is closely tied to the experimental work of Edith Sitwell, particularly her collection Facade (1922).

• Coinage (A): Edith Sitwell coined the term to describe poems that function like abstract art—focusing on the "texture" of the medium rather than a recognizable subject.
• Aural Quality (B): In these poems, the phonetic and rhythmic qualities of the words (how they sound) are the primary focus, much like a musical composition.
• Meaning vs. Sound (E): The words are used for their "patterns" rather than their literal meaning or "sense." The objective is to produce an emotional or sensory effect through sound rather than narrative logic.

Note: Statement C describes Symbolism or Imagism, and Statement D is factually incorrect as Auden, while influential, was not the architect of this specific aesthetic term.

Correct Answer: 2 (A–III, B–I, C–II, D–IV)

Explanation (Translation Studies): This question focuses on the major functionalist and systemic turns in translation theory.

• Polysystem Theory (A-III): Developed by Itamar Even-Zohar, this theory views translated literature as a part of the larger cultural/literary system (polysystem) and examines its role in shaping that system.
• Relevance Theory (B-I): Ernest-August Gutt applied cognitive linguistics to translation, suggesting that a successful translation is one that achieves "interpretive resemblance" through contextual relevance.
• Skopos Theory (C-II): Hans J. Vermeer introduced this functionalist approach, where the Skopos (purpose or goal) of the translation determines the methods used, prioritizing the target audience's needs.
• Covert Translation (D-IV): Juliane House distinguished between "Overt" (clearly a translation) and "Covert" (adapted so well to the target culture that it functions like an original) translations.

Correct Answer: 1 (A and C only)

Explanation: This stems from Ludwig Wittgenstein’s early philosophical work, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921). He proposed the "Picture Theory of Language."

• Language as a Boundary (C): Wittgenstein argued that we cannot think what we cannot say. Therefore, the boundaries of our language are the boundaries of our world/thought.
• Structural Logic (A): He believed that for a proposition to have sense, it must mirror the logical structure of reality. Thus, the structure of language dictates the parameters of meaning.

Why others are incorrect: Statement E is rejected because Wittgenstein suggests thought and language are simultaneous/interdependent. Statement D is false because his entire project was to show how closely linked they are.

Correct Answer: 1 (A and C only)

Explanation: Phonetics is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds. It is traditionally divided into three branches:

• Articulatory Phonetics (A): How speech sounds are produced by the vocal organs (Production).
• Acoustic Phonetics (C): How sound waves travel through the air (Transmission).
• Auditory Phonetics (B): How the ear and brain perceive sounds (Reception). Note: While B is a branch, it is often excluded in basic definitions focusing on the physical "output" side.

Why others are incorrect: Statement D (Patterns) refers to Phonology. Statement E (Word Formation) refers to Morphology.

Correct Answer: 1 (A–I, B–II, C–IV, D–III)

Explanation: This question covers key authors and sociolinguistic concepts.

• The Language Instinct (A-I): Steven Pinker's famous work arguing that language is an innate human biological adaptation rather than a cultural construct.
• Reflection of Language (B-II): Associated with Noam Chomsky, focusing on how language reveals the innate structures of the human mind (Universal Grammar).
• Diglossia (C-IV): A sociolinguistic situation where two varieties of a language (High and Low) coexist in a community, used for different specialized functions.
• Creole (D-III): A stable, full language that originates from a mixture of different languages (often starting as a Pidgin) to facilitate communication between different cultures.