Language, Linguistics and Prosody – (Previous Year Questions NET | GATE)

The first major report on The Teaching of English in England was published in 1921. It is known as ________, named after the Chair, Board of Education, _______.
(A) the Newbolt Report; Sir Henry Newbolt
(B) the Wood’s Despatch; Charles Wood, Lord Halifax
(C) the Chatham Report; Earl John Chatham
(D) the Landow Document; Sir George Landow
Ans: (A)

Which of the following combinations correctly defines the phonological system of Indian English in relation to Standard English?
(a) Absence of aspirated consonants
(b) Simplified vowel system
(c) Similar international pattern
(d) Presence of voiced aspirated consonants
Choose the correct option :
(A) (a) and (b)
(B) (b) and (d)
(C) (c) and (a)
(D) (b) and (c)
Ans: (B)

Which of the following is the proper explanation of the concept of “Freytag’s Pyramid”?

(A) Analysis of the plot of a drama

(B) Analysis of the characters of a drama

(C) Analysis of the theme of conflict between a woman and two men in drama

(D) Analysis of the different types of drama

Ans: (A)

Match List I and List II
List I
Linguist
A. Paul Grice
B. Edward Sapir
C. Ferdinand de Saussure
D. Nancy Dorian

List II
Concept
I. language death
II. linguistic signs
III. linguistic relativity
IV. cooperative principle

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
(a) A – I, B – III, C – II, D – IV
(b) A – IV, B – III, C – II, D – I
(c) A – III, B – IV, C – I, D – II
(d) A – III, B – IV, C – II, D – I
Ans: (B)

Heptameter consists of :
(A) five metrical feet
(B) six metrical feet
(C) seven metrical feet
(D) eight metrical feet
Ans: (C)

Which of the following descriptions fits the unit of verse, Dactyl?
(A) One stressed syllable followed by three unstressed syllables
(B) One stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables
(C) Two stressed syllables followed by one unstressed syllable
(D) Two stressed syllables followed by two unstressed syllables
Ans: (B)

Which among the following clusters matches the prose style that came to be known as ‘CaIylese’?
(A) Capital letters, exclamation marks, phrases in German
(B) Question marks, long sentences, phrases in French
(C) Frequent ellipses, Latin sayings, comic non-sequitors
(D) Biblical phrases, capital letters, missing letters
Ans: (A)

Sprung Rhythm is an example of :
(A)Verse
(B) Syllable
(C) Stress
(D) Meter
Ans: (D)

“More is thy due than more than all can pay” is an example of :
(A) Weak – ending
(B) Inversion
(C) Alexandrine
(D) Extra Syllable
Ans: (B)

Who first developed the notion of ‘competence’ in language studies ?
(A) Dell Hymes
(B) Noam Chomsky
(C) Leech and Svartvik
(D) Henry Sweet
Ans: (B)

‘Inversion’ is the change in the word order for creating rhetorical effect, e.g. this book I like. Another term for inversion is
(A) Hypallage
(B) Hubris
(C) Haiku
(D) Hyperbaton
Ans: (D)

Unrhymed metrical composition consisting of five iambic measures in each line is called :
(A) Rhyme royal
(B) Run-on-lines
(C) Blank verse
(D) Spenserian stanza
Ans: (C)

Verse stories dealing with chivalry, Knight, errantry, enchantments, and love are known as :
(A) The epic
(B) The ballad
(C) The ode
(D) The metrical romances
Ans: (D)

The fruit was eaten. The fruit is ripening. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct ?
(1) English has two kinds of participle : the present and the past.
(2) English has three kinds of participle : the present, the past and the future.
(3) The first sentence here is an example of a verb in past participle.
(4) The first sentence here is an example of a verb in the perfect tense.
(5) The second sentence here is an example of a verb in present participle.
(6) The second sentence here is an example of a verb in the continuous tense.
(A) 2, 4, 6 are correct.
(B) 1, 5, 6 are correct.
(C) 1, 3, 5 are correct.
(D) 3, 4, 5 are correct.
Ans: (C)

‘Homonyms’ are words that _______
(A) are pronounced differently but have the same meaning.
(B) refer to both the male and female of the human species.
(C) are spelt similarly but have different meanings.
(D) refer to people who live in houses with similar structures.
Ans: (C)

When we rewrite a piece of discourse from one script into another, it is called ________.
(A) Translation
(B) Transliteration
(C) Transcreation
(D) Transformation
Ans: (B)

Modern English emerged from the
(A) South Midland dialect
(B) East Midland dialect
(C) French language
(D) Northumbrian dialect
Ans: (B)

“He is a citizen of no mean city” is an example of :
(A) Periphrasis
(B) Tautology
(C) Prolepsis
(D) Litotes
Ans: (D)

Most culinary terms in English are derived from
(A) Exotic cooking
(B) French cooking
(C) Native sources
(D) Arabic cooking
Ans: (B)

A ‘Foot’ in prosody is a basic unit of :
(A) rhyme
(B) length
(C) rhythmic measurement
(D) height
Ans: (C)

