IGNOU MEG 4 Solved Question Paper

Welcome to our blog, In this post, we’re sharing the IGNOU MEG 4 Solved Question Paper of December 2023 examination, focusing on Aspects of Language.

This guide is here to help you prepare for your exams with clear answers and explanations. Whether you’re just starting or revising for your exams, this resource will make studying easier and more effective.

In this post, we’ll discuss all the answers including the short and long answer questions.

You can also download all previous year question papers of MEG 4 from our website.

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Question 1

1. Write short notes on any two of the following :

(a) Saussure’s concept of Linguistic sign

Ferdinand de Saussure’s concept of the linguistic sign is foundational to structural linguistics. He argued that a linguistic sign is made up of two inseparable components: the “signifier” (the form of a word or sound pattern) and the “signified” (the concept or meaning associated with it). For example, the word “tree” is a signifier, and the mental image of a tree is the signified. Saussure emphasized the arbitrary nature of this relationship—there is no natural connection between the word and its meaning. This concept shifted focus from language as a list of terms to a system of relationships and differences between signs.

(b) The Syllable and its structure in the English language

A syllable is a unit of sound that typically includes a vowel sound and may be preceded or followed by consonants. In English, the basic structure of a syllable is CVC: Consonant–Vowel–Consonant, as in cat. A syllable consists of three main components: Onset (initial consonant sound), Nucleus (usually a vowel), and Coda (final consonant sound). For example, in the word plant, “pl” is the onset, “a” the nucleus, and “nt” the coda. Some syllables have no onset or no coda. The syllable is crucial in English phonology, affecting pronunciation, stress, and rhythm.

(c) The Binding Theory

The Binding Theory, part of Chomsky’s Government and Binding framework, explains the syntactic relationships between pronouns, anaphors, and referential expressions. It consists of three principles:

Principle A: Anaphors (e.g., himself, herself) must be bound (i.e., have an antecedent) within the same clause.

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Question 2

2. How do you distinguish human language from other animal communication systems ? What characteristic features of language make it unique ?

Human language is a unique and complex system of communication that significantly differs from the communication systems observed in animals. While animals do communicate—using sounds, gestures, or chemical signals—human language stands apart due to several distinctive characteristics that support abstract thought, creativity, cultural transmission, and infinite expression.

One of the most important features distinguishing human language from animal communication is duality of patterning. In human language, a limited set of meaningless sounds (phonemes) combine to form meaningful units (morphemes and words). Animals, by contrast, generally use signals that cannot be broken into smaller, meaningless parts.

Another critical feature is displacement. Human language allows speakers to talk about things that are not present in time or space, such as past events, future possibilities, imaginary situations, and abstract concepts. Animal communication is generally bound to the present and the immediate environment. For example, a bee’s dance indicates the location of nectar, but it cannot refer to something hypothetical or future-oriented.

Arbitrariness is also central to human language. Most words bear no intrinsic connection to their meanings—there is no reason why the object “tree” is called “tree” in English and “arbre” in French. Animal signals are often directly tied to their emotional states or environmental stimuli and are less arbitrary.

Productivity or creativity is another unique feature. Human language is generative: we can produce and understand an infinite number of sentences, including ones we’ve never heard before. Animals tend to have a finite set of signals or calls, each serving a specific purpose, without the ability to generate new ones spontaneously.

Cultural transmission is also exclusive to humans. Language is passed down through social interaction, not inherited biologically. While some animals learn vocalizations from their species (like birdsong), the complexity and depth of cultural learning in human language are unparalleled.

Finally, reflexivity—the ability to use language to talk about language itself—is a uniquely human trait. We can analyze, question, and modify our language consciously.

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Question 3

3. Discuss and illustrate the different processes involved in forming new words in the English language.

The English language constantly evolves, and one major aspect of this evolution is the creation of new words, known as word-formation. Various linguistic processes contribute to this dynamic expansion of vocabulary. These include derivation, compounding, blending, clipping, acronyms, coinage, borrowing, back-formation, conversion, and reduplication.

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Question 4

4. Classify and describe the consonant sounds of English based on the place and manner of articulation.

In English phonetics, consonant sounds are produced by obstructing or constricting the airflow at some point in the vocal tract. These sounds are classified based on three main criteria: the place of articulation (where the airflow is obstructed), the manner of articulation (how the airflow is obstructed), and voicing (whether the vocal cords vibrate during the production of the sound).

Question 5

5. How do you determine a syntactic constituent in a given sentence ? Describe the various tests that can be applied in this case.

A syntactic constituent is a word or group of words that function as a single unit within a hierarchical structure of a sentence. Constituents are foundational elements in sentence construction, and identifying them is essential for syntactic analysis. Linguists have developed various tests to determine whether a sequence of words forms a constituent. These include the substitution test, movement test, coordination test, clefting test, and the question-answer test. While each test has limitations, when used together, they provide a reliable method of analysis.

1. Substitution Test

In this test, a group of words is replaced with a single word (usually a pronoun, a pro-form, or “do so”) without altering the grammaticality of the sentence.

Example:

Sentence: The tall man in the brown coat entered the room.

Substitution: He entered the room.

The grammatical sentence suggests that “The tall man in the brown coat” is a noun phrase (NP) and hence a constituent.

2. Movement Test (Fronting)

This test checks whether a group of words can be moved to another position in the sentence. If the sentence remains grammatical, the group is a constituent.

Example:

Original: He read the book with great interest.

Moved: With great interest, he read the book.

The grammatical movement indicates that “with great interest” is a prepositional phrase (PP) constituent.

3. Coordination Test

This involves connecting two similar sequences with conjunctions like and or or. If the resulting sentence is grammatical, the original sequence is likely a constituent.

Example:

Sentence: She bought a red scarf.

Coordination: She bought a red scarf and a blue hat.

This shows that “a red scarf” is a constituent because it can be coordinated with another noun phrase.

4. Clefting Test

A cleft sentence highlights a specific part of the sentence using the format “It is/was X that Y.” If the cleft sentence is grammatical, the part isolated is likely a constituent.

Example:

Original: They ate the chocolate cake.

Cleft: It was the chocolate cake that they ate.

This structure confirms that “the chocolate cake” is a constituent.

5. Question-Answer Test

This test involves forming a wh-question and using the target sequence as the answer.

Example:

Question: What did they eat?

Answer: The chocolate cake.

Since this answer is meaningful and grammatical, it shows that “the chocolate cake” is a constituent.

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Question 6

6. Discuss code-mixing and code-switching. How are social goals of communication achieved in the process ?

In multilingual societies, code-mixing and code-switching are common linguistic practices used by speakers who have access to more than one language. These phenomena reflect not only linguistic competence but also social awareness, as speakers use them to achieve specific communicative and social goals.

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