UGC-NET (NTA) Linguistics, February-2023

Speech Act theory, proposed by J.L. Austin and later developed by John Searle, is a study of how language can be used to accomplish things in the world. Option (b) explains this: people use language to do things, not just express thoughts or emotions. For example, by saying "I promise", a person is doing the act of promising. This actionoriented use of language is represented by performative verbs (c), which convey actions that are performed by the very act of uttering the verb. Hence, (b) and (c) are correct. Illocutionary force (d), on the other hand, refers to the social or psychological action performed when uttering something, such as advising, warning, or promising. Therefore, (d) is not correct.

Amarakosa, also known as Namalinganushasana, is a 4th-century thesaurus or lexicon of Sanskrit compiled by the ancient Indian scholar, Amarasimha. The words in Amarakosa are organized on the basis of semantic classes (b), such as plants, animals, and cultural items, and by synonymy (d), groups of words with similar meanings. Therefore, the correct answer is (a) and (b) only.

The term 'dogge' initially referred to a specific breed of dog in Middle English but later came to represent all members of the species Canis familiaris. This is an example of semantic broadening or extension (b), (c) where a word's meaning expands to include new meanings. It is not an example of semantic narrowing (d), where a word's meaning becomes more specific, or meaning shift (a), where a word's meaning changes completely. Hence, option (d) is correct.

Split and Merger refer to types of phonological sound changes. A split, also known as a "phonemic split," is a kind of language change in which a phoneme diverges into two separate phonemes. А merger, on the other hand, is when two previously distinct phonemes merge into one. These are paradigmatic changes (b) as they alter the system of contrasts in a language's phonology. Hence, the correct option is (b) and (c).

Basil Bernstein proposed a theory of linguistic codes that includes two varieties of language use, namely the elaborated code (b) and the restricted code (e). The elaborated code is typically used in formal, educated contexts and allows for greater linguistic complexity and flexibility. The restricted code is used in more casual, intimate contexts and relies heavily on shared knowledge and implicit cues.

Michael E. Krauss is renowned for his work on the Athabaskan languages (b) and Eyak (c), both Native American languages. Athabaskan languages are spoken throughout Alaska and western Canada, and Eyak, now extinct, was spoken in southcentral Alaska. Krauss' extensive documentation and revitalization efforts have made significant contributions to our understanding of these languages.

Language typology is the study of common properties between different languages, and it indeed studies the actual patterns of languages (a) and feeds theoretical linguistics (b). Linguistic features at all levels are part of typological studies (d), and the principles that emerge from these studies can be considered language universals, with variations treated as parameters (e). Hence, options (a), (b), (d), and (e) are correct.

Statements (a), (b), (c), and (e) are correct. Languages do share recurrent patterns (a). It's commonly observed that languages with SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) word order, like English, often have prepositional case markers (b). Grammaticalization indeed gives formal acceptance to a pattern or practice that was not widely accepted before (c). Lastly, the notion that language shapes our world view is known as linguistic relativity or the SapirWhorf Hypothesis (e). Statement (d) is false as no language has a word for everything; languages reflect the cultures they are part of, which means certain concepts might be absent in some languages while present in others.