“Blended learning” is a mode of instruction/learning in which
(A) the learner’s mother tongue and the target language are blended
(B) learning is accessed through the mother tongue
(C) a variety of instructional modes are integrated
(D) learning of a language is mediated by humanistic approaches
Ans: (C)

‘Risk-taking’ is one of the traits of a good
(A) language learner
(B) language teacher
(C) teacher of grammar rules
(D) printer of books and authors
Ans: (A)

A teaching method advocated by Dr. Georgia Lozanav which is based on the principle of ‘joy and easiness’ is called
(A) Suggesto paedia
(B) Total physical response
(C) The Direct Method
(D) The audio-lingual method
Ans: (A)

Plagiarism is a well-known word and concept in academic circles. The word plagiarius in Latin, however, meant
(A) a trickster, a cheat
(B) a quack, a swindler
(C) a loafer, a lout
(D) a torturer, a plunderer
Ans: *

Which of the following was replaced by Communicative Language Teaching ?
(A) Motivational Approach
(B) Situational Language Teaching
(C) Natural Language Processing
(D) Structural Approach
Ans: *

The direct French influence on the English language during the Middle English period was in the form of .
(A) loss of inflections.
(B) intake of French words into English.
(C) both the loss of inflections and intake of French words into English.
(D) addition of inflections.
Ans: (B)

Which of the following provided theoretical basis for Audio-Lingual Method of Language Teaching ?
(A) Transformational Generative Linguistics
(B) Congnitive Psychology and Structural Linguistics
(C) Behaviourist Psychology and Bloomfieldian Structural Linguistics
(D) Systemic Functional Linguistics
Ans: (C)

The word order in Modern English became relatively fixed because .
(A) it developed its inflectional system.
(B) it lost its highly developed inflectional system.
(C) it lost its derivational system of word formation.
(D) it developed its derivational system of word formation
Ans: (B)

In Old English other grammatical classes also had the four cases that nouns had. Which were these grammatical classes ?
(A) Pronouns and verbs only
(B) Pronouns and adjectives only
(C) Definite article and verbs only
(D) Pronouns, adjectives and definite article
Ans: (D)

Preparation of vocabulary list for the purpose of English language teaching was carried out by__________.
(A) Otto Jespersen
(B) Noam Chomsky
(C) N.S. Prabhu
(D) Michael West
Ans: (D)

A literary researcher now faced with choosing between a print text and its digital counterpart chooses the latter mostly to
(A) facilitate the consultation of an exhaustive bibliography
(B) avoid the expense of buying books
(C) look for specific words and phrases and lines
(D) enhance his/her understanding of textual variants, if any, between the two media
Answer: (C)

Which of the following pair of words does not have two different vowel glides ?
(A) care, pure
(B) write, freight
(C) caught, court
(D) eight, ate
Ans: (D)

Which of the following is NOT an example of derivational morpheme ?
(A) friend – friendship
(B) courage – courageous
(C) rely – reliable
(D) climate – climactic
Ans: (D)

Which of the following is correct as the natural order of language acquisition ?
(A) Listening -Reading -Speaking -Writing
(B) Writing -Reading -Listening -Speaking
(C) Listening -Speaking -Reading -Writing
(D) Reading -Listening -Speaking –Writing
Ans: (C)

Which of the following sentences uses more than three cohesive devices ?
(A) At that time a person could drive for miles without seeing a house
(B) All of them could recite the poem yesterday
(C) You can use a pencil, though not a pen, to write your name
(D) As soon as Mohan entered the stadium the crowd cheered
Ans: (C)

Which of the following is NOT TRUE of the New Bolt Report, .The Teaching of English in England.?
(A) It was commissioned in 1919
(B) It urged the teaching of the national literature
(C) It proposed the teaching of English Literature at the university level
(D) It aimed at uniting divided classes after the war
Ans: (C)

Match the following
(a) The Grammar -Translation Method
(b) The Direct Method
(c) Total Physical Response
(d) The Natural Approach

(i) comprehensible input
(ii) strategic use of mother tongue
(iii) shuns mother tongue
(iv) oral input

(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) (ii) (iii) (iv) (i)
(B) (ii) (iv) (i) (iii)
(C) (iv) (ii) (i) (iii)
(D) (iii) (i) (ii) (iv)
Ans: (A)

Which of the following is an incorrect assumption in language teaching?
(A) Learners acquire language by trying to use it in real situations.
(B) Learners’ first language plays an important role in learning.
(C) Language teaching should have a focus on communicative activities.
(D) Language teaching should give importance to writing rather than speech.
Ans: (D)

During the Middle English period, many words were borrowed from two languages :
I. Celtic
II. Latin
III. French
IV. Old Norse
The right combination according to the code is
(A) I and II
(B) II and III
(C) II and IV
(D) III and IV
Ans: (B)

Assertion (A) : In so far as we are taught how to read, what we engage are not texts but paradigms.
Reason (R) : We appropriate meaning from a text according to what we need or desire, or, in other words, according to the critical assumptions or predispositions that we bring to it.
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true, but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false, but (R) is true.
Ans: (a)

