BEGG 172
Language and Linguistics
IGNOU BEGG 172 Free Solved Assignment 2024
BEGG 172 Free Solved Assignment July 2024 & Jan 2025
Section A
i] Compounding
Ans. Compounding is a common word-formation process in which two or more independent words are combined to form a new word with a specific meaning.
It is one of the most productive methods in language to create new vocabulary. In compounding, the individual words retain their original form, but the meaning of the compound word is often different from the sum of its parts.
For example, the word “toothbrush” is formed by combining “tooth” and “brush,” and the resulting meaning is not just any brush or any tooth, but specifically a brush used for cleaning teeth.
There are different types of compounds, such as compound nouns (e.g., “sunflower,” “bookshelf”), compound adjectives (e.g., “high-speed,” “well-known”), and compound verbs (e.g., “freeze-dry,” “stir-fry”).
The way compound words are written can vary—they may appear as closed compounds (without spaces, like “notebook”), hyphenated compounds (like “mother-in-law”), or open compounds (with spaces, like “post office”).
Compounding reflects how flexible language can be. It allows speakers to create new expressions easily and quickly, especially when they need to name new concepts or inventions.
For instance, with the rise of digital technology, we now have terms like “smartphone,” “laptop,” and “webpage”—all compound words. In this way, compounding helps a language grow and evolve.
ii] Register
Ans. Register refers to the level of formality or style of language used in different contexts or social situations.
It changes depending on factors such as the audience, setting, purpose, and relationship between speakers.
For example, the language you use when speaking to a close friend is very different from what you’d use in a formal interview or while writing an academic paper.
This shift in language based on context is known as changing the register.
Registers can range from formal, semi-formal, to informal. In formal settings, people tend to use complex sentence structures, precise vocabulary, and avoid contractions (e.g., “cannot” instead of “can’t”).
In informal conversations, language is more relaxed, filled with slang or idioms, and may not always follow strict grammar rules.
Understanding register is important for effective communication. If someone uses too formal a register in a casual setting, it might come off as distant or awkward.
On the other hand, using very informal language in a professional email can appear disrespectful. Learning to switch registers appropriately shows social awareness and language competence.
For instance, a teacher talking to students in class may use a formal or academic register, but might switch to a more casual tone during a school event.
Thus, mastering register is key to speaking appropriately and making the right impression.
iii] Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Ans. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, also known as linguistic relativity, is a theory in linguistics that suggests language influences the way people think and perceive the world.
It was developed by two linguists, Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Lee Whorf. According to their hypothesis, the structure and vocabulary of a language affect its speakers’ worldview and cognitive processes.
In simpler terms, the language we speak shapes how we understand and interpret our experiences.
There are two versions of this theory—strong and weak. The strong version, known as linguistic determinism, argues that language determines thought completely; if you don’t have the words for a concept, you can’t even think about it.
The weaker version suggests that language influences thought, but does not entirely control it. Most modern linguists support the weaker form, agreeing that while language affects thought, it doesn’t restrict it.
A famous example of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is how different cultures describe colors. In some languages, there might be multiple words for what English speakers call “snow,” reflecting how important snow is in their daily life and environment.
Similarly, in languages like Hopi, the concept of time is expressed differently, which some claim leads to a different way of perceiving time itself.
While not all aspects of the theory are accepted today, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis has led to valuable research in cognitive science, anthropology, and language studies.
It highlights the deep connection between language and human experience, and it reminds us that language is more than just a tool for communication—it’s a lens through which we view the world.
iv] Morpheme
Ans. A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in a language. Unlike a word, a morpheme cannot be broken down further without losing or altering its meaning. Morphemes can be free or bound.
A free morpheme can stand alone as a word, such as “book,” “run,” or “happy.” A bound morpheme cannot stand alone and must be attached to another word to make sense, like “-s” for plural, “-ed” for past tense, or prefixes like “un-” and “re-.”
For example, take the word “unhappiness.” It contains three morphemes: “un-” (a prefix meaning not), “happy” (a free morpheme), and “-ness” (a suffix that turns an adjective into a noun). Each part contributes to the overall meaning of the word.
