UGC-NET (NTA) LINGUISTICS, JANUARY-2025

Glottochronology is a linguistic method used to estimate the time at which two or more languages diverged from a common ancestor. It is based on the assumption that basic vocabulary changes at a relatively constant rate over time. This method is applicable only to genetically related languages, as unrelated languages do not share a common ancestor that can be chronologically analyzed.

Complementary distribution occurs when two phonetic variants (allophones) of a phoneme never appear in the same phonetic environment. Instead, each variant occurs in specific contexts without overlapping, helping in phonemic analysis by determining which sounds belong to the same phoneme. For example, in English, the aspirated [ph] in "pat" and the unaspirated [p] in "spat" are in complementary distribution.

A. (Call) - II: "Hey you, you just scratched my car with your frisbee." → This is a call because it directly addresses someone to get their attention.
B. (Performative) - IV: "I sentence you to ten days of hard labour."→ This is a performative utterance, as the speaker performs an action (sentencing) by saying it.
C. (Address) - I: "The truth is, Madam, nothing is as good nowadays." → This is an address, as it includes a form of direct reference to the listener.
D. (Indexical sign) III: "There was a man on Mars." → This is an indexical sign because it refers to a specific time, place, or context.

A. Lexical Phonology (LP) was originally developed by S.L. Strauss, P. Kiparsky, and K.P. Mohanan. → Correct, as these linguists formulated LP to integrate phonology and morphology.
B. In LP, morphological and phonological rules are brought together in a single framework. → Correct, as LP organizes phonological rules within morpho-logical processes.
E. In LP, the phonological sub-theory is divided into a lexical component and a post-lexical component.→ Correct, as LP separates phonological processes into those applying within the lexicon and those applying post-lexically.
(C) is incorrect because LP follows a cyclic rule application, meaning word formation rules are cyclic.
(D) is incorrect because the morphological subtheory in LP is level-ordered, meaning affixes are categorized into different levels.

A. Spectrum shows frequency and amplitude only, spectrogram shows frequency, amplitude, and time. → Correct, as a spectrum represents only frequency and amplitude, while a spectrogram adds the time component.
C. Spectrum analyzes the sound in the frequency domain, spectrogram in the time domain. → Correct, as a spectrum represents individual frequency components, while a spectrogram shows how these frequencies change over time.
E. Intensity is represented in both.→ Correct, as intensity (or amplitude) is a key feature in both spectral and spectrographic representations.
(B) is incorrect because temporal features are only represented in a spectrogram, not in a spectrum.
(D) is incorrect because frequency is represented in both, not just in a spectrogram.

Compositionality refers to the principle that the meaning of a phrase or sentence can be determined by the meanings of its individual words and their syntactic arrangement. "John kicked the bucket" is an idiom, meaning "John died." The literal meanings of "kicked" and "bucket" do not contribute to the actual meaning of the phrase, violating the principle of compositionality.

X-bar theory is a syntactic theory that describes how phrases are structured in terms of a head and its complements. In this framework, every phrase has a hierarchical structure consisting of a head (the core word), a complement (which provides additional information about the head), and a specifier (which modifies the phrase). This theory refines phrase structure rules to ensure consistency in syntax.

C. Cardinal vowels are used by phoneticians for the purposes of standardizing the references to vowels while describing a language. → Correct, as cardinal vowels serve as reference points in phonetic descriptions.
D. Cardinal vowels are used as theoretical points with reference to which phoneticians can plot the vowels of a specific language. → Correct, because cardinal vowels are not specific to any language but provide a framework for classifying vowels in any language. (A), (B) and (E) are incorrect because cardinal vowels are not selectively used in specific languages, they do not originate from a classical language, and they are not limited to five vowels.

A. Onge One of the least spoken languages, spoken by a small population in the Andaman Islands.
E.  Toda → A Dravidian language spoken by a few hundred people in Tamil Nadu.
D. Nihali → A language isolate spoken by a few thousand people in central India.
B. Nicobarese → A language spoken by tens of thousands of people in the Nicobar Islands.
C. Angami → A Naga language spoken by a large number of people in Nagaland, making it the most widely spoken among the listed languages.

A. Back translation is a way of testing. → Correct, as back translation (translating a text back into the source language) helps verify accuracy.
C. Expert supervision is needed in performance testing. → Correct, as expert evaluation ensures the reliability of translation assessments.
(B) is incorrect because knowledge testing does not necessarily indicate translation competence.
(D) is incorrect because cultural variables require more than just target language expertise.
(E) is incorrect because transliteration focuses on phonetic representation rather than translation accuracy.