At the beginning of the Restoration period, there was a seismic shift in the social, political and religious attitudes of the English. Which of the following statements best describes that shift?
(A) England shifted from an aristocratic Catholic monarchy to a parliamentary democracy.
(B) England shifted from an atheistic oligarchy to a deistic squirearchy.
(C) England shifted from a Republican Puritan Commonwealth to an aristocratic Anglican monarchy.
(D) England shifted from a parliamentary democracy to an aristocratic Catholic tyranny.
Ans: (C)

The Grammar-Translation Method in English Language Teaching stresses on
(A) Fluency
(B) Accuracy
(C) Appropriateness
(D) Listening Skill
Ans: (B)

“[They] then heaved out,/ away with a will in their wood-wreathed ship.” This line describing Beowulf’s departure from Geatland, is typical of the poem’s form and Old English poetic technique because
I. it features alliteration
II. it rhymes
III. it features onomotopoeia
IV. it has four strong stresses
The right combination according to the code is
(A) I and II
(B) II and III
(C) I and IV
(D) II and IV
Ans: (C)

Functional Communicative Approach in English Language Teaching is in opposition to
(A) Structural Approach
(B) Comprehensive Approach
(C) Translation and Grammar Method
(D) Functional Approach
Ans: (A)

Published in 1604, the first monolingual English Dictionary was
(A) Nathaniel Bailey’s Universal Etymological Dictionary of the English Language
(B) Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language
(C) Robert Cawdrey’s Table Alphabetical
(D) Thomas Blount’s Glossographia
Ans: (C)

A test of listening comprehension is a test of
(A) Receptive skill
(B) Productive skill
(C) Hearing skill
(D) Phonology
Ans: (A)

The Grammar Translation Method was historically used in teaching
(A) Greek and French
(B) Greek and Latin
(C) Latin and Scandinavian
(D) French and German
Ans: (B)

Assertion (A) : The world is becoming increasingly multilingual.
Reason (R) : To monolingual Anglophones it may look like everyone in the world is learning English.
In the context of these two statements
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true, but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false, but (R) is true.
Ans: (b)

The Behaviourist Theory is explained in terms of
(A) conditioning
(B) behaviour
(C) attitude
(D) personality
Ans: (A)

Direct Method in English Language Teaching is also known as
(A) Functional Method
(B) Natural Method
(C) Indirect Approach
(D) Inductive Approach
Ans: (B)

St. Augustine brought Christianity, and the Latin language enriched Old English by giving it the capacity to talk about ……………
(A) common experience
(B) place names
(C) abstract ideas
(D) agricultural concepts
Ans: (C)

One of the principles of materials preparation for language learning is that
(A) complex material should be chosen
(B) any kind of material can be chosen
(C) grading of materials should be done
(D) a small amount of material should be introduced
Ans: (C)

The Oxford English Dictionary was published in twelve volumes with its current title in the year :
(A) 1928
(B) 1930
(C) 1933
(D) 1915
Ans: (C)

Who/Which among the following gave the expression, “a leopard can’t change its spots,” to English language ?
(A) The King James Bible
(B) Geoffrey Chaucer
(C) Shakespeare
(D) The Royal Society
Ans: (A)

Stephen Krashen’s theory of second language acquisition consists of six main hypotheses. Which of the following is NOT one of them ?
(A) The Input Hypothesis
(B) The Affective Filter Hypothesis
(C) The Monitor Hypothesis
(D) The Writing Hypothesis
Ans: (D)

The interaction hypothesis is a theory of second language acquisition which states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by face-to-face interaction and communication. The idea is usually credited to :
(A) David Nunan
(B) Michael Long
(C) Alastair Pennycook
(D) Claire Kramsch
Ans: (B)

 Two of the following words were borrowed from French after the Norman Conquest.
(a) mutton
(b) pork
(c) sheep
(d) swine
The right combination according to the code is :
(A) (a) and (b)
(B) (a) and (c)
(C) (b) and (d)
(D) (c) and (d)
Ans: (A)

The grammar-translation method of language teaching does NOT include :
(A) focus on grammar rules
(B) vocabulary memorization
(C) inductive teaching
(D) focus on written language
Ans: (C)

 Arrange the following in ascending order in terms of size :
1. epic 2. epigram 3. stanza 4. sonnet
(A) 1 2 3 4
(B) 2 1 3 4
(C) 2 3 4 1
(D) 1 3 4 2
Ans: (C)

The variety of English used between non-native speakers who do not share a first language is called :
(A) English for specific purposes
(B) English for basic purposes
(C) English as a lingua Franca
(D) English as a language tool
Ans: (C)

“The Comprehensible Output Hypothesis” was proposed by
(A) Stephen Krashen
(B) M.A.K. Halliday
(C) Merrill Swain
(D) Gertrude Buck
Ans: (C)

Which among the following does not belong to Indo-European language family?
(A) English
(B) German
(C) Scandinavian
(D) Finnish
Ans: (D)

‘Iambus’ is a metrical foot consisting of :
(A) two syllables
(B) three syllables
(C) four syllables
(D) one syllable
Ans: (A)

In Juvenalian satire the speaker is :
(A) a political orator
(B) a propagandist
(C) a social revolutionary
(D) a serious moralist
Ans: (D)

The rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet is :
(A) abab, cdcd, efef, gg
(B) abba, cddc, effe, gg
(C) abab, cdcd, efef, gh
(D) aabb, ccdd, eeff, gg
Ans: (A)

A poem that captures the essence of a moment in a simple image is :
(A) Lyric
(B) Ballad
(C) Ode
(D) Haiku
Ans: (D)

Heroic Couplet is a pair of :
(A) Rhyming iambic pentameter lines
(B) Unrhyming iambic pentameter lines
(C) Rhyming iambic hexameter
(D) Unrhyming iambic hexameter
Ans: (A)

‘Gestalt’ theory of literature considers text as :
(A) a structure of metaphors
(B) a unified whole
(C) an experimentation in form
(D) construction of history
Ans: (B)

 Heroic quatrain is :
(A) a stanza in blank verse
(B) eight line stanza in iambic hexameter
(C) four line stanza in iambic pentameter
(D) six line stanza in iambic pentameter
Ans: (C)

‘Bildungsroman’ translated literally means :
(A) Development novel
(B) Psychological novel
(C) Autobiographical novel
(D) Campus novel
Ans: (A)

The term ‘Campus novel’ is associated with :
(A) Graham Green
(B) Kingsley Amis
(C) Margaret Drabble
(D) William Golding
Ans: (B)

Internal rhyme is :
(A) the basic rhythmic structure of a poem
(B) rhyming of two words in alternative lines
(C) rhyming of two or more words in the same line of poetry
(D) all the lines of a poem ending with the same line pattern
Ans: (C)

Anti-sentimental comedy is a criticism of :
(A) loss of moral purpose
(B) excess of emotion
(C) excess of reason
(D) loss of human feelings
Ans: (B)

Hyperbole is
1. an extravagant exaggeration
2. a racist slur
3. a metrical skill
4. a figure of speech
(A) 1 is correct
(B) 1 and 4 are correct
(C) 1 and 3 are correct
(D) 3 is correct
Ans: (B)

Periphrasis, which is a roundabout way of speech/writing, is also known as…
(A) synecdoche
(B) allusion
(C) understatement
(D) circumlocution
Ans: (D)

“He’s not the brightest man in the world” is an example of:
(A) Chiasmus
(B) Hyperbole
(C) Litotes
(D) Simile
Ans: (C)

When a person has a wooden leg, we are apt to say, ‘He has a wooden leg’. Now this wooden leg is…
(i) literal
(ii) metaphorical
(iii) ambiguous
(iv) neither literal nor metaphorical
(A) (i) and (ii) are correct
(B) (i) is correct
(C) (ii) is correct
(D) (iii) and (iv) are correct
Ans: (B)

Prosody studies:
(A) Line endings
(B) Meanings of words
(C) Patterns of prose
(D) Metrics
Ans: (D)

A monosyllabic rhyme on the final stressed syllable of two lines of verse is called
(A) monorhyme
(B) feminine rhyme
(C) masculine rhyme
(D) eye rhyme
Ans: (C)

A sequence of repeated consonantal sounds in a stretch of language is
(A) alliteration
(B) acrostic
(C) assent
(D) syllable
Ans: (A)

English Iambic Pentameter was brought to its first maturity in
(A) sonnet
(B) dramatic verse
(C) lyric
(D) elegy
Ans: (B)

“Silverman has never read Browning.” This is an example of
(A) chiasmus
(B) conceit
(C) zeugma
(D) metonymy
Ans: (D)

The book Speech Acts is written by
(A) John Austin
(B) John Searle
(C) Jacques Derrida
(D) Ferdinand de Saussure
Ans: (B)

 ‘Incunabula’ refers to
(A) books censured by the Roman Emperor
(B) books published before the year 1501
(C) books containing an account of myths and rituals
(D) books wrongly attributed to an author
Ans: (B)

The statement ‘I think, therefore, I am’ is by
(A) Schopenhauer
(B) Plato
(C) Descartes
(D) Sartre
Ans: (C)

Verse that has no set theme – no regular meter, rhyme or stanzaic pattern is
(I) open form
(II) flexible form
(III) free verse
(IV) blank verse

The correct combination for the statement, according to the code, is
(A) I, II and III are correct
(B) III and IV are correct
(C) II, III and IV are correct
(D) I and III are correct
Ans: (D)

The lines, “She was a worthywoman al hir lyve:/ Housbondes atcherche dore she hadde five”, are an example of
(A) blank verse
(B) clerihew
(C) heroic couplet
(D) free verse
Ans: (C)

A foot consisting of a strong syllable followed by a weak syllable is called
(A) Trochee
(B) Iambic
(C) Spondee
(D) Terza Rima
Ans: (A)

 A ‘curtal sonnet’ consists of
(A) 11 lines
(B) 12 lines
(C) 13 lines
(D) 14 lines
Ans: (A)

The expression “murderous innocence” is an example of
(A) Oxymoron
(B) Zeugma
(C) Chiasmus
(D) Pun
Ans: (A)

The rhyme scheme of the Spenserian sonnet is
(A) abab bcbc cdcd ee
(B) abab cdcd efef gg
(C) abba cddc effe gg
(D) abba abba cde cde
Ans: (A)

A Shakespearean sonnet has the following rhyme scheme
(A) ABBA, ABBA, CDCDCD
(B) ABAB, BCBC, CD CD EE
(C) ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG
(D) ABBA, ABBA, CDCD, EE
Ans: (C)

The expression, “dreaming house” is an example of
(A) Zeugma
(B) Transferred epithet
(C) Chiasmus
(D) Apostrophe
Ans: (B)

 The term, ‘curtal sonnet’, was coined by
(A) John Milton
(B) William Blake
(C) Gerald Manley Hopkins
(D) Matthew Arnold
Ans: (C)

The term invective refers to
(A) The abusive writing or speech in which there is harsh denunciation of some person or thing.
(B) An insulting writing attack upon a real person, in verse or prose, usually involving caricature and ridicule.
(C) A written or spoken text in which an apparently straightforward statement or event is undermined in its context so as to give it a very different significance.
(D) The chanting or reciting of words deemed to have magical power.
Ans: (A)

When one says that “someone is no more” or that “someone has breathed his/ her last”, the speaker is resorting to
(A) Euphism
(B) Euphony
(C) Understatement
(D) Euphemism
Ans: (D)

 What does the term episteme signify?
(A) Knowledge
(B) Archive
(C) Theology
(D) Scholarship
Ans: (A)

Which of the following is a better definition of an image in literary writing?
(A) A reflection
(B) A speaking picture
(C) A refraction
(D) A reflected picture
Ans: (B)

(i) A pastiche is a mixture of themes, stylistic elements or subjects borrowed from other works.
(ii) It is distinguished from parody because not all parody is pastiche
(iii) A pastiche is also known as a ‘purple passage’.
(iv) A pastiche is given to an elevated style, especially in its
(A) (i) and (ii) are correct.
(B) Only (i) is correct.
(C) (iii) and (iv) are correct.
(D) Only (iv) is correct.
Ans: (A)

C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards were reputed in the 1930s for introducing
(A) Practical Criticism
(B) New Criticism
(C) Standard English Project
(D) Basic English Project
Ans: (D)

What is a neologism?
(A) A word with roots in a native language
(B) A word whose meaning changes with every renewed use
(C) A word newly coined or used in a new sense
(D) An obsession with new words and phrases
Ans: (C)

“You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” is an example of
(A) Bathos
(B) Epistrophe
(C) Chiasmus
(D) Anti-climax
Ans: (C)

In a poem, a line may either be end-stopped or
(A) rhymed
(B) broken
(C) accented
(D) run-on
Ans: (D)

“The pen is mightier than the sword” is an example of
(A) simile
(B) image
(C) conceit
(D) metonymy
Ans: (D)

An epilogue is
(A) prefixed to a text which it introduces.
(B) suffixed to a text which it sums up or extends.
(C) a piece of writing or speech that formally begins a book.
(D) a piece of writing or speech that bears no relation to the text at hand.
Ans: (B)

Metaphor is so widespread that it is often used as an umbrella term to include other figures of speech such as metonyms which can be technically distinguished from it in its narrower usage.
Identify the metaphorical phrase in this sentence:
(A) narrower usage
(B) technically distinguished
(C) figures of speech
(D) umbrella term
Ans: (C and D)

While “a well-boiled icicle” for “a well-oiled bicycle” is an example of Spoonerism, someone saying “Congenital food” for ‘Continental food’ is an example of ______.
(A) Malaproprism
(B) Pleonasm
(C) Neologism
(D) Archaism
Ans: (A)

Robert Graves’s “In Broken Images” ends thus:
He in a new confusion of his understanding;
I in a new understanding of my confusion.
The figure of speech here is _______.
(A) Chiasmus
(B) Catachresis
(C) Inversion
(D) Zeugma
Ans: (A)

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The phrase “leaves dancing” is an example of ________.
(A) pathetic fallacy
(B) hyperbole
(C) pun
(D) conceit
Ans: (A)

In an age of pressurized happiness, we sometimes grow insensitive to subtle joys. These words are an example of
(A) A transferred epithet
(B) A simile
(C) A metaphor
(D) A hyperbaton
Ans: (A)

 “We will do it, I tell you; we will do it.” The repetition of a phrase is
(A) Antiphrasis
(B) Diacope
(C) Aposiopesis
(D) Enumeratio
Ans: (B)

 _________ is the use of words whose pronunciation imitates the sound the word describes.
(A) Alliteration
(B) Onomatopoeia
(C) Oxymoron
(D) Enthymeme
Ans: (B)

“Everything that man esteems Endures a moment or a day Love’s pleasure drives his love away…” In the above quote the last line is an example of
(A) Allusion
(B) Pleonasm
(C) Paradox
(D) Zeugma
Ans: (C)

When you say “I love her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips” you are using a rhetorical device of
(A) Enumeration
(B) Ant anagoge
(C) Parataxis
(D) Hypo taxis
Ans: (A)

When Chaucer describes the Friar as a “noble pillar of order”, he is using
(A) Irony
(B) Simile
(C) Understatement
(D) Personification
Ans: (A)

“My lute, be as thou wert when thou didst grow
With thy green mother in some shady groove” – William Drummond
The above quote is an example of _______.
(A) End-stopped rhyme
(B) Alliteration
(C) Run-on line
(D) Tercet
Ans: (C)

Match the items in List – I with items in List – II according to the code given :
List – I
i. Iambic
ii. Anapaestic
iii. Dactylic
iv. Trochaic
List – II
1. An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
2. A stressed is followed by two unstressed syllables.
3. An unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable
4. A stressed syllable is followed by an unstressed syllable
Codes :
i ii iii iv
(A) 2 1 3 4
(B) 3 2 1 4
(C) 4 1 2 3
(D) 3 1 2 4
Ans: Marks given to all

A poet once referred to an old man as “A tattered coat upon a stick”. That is an example of ………………
(A) Metonymy
(B) Sarcasm
(C) Simile
(D) Metaphor
Ans: (D)

“Fair is my love, and cruel as she’s fair; Her brow-shades frown, although her eyes are sunny”.
The above lines are characterized by:
(A) circumlocution
(B) antithesis
(C) anticlimax
(D) bathos
Ans: (B)

The determining feature of syllabic verse is neither ……………. nor …………… but the number of syllables in a line.
(A) number, numbers
(B) sounds, silences
(C) stress, quantity
(D) gists, piths
Ans: (C)

When one line of poetry runs into the next, with no punctuation to slow the reading, it is a case of …………..
(A) caesura
(B) consonance
(C) enjambment
(D) hyperbole
Ans: (C)

The opposite of hyperbole is ……………..
(A) meiosis
(B) inversion
(C) anagnorisis
(D) synecdoche
Ans: (A)

“He is the very pineapple of politeness!” This sentence is an example of …………..
(A) paronomasia
(B) spoonerism
(C) malapropism
(D) anaphora
Ans: (C)

The phrase “darkness visible” (Paradise Lost, 1.63) is an example of ……………..
(A) periphrasis
(B) pun
(C) oxymoron
(D) transposition
Ans: (C)

The phrase “loud colour” is an example of
(A) Synecdoche
(B) Synaesthesia
(C) Redundancy
(D) Paraleipsis
Ans: (B)

Consider the following lines form Beowulf :
What literary device does the poet use in these lines?
A few miles from here
a frost-stiffened wood waits and keeps watch
above a mere.
(A) Personification
(B) Pathetic fallacy
(C) Metaphor
(D) Litotes
Ans: (A)

The poetic line, “Break, break, break” is an example of
(A) spondee
(B) trochee
(C) iambus
(D) pyrrhics
Ans: (A)

“All Arabia breathes from yonder box.” This line from The Rape of the Lock is an example of
(A) periphrasis
(B) innuendo
(C) metonymy
(D) chiasmus
Ans: (C)

The statement that there are “none so credulous as infidels” is an illustration of
(A) Oxymoron
(B) Antithesis
(C) Paradox
(D) Metonomy
Ans: (C)

What is a feminine rhyme?
(A) A rhyme on two syllables in which the last syllable is unstressed.
(B) A rhyme on two syllables.
(C) A rhyme on three syllables.
(D) A poem in which every third syllable rhymes.
Ans: (A)

John Milton’s description of gold as a “precious bane” (Paradise Lost, Book II) is best
described as
(A) a dactyl
(B) an oxymoron
(C) enjambment
(D) zeugma
Ans: (B)

Name the dominant meter of the following quatrain :
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o’er the lea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
(A) Iambic Hexameter
(B) Trochaic Pentameter
(C) Iambic Pentameter
(D) Terza Rima
Ans: (C)

When Fidessa says, “O but I fear the fickle freakes …./ Of fortune false, and oddes of
armes in field” (Faerie Queene, Book I, Canto 5), this is a fine example of
(A) Alliteration
(B) Allegory
(C) Assonance
(D) Antithesis
Ans: (A)

“O, for a draught of vintage ! that hath been
Cooled a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provencal song, and sunburnt mirth !”
The above description is an example of
(A) Paronomasia
(B) Synaesthesia
(C) Aphaeresis
(D) Synecdoche
Ans: (B)

“Full fathom five thy father lies” is an example of
(A) assonance
(B) alliteration
(C) apostrophe
(D) enjambment
Ans: (B)

 What is a trochee ?
(A) A two syllable foot of verse with two heavy stresses
(B) A two syllable foot of verse in which the stress falls on the first syllable
(C) Three successive heavy stresses
(D) A six line stanza in which the rhyme sounds are all identical
Ans: (B)

………….. narrator highlights the problem of narrative authority.
(A) First person
(B) Self-conscious
(C) Third person
(D) Participant
Ans: (B)

Which of the following is not true of free verse ?
(A) Characterised by short, irregular lines.
(B) No rhyme pattern.
(C) Written in iambic pentameter
(D) A dependence on the effective and more intense use of pauses
Ans: (C)

 The terms of the contract are not disagreeable to me. The above sentence contains an example of :
(A) enumeratio
(B) litotes
(C) anaphora
(D) metonymy
Ans: (B)

The Bard. The Iron Lady. The King. The above are examples of :
(A) anacoluthon
(B) aposiopesis
(C) asyndenton
(D) antonomasia
Ans: (D)

The pace of speech is called :
(A) syllable
(B) loudness
(C) tempo
(D) pitch
Ans: (C)

“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. The above is an example of :
(A) ploce
(B) epizeuxis
(C) plurisignation
(D) diaeresis
Ans: (A)

 In the mechanical drill method of second language acquisition :
(a) The learner has the freedom to from many responses.
(b) The learner’s response is totally controlled.
(c) Comprehension of the item by the learner is not required.
(d) Comprehension of the item by the learner is obligatory.

The right combination according to the Code is:
(A) (a) and (d)
(B) (a) and (c)
(C) (b) and (c)
(D) (b) and (d)
Ans: (C)

“In Every cry of every Man,
In every Infant’s cry of fear
In every voice, in every ban….”

The figure of speech characterized by repetition of words or group of words at the beginning of consecutive sentence is called
(A) Apostrophe
(B) Anaphora
(C) Incremental Repetition
(D) Alliteration
Ans: (B)

The branch of philosophy that asks the question, “How do we know what we know is?”
(A) Ontology
(B) Epistemology
(C) Eschatology
(D) Phenomenology
Ans: (B)

In the communicative approach to ELT, the development of language learning or teaching involves a shift;
(a) from form-based to a meaning-based approach
(b) from an electic approach to a rigid method
(c) from teacher-centered to learner-centered classes
(d) from broad-based competence to specific needs

The right combination according to the Code is:
(A) (b) and (d)
(B) (a) and (d)
(C) (b) and (c)
(D) (a) and (c)
Ans: (D)

From among the following, identify the journal that publishes articles on English language teaching and learning.
(A) University of Toronto Quarterly
(B) Agenda
(C) TESOL Quarterly
(D) English Language Notes
Ans: (C)

Assertion (A) : Our reality is linguistic, a language mediated reality.
Reason (R) : Our perception and understanding of reality are largely constructed by the words and other signs we use.

In the light of the statements above,
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false but (R) is true.
Ans: (a)

According to ________ certain verbs actually perform an act when they are uttered.
(A) Speech Act theorists such as Austin and Searle.
(B) Russian Formalists such as Shklovsky and Propp.
(C) Language theorists such as Sapir and Whorf.
(D) Cognitive Linguists suc
Ans: (A)

Haunted castles, strange noises and an acceptance of the supernatural with all its trappings mark _____________________
(A) metafiction
(B) fantasy fiction
(C) epistolary fiction
(D) gothic fiction
Ans: (D)

The following lines are W.B. Yeats’s metaphor for an old man :
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress.
Here, the aged man is _____, and his “soul … in its mortal dress,” is _______.
(A) Point, counterpoint
(B) Tenor, vehicle
(C) Analogy, analogue
(D) Vehicle, tenor
Ans: (B)

What type of writing Walter Pater define as “the special and opportune art of the modern world”?
(A) The lyric
(B) Comic drama
(C) The novel
(D) Nonfiction prose
Ans: (D)

What is peculiar about the reference in the following in the some poets’ names in the plural?
“it is a freezing, bleak day in January, and I am looking for poetry. I see a few Chaucers, a few Shakespeares, and a hardcover, three-dollar History of Modern Poetry published in 1987.”
(A) Standard reference to more texts of one poet.
(B) Unusual; awkward metaphors no longer in use.
(C) Usually refer to biographies of the poets in question.
(D) Synecdochic use; names for their respective works.
Ans: (D)

One of the most flexible metres, ________is a five foot line. It was introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer in the fourteenth century and has since then become the commonest of metres in English poetry.
(A) Iambic
(B) Trochaic
(C) Hexameter
(D) Pentameter
Ans: (D)

Match the following concepts with their definitions:
(Concepts)
(a) Collocation
(b) Corpus
(c) Hyponymy
(d) Matrix

(Definitions)
(1) A semantic relationship of one-to-many
(2) A grid used in lexical analysis
(3) A combination of two lexical items in a grammatical pattern
(4) A large body of texts

(A) (a)-(1), (b)-(3), (c)-(4), (d)-(2)
(B) (a)-(4), (b)-(2), (c)-(3), (d)-(1)
(C) (a)-(3), (b)-(1), (c)-(2), (d)-(4)
(D) (a)-(3), (b)-(4), (c)-(1), (d)-(2)
Ans: (D)

 Fill in the blanks
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
________ in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last _______ of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That _______ and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is _______ no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.”

Fill in the blanks. Choose the set that carries the correct words.

(A) Walks. Breath, creeps, shown
(B) Creeps, syllable, struts, heard
(C) Moves, syllable, frowns, heard
(D) Creeps, moment, struts, seen
Ans: (B)

In which of the following paired terms, the relationship between the active and passive forms of a sentence can be best established?
(A) Deep structure—Surface structure
(B) signifier signified
(C) Metaphor—Metonymy
(D) Syntagmatic—Paradigmatic
Ans: (A)

In tradition ELT methods and materials, the native speaker is elevated and idealized against stereotyped non-native speakers. This tendency is dubbed ______ by Adrian Holliday.
(A) Native speakerism
(B) The non-native fallacy
(C) The near-native fallacy
(D) The native-speaker bias
Ans: (A)

The en-ending to denote the plural nous (as is oxen, children, brethren) has survived from the
(A) Middle English hymnals and chants in English parishes
(B) Anglo-Norman case of making plural nouns
(C) Odd Middle-English pronouncing custom of plurals
(D) Old English practice of making plural nouns
Ans: (D)

What is the name of the poetic style characterized by short staccato rhymed lines, as shown below?
What can it avayle
To dryve forth a snayie,
Or to make a sayle
Of a herynges tayle?
(A) Cranmerish
(B) Wolseyan
(C) Chaucerian
(D) Skeltonic
Ans: (D)

Which one of the following paired terms is correct in its explication?
(A) Phonology—Sound system
(B) Semiology—Ordering of speech sounds
(C) Etymology—Sign system
(D) Morphology—Evolution of words
Ans: (A)

What is ‘euphmism’?
(A) Eulogical and adulatory style of writing
(B) Discursive and hortatory style of writing
(C) Pompous and affected style of writing
(D) Exalted and gland style of writing
Ans: (C)

Which of the following aptly names the language resulting from the contact of two mutually unintelligible language systems?
(A) Creole
(B) Dialect
(C) Colloquial
(D) Pidgin
Ans: (D)

Which artistic technique best describes the interplay of light and shade in the following lines?
“I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over
A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.”
(A) Collage
(B) Flashback
(C) Montage
(D) Chiaroscuro
Ans: (D)

Give Below are two statements one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R)

Assertion (A): Dialects are the bread range of social as well as regional varieties

Reasons (R): A dialect describes variations not only at the phonological level, but also at the levels of texts and syntax.

In the light of the above two statements, choose the correct option:

a) Both (A) and (R) are true and is the correct explanation of (A)

b) Both (A) and (R) true and is not the correct explanation of (A)

c) (A) is true, but is (R) is false

d) (A) is false, but is (R) is true

Ans: (b)

Give Below are two statements one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R)

Assertion (A): The Primary component in novelistic forms is a plot that evolves coherently from its beginning to a end in which all complications are resolved.

Reasons (R): The novel is constituted by a multiplicity of divergent and contending social voices that achieve their full significance only in the process of their dialogic interaction both with each other and with the voice of the narrator.

In the light of the above two statements, choose the correct option:

a) Both (A) and (R) are true and is the correct explanation of (A)

b) Both (A) and (R) true and is not the correct explanation of (A)

c) (A) is true, but (R) false

d) (A) is false, but (R) true

Ans: (b)

The medieval English university organised its studies based on the seven liberal arts Three of these, the trivium, referred to the study of
(A) arithmetic, geometry, music
(B) astronomy, music, logic
(C) geometry, grammar, music
(D) grammar, logic, rhetoric
Ans: (D)

Which of the following correctly describes ‘black humour’ as a morbid and provocative treatment of
(A) old age and disease
(B) youth and passionate love
(C) death and disease
(D) childhood and accident
Ans: (C)

Which of the following statements is true in terms of distribution of metrical feet?
(A) Anapaestic is to Dactylic as Trochaic is to Iambic
(B) Trochaic is to Anapaestic as Dactylic is to Iambic
(C) Iambic is to Trochaic as Anapaestic is to Dactylic
(D) Dactylic is to Trochaic as Iambic is to Anapaestic
Ans: (C)

Who among the following established and popularised the concept of ‘Cardinal Vowels”?
(A) A. S. Homby
(B) E. V. Lucas
(C) Danial Jones
(D) C. J. Dodson
Ans: (C)

Which of the following is the accurate description of ‘dramatic irony”?
(A) A character’s knowledge or expectation is contradicted by what the audience knows, or by the outcome of events
(B) An audience knows or expects something to happen but the events on stage turn out to be different
(C) Ironic events and expectations of actual actions and results converge in drama and the audience feels rewarded
(D) A dramatist’s irony reinforces his actors’ performance, thereby fulfilling audience expectations
Ans: (A)

Which two aspects of cultural diffusion in the Age of Globalization need to be addressed by pedagogy of language in general and of English in particular?

1. Uni Directionality
2. Multidirectionality
3. Complex and extensive
4. Simplistic and abbreviated

Choose the correct option:

(A) (a) and (b)

(B) (b) and (c)

(C) (c) and (d)

(D) (d) and (a)

Ans: (B)

Which two of the following statements are applicable to ‘metalanguage’?
It is:

A. a technical language which describes the properties of language.
B. known as a ‘first-order’ language.
C. a ‘second-order language that replaces a ‘first-order language with metaphors.
D. a ‘second-order’ language.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
(a) A and B only
(b) C and D only
(c) A and D only
(d) B and C only
Answer: (c)

How Many syllables are there in the word intransigently?

(A) Three

(B) Six

(C) Five

(D) Four

Ans: (C)

Which of the following descriptions delineate Roman a Clef (Novel with key)

(A) A novel depicting the life of an artist from childhood to maturity

(B) A novel using the altered names of the actual people of the time

(C) A novel describing historical incidents with fictional characters

(D) A novel giving the effect of realism by highlighting the social problems of the time

Ans: (B)