Morphemes play a crucial role in grammar and word formation. Understanding them helps learners decode unfamiliar words and grasp how language builds meaning.
In language education, morphemes are often taught to help students expand their vocabulary through patterns, like adding “-ly” to turn an adjective into an adverb (e.g., “quick” to “quickly”).
Overall, morphemes are the building blocks of words, and recognizing them gives insight into the structure and logic of language.
v] Syllable
Ans. A syllable is a unit of sound in a word, often described as the beat or rhythm of a word when spoken. Each syllable typically contains a vowel sound, and it may be surrounded by consonants.
For example, the word “banana” has three syllables: ba-na-na. The presence of vowels is what makes syllables audible and distinguishable in speech.
Syllables are important in both spoken and written language. They help determine pronunciation, stress, and rhythm. In poetry and music, syllables are counted to maintain a particular rhythm or meter.
In language learning, especially for young children or those learning a second language, breaking words into syllables helps with pronunciation and spelling.
Words can be monosyllabic (one syllable), like “dog,” or polysyllabic (multiple syllables), like “celebration.” The placement of stress within these syllables can also change the meaning or function of a word.
For instance, the word “record” is a noun when the stress is on the first syllable (“RE-cord”) and a verb when the stress is on the second syllable (“re-CORD”).
Syllables also play a role in poetry, rap, speech therapy, and language rhythm. Understanding syllables gives speakers greater control over how they express themselves and helps in mastering the musical nature of language.
Section B
Q 1. Discuss the concepts of Structural Linguistics by giving suitable examples.
Ans. Structural Linguistics is an approach to studying language that focuses on understanding the structure and system of language rather than just the meaning of words.
This theory was primarily developed by Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure in the early 20th century. Saussure emphasized that language should be studied as a system of signs, where each element has a specific role and value in the structure.
His key idea was that language is made up of the “signifier” (the sound pattern) and the “signified” (the concept), and meaning arises from the relationship between them.
A major principle of structural linguistics is that meaning in language does not come from individual words alone but from their relationships and positions within a structure.
For example, in English, the sentence “The cat sat on the mat” follows a clear structure: subject + verb + object.
If we change the structure to “On the mat sat the cat,” the sentence still makes sense, but the structure slightly shifts to emphasize different parts.
Another key contributor, Noam Chomsky, built on this foundation and introduced concepts like transformational-generative grammar, which suggests that all human languages share a deep structure that can be transformed into various surface structures.
For instance, the sentence “John ate the apple” can be transformed into a passive form: “The apple was eaten by John.” While the surface form has changed, the core meaning and relationship between words remain.
Structural linguistics also emphasizes phonology—the study of sound systems in language. In English, the difference between the words “bat” and “pat” lies in just one sound (/b/ vs /p/), which are called phonemes.
Identifying and understanding these smallest units of sound is crucial in structural analysis.
In essence, structural linguistics studies language scientifically by focusing on the form, structure, and rules that govern how language works.
It sees language as a system of patterns and rules, and by analyzing these patterns, we can better understand how languages are formed, used, and related to one another.
Q 2. Discuss various language families in India.
Ans. India is a land of immense linguistic diversity, with hundreds of languages spoken across its states and regions. These languages are grouped into different language families, based on their historical and structural relationships.
A language family is a group of languages that evolved from a common ancestral language. In India, the major language families are Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austroasiatic, and Tibeto-Burman.
The Indo-Aryan language family is the largest and most widespread in India. It is a branch of the larger Indo-European family. About 75% of the Indian population speaks an Indo-Aryan language.
Examples include Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Odia. These languages are mostly spoken in the northern, western, and central parts of India. Sanskrit is the ancient classical language from which many of these modern languages have evolved.
The Dravidian family is another major group, primarily spoken in southern India. It includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
Unlike Indo-Aryan languages, which are derived from Sanskrit and have Indo-European roots, Dravidian languages have a completely different origin and structure.
Tamil, in particular, is one of the world’s oldest living languages and has a rich literary history dating back over two thousand years.
The Austroasiatic language family includes languages spoken by tribal communities, especially in central and eastern India.
Santali, Mundari, and Ho are examples of this family, spoken mainly in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal.
These languages are older than many Indo-Aryan languages and often lack a written tradition, although efforts have been made to script them.
The Tibeto-Burman family is found in the northeastern states of India, such as Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh. These languages are part of the larger Sino-Tibetan family. Examples include Bodo, Mizo, and Meitei (Manipuri).
These languages have unique phonological and grammatical structures that set them apart from the more widely spoken Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages.
In addition to these, there are isolated and unclassified languages, like Nihali and Burushaski, spoken by small tribal communities. These languages do not fit neatly into any known language family.
India’s linguistic richness is not just about the number of languages but also about the cultural, historical, and social identities they represent. Each language family contributes to the diversity and beauty of India’s multilingual heritage.
Q 3. Examine change in stress patterns in words according to grammatical function by giving suitable examples.
Ans. The stress pattern of a word in English can often change depending on its grammatical function in a sentence. This phenomenon is especially noticeable in pairs of words that can function as either a noun or a verb.
Typically, when these words are used as nouns or adjectives, the stress falls on the first syllable, but when they are used as verbs, the stress shifts to the second syllable.
This change in stress helps listeners distinguish between grammatical roles in spoken English.
Let’s explore this with clear examples:
- Record
Noun: He set a new REcord in the 100-meter race.
Verb: Please reCORD the meeting for later review.
In the noun form “REcord”, the stress is on the first syllable, while in the verb form “reCORD”, the stress shifts to the second syllable. This shift is common and intuitive for native speakers and helps in understanding meaning without relying on context alone.
- Present
Noun: She gave me a lovely PREsent on my birthday.
Verb: I will preSENT my findings tomorrow.
Again, we see that the noun “PREsent” is stressed on the first syllable, while the verb “preSENT” places stress on the second syllable.
- Permit
Noun: You need a PERmit to park here.
Verb: They don’t perMIT smoking in this building.
In this pair, the stress difference clarifies whether we’re discussing a document (noun) or an action (verb). Without stress change, the sentence could be ambiguous in spoken form.
- Object
Noun: That strange OBject was found in the backyard.
Verb: I strongly obJECT to this decision.
“OBject” (noun) versus “obJECT” (verb) is another example showing how crucial stress patterns are in distinguishing grammatical functions.
- Conduct
Noun: His CONduct during the meeting was impressive.
Verb: The manager will conDUCT the interviews.
The stress helps to differentiate between behavior (“CONduct”) and the act of doing something (“conDUCT”).
Linguistic Explanation
This stress pattern phenomenon is part of English word stress rules and is especially noticeable in two-syllable words that can function both as nouns/adjectives and as verbs. In such cases:
Nouns/adjectives: Stress generally falls on the first syllable.
Verbs: Stress generally falls on the second syllable.
This pattern aids in intelligibility and clarity during spoken communication, especially in situations where sentence structure alone may not be enough to distinguish meaning.
Q 4.Discuss basic sentence patterns by giving suitable examples.
Ans. n English grammar, basic sentence patterns refer to the fundamental structures that sentences follow.
These patterns are formed by the arrangement of subject (S), verb (V), object (O), complement (C), and adjunct (A).
Understanding these patterns helps in constructing clear and grammatically correct sentences.
Here are the most common basic sentence patterns in English with suitable examples:
- Subject + Verb (S + V)
This is the simplest sentence pattern. The subject performs the action, and there is no object or complement.
Examples:
Birds fly.
She sings.
They laughed.
In these sentences, “birds,” “she,” and “they” are subjects, while “fly,” “sings,” and “laughed” are intransitive verbs that do not need objects.
- Subject + Verb + Object (S + V + O)
This structure includes a transitive verb that needs a direct object to complete its meaning.
Examples:
He reads a book.
She kicked the ball.
They built a house.
Here, “a book,” “the ball,” and “a house” are direct objects receiving the action.
- Subject + Verb + Complement (S + V + C)
In this pattern, the verb is usually a linking verb like “be,” “seem,” or “become,” and the complement either renames or describes the subject.
Examples:
She is a doctor. (Complement = noun)
The sky looks blue. (Complement = adjective)
He became angry.
In these cases, the complement gives more information about the subject.
- Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (S + V + IO + DO)
This pattern includes two objects. The indirect object usually refers to the person who receives something, and the direct object is the thing being given.
Examples:
She gave him a gift.
I sent my friend a letter.
He told us a story.
Here, “him,” “my friend,” and “us” are indirect objects, while “a gift,” “a letter,” and “a story” are direct objects.
- Subject + Verb + Object + Complement (S + V + O + C)
This pattern includes a direct object and a complement that gives information about that object.
Examples:
They elected him president.
We painted the house red.
She named the baby John.
In these examples, “president,” “red,” and “John” are object complements describing or renaming the object.
- Subject + Verb + Adjunct (S + V + A)
An adjunct is an optional part of the sentence that provides extra information like time, place, reason, or manner.
Examples:
He sleeps at night.
They arrived early.
She works in London.
The adjuncts “at night,” “early,” and “in London” add more detail but are not essential to the grammatical structure.
Q 5.Examine noun phrase and its structure by giving suitable examples.
Ans. A noun phrase is a group of words that functions as a noun in a sentence. It can act as a subject, object, or complement and usually centers around a main noun, which is called the head of the phrase.
The noun may be accompanied by modifiers that give more information about it. These modifiers can come before or after the noun and include determiners, adjectives, prepositional phrases, and sometimes even clauses.
The structure of a noun phrase can be simple or complex depending on how many modifiers are used.
The basic structure of a noun phrase can be represented as: [Determiner + Pre-modifier(s) + Head noun + Post-modifier(s)].
For example, in the noun phrase “the red ball,” “the” is a determiner, “red” is an adjective (a pre-modifier), and “ball” is the head noun. Together, they form a complete noun phrase.
Similarly, in “a book on ancient history,” “a” is the determiner, “book” is the head noun, and “on ancient history” is a prepositional phrase acting as a post-modifier, giving additional information about the book.
Noun phrases can also be expanded to include more detailed descriptions. For instance, in the phrase “the tall, well-dressed man with a serious expression,” we see multiple pre-modifiers (“tall,” “well-dressed”) and a post-modifier (“with a serious expression”).
Despite its complexity, the entire group of words functions as a single noun unit in a sentence, such as in: “The tall, well-dressed man with a serious expression entered the room.” Here, the noun phrase acts as the subject of the sentence.
Another example is “those three little kittens,” where “those” is a determiner, “three” is a numeral, “little” is an adjective, and “kittens” is the head noun.
This phrase may serve as the subject in a sentence like “Those three little kittens lost their mittens.” Such phrases demonstrate how various components combine to give a richer, more specific meaning.
Section C
Q 1.Discuss Stress and Rhythm in connected speech by giving suitable examples.
Ans. In spoken English, the concepts of stress and rhythm play a vital role in how sentences are formed and understood. These features are essential parts of connected speech, the natural way in which native speakers join words together during conversation.
Understanding stress and rhythm helps not only in improving pronunciation but also in listening comprehension. When people speak naturally, they do not pronounce each word separately or clearly.
Instead, they link words together in a flow, using stress and rhythm to create meaning and emphasis.
Stress refers to the emphasis placed on certain syllables within words and certain words within sentences. In English, stress is unpredictable and must be learned with each word, especially in longer or multi-syllable words. For example, in the word “development,” the stress is on the second syllable: de-VEL-op-ment.
When words are combined into sentences, certain words become stressed (strong) while others are unstressed (weak). In general, content words such as nouns, main verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are stressed because they carry the main meaning of a sentence.
On the other hand, function words like articles, prepositions, pronouns, and auxiliary verbs are usually unstressed because they serve a grammatical purpose rather than carrying meaning.
For instance, take the sentence: “She went to the market.” Here, the stressed words are “went” and “market”, as they give the most information. The words “she” and “to the” are unstressed.
When said naturally, the sentence sounds like: “she WENT to the MAR-ket.” This pattern helps listeners focus on the important parts of the sentence without being overloaded by every single word being pronounced equally.
Rhythm in English is closely tied to stress. English is considered a stress-timed language, which means the time between stressed syllables tends to be equal, regardless of how many unstressed syllables fall in between.
This gives English its unique “beat” or “rhythm.” For example, compare the two sentences: “Cats chase mice” and “