UGC-NET (NTA) Linguistics, February-2023

Total Questions: 100

91. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

While Himmelmann (1998:163) recognizes that there is necessarily overlap in the area of the transcription of data in documentation and description, he argues that collection (i.e., documentary fieldwork) and analysis (i.e., descriptive fieldwork) are different activities in terms of result, procedure and methodology. From a practical point of view, if collection and analysis are not distinguished, researchers will not pay sufficient attention to the activity of collecting.
Secondly, when the documentary data are made available, they should be useful not only to people writing a descriptive grammar, but also to scholars in other disciplines such as anthropology, oral history, sociolinguistics, and discourse analysis. A grammatical description, on the other hand, is primarily useful only to grammarians and comparativists. Finally, description is different from documentation because there is no automatic procedure for deriving description from data, since depending on the underlying theoretical framework, different descriptions can and will result.
Documentary fieldwork involves:

Correct Answer: C. Collection of data
Solution:

Documentary fieldwork essentially involves the collection of data. This typically includes gathering of linguistic and cultural information from various sources. The process includes recording, transcribing, and translating interviews, narratives, and other forms of discourse. This raw data forms the basis for analysis and interpretation. The collection of this data is crucial because it provides a real-world context for understanding the language and culture being studied. It can also serve as a resource for future studies and can be useful to scholars in various disciplines.

92. Descriptive field work involves:

Correct Answer: A. Analysis of language data
Solution:

Descriptive fieldwork involves the analysis of language data. It is a type of linguistic research where a researcher goes into a community to gather detailed data on a particular language. The collected data is then analyzed with the objective of creating a comprehensive description of the language's phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic characteristics. The purpose is not just to understand how the language is structured but also how it functions in different social contexts.

93. 'Grammatical description' is primarily useful to:

Correct Answer: B. Grammarians and comparativists
Solution:

A grammatical description, as the name suggests, is a comprehensive account of the structure of a language - its sounds (phonetics and phonology), word formation (morphology), sentence structure (syntax), and meaning (semantics). This form of detailed analysis is of primary interest to grammarians and comparativists. Grammarians are interested in understanding the structure and function of languages, while comparativists compare languages to understand their historical relationships, shared features, and divergences.

94. Documentary fieldwork and descriptive fieldwork differ on the factors:

Correct Answer: D. Result, procedure and methodology
Solution:

Documentary fieldwork and descriptive fieldwork differ in terms of results, procedure, and methodology. While both are important aspects of linguistic fieldwork, they have different goals and methods. Documentary fieldwork is concerned with the collection of linguistic data, typically through recordings and transcriptions. Descriptive fieldwork, on the other hand, involves the analysis of this data in order to describe the structure and use of a language. The method and procedure used in each are distinct, as are the results they yield.

95. If collection and analysis of data are not distinguished:

Correct Answer: C. Researchers will not pay sufficient attention to the activity of collecting
Solution:

If the collection and analysis of data are not distinguished, it can lead to researchers not paying sufficient attention to the activity of collecting. Collection is a critical step that needs to be methodically executed to ensure data's reliability and validity.
Data collection is not just about gathering information, but also about identifying relevant data, ensuring its accuracy, and maintaining its integrity. If researchers focus too much on analysis without a proper. foundation of data collection, they may overlook important details, or their analyses may be based on incomplete or inaccurate data.

96. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

... a pushdown automation can carry out computations which are beyond the capacity of a finite automaton. which is perhaps the simplest sort of machine able to accept an infinite set of strings. At the other end of the scale of computational power is the Turing machine (after the English mathematician A.M. Turing, who devised them), which can carry out any set of operations which could reasonably be called a computation.
Like the previous classes of automata, a Turing Machine can be visualized as having a control box, which at any point is in one of a finite number of states, an input tape marked off into squares with one symbol of the input string being inscribed on each square, and a reading head which scans one square of the input tape at a time. The Turing Machine, however, can write on its input tape as well as read from it, and it can move its reading head either to the left or to the right.
As before, a computation is assumed to begin in a distinguished initial state with the reading head over the leftmost symbol of the input string. We also assume that the tape extends infinitely to the left and right and that all tape squares not occupied by symbols of the input string are filled by a special "blank" symbol #.
The input processing capacity of the Turing Machine: 

Correct Answer: A. assigns each symbol from the input to a square on the tape
Solution:

The input processing capacity of a Turing Machine assigns each symbol from the input to a square on the tape. A Turing Machine uses an infinite tape divided into squares as its primary storage medium. Each symbol of the input string is written onto a square of the tape. The machine then reads and processes these symbols one by one, according to a set of predetermined rules. This tape, its read-write head, and the machine's ability to move the head in either direction, to both read from and write onto the tape, are the basic mechanisms that allow it to perform complex computations.

97. At a given point, a Turing Machine is in how many state/s?

Correct Answer: A. in one state from a given finite set
Solution:

At any given moment, a Turing Machine is in one state from a given finite set. This 'state' refers to the condition of the machine at a particular point in time during its computation. While the set of possible states a Turing Machine can be in is finite, the machine can transition between these states according to its rule set. The current state, in conjunction with the symbol currently under the read-write head, determines the machine's next action and subsequent state.

98. In terms of computing capacity of automaton as discussed in the passage, which of the following is considered superior?

Correct Answer: B. Pushdown automaton
Solution:

The Turing Machine, named after A.M. Turing, is considered the most powerful type of automaton in terms of computational capacity. While other types of automata such as Finite State Machines and Pushdown Automata are useful for certain tasks, Turing Machines have the greatest range of computation. They are capable of executing any operation that could reasonably be called a computation. This makes them a theoretical model for all digital computers and _algorithms.

99. What is a Turing Machine?

Correct Answer: A. a device which can carry out a set of computing operations
Solution:

A Turing Machine is a theoretical device that can carry out a set of computing operations. It comprises a finite set of states, an infinite tape divided into squares, and a reading head which can scan one square at a time, reading from and writing to it. Turing Machines are highly influential in the field of computer science as they provide a funuanental model of computation. They can perform any computation that can be encoded as a sequence of instructions and data, making them a model for modern digital computers.

100. The author of Turing Machine is:

Correct Answer: C. a mathematician
Solution:

The creator of the Turing Machine was a mathematician named Alan Turing. Despite the significant impact of his work on computer science, Turing's primary training and profession was in mathematics. He was a pioneering figure in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with his invention of the Turing machine. His contributions to the field are foundational and have been integral in the development of modern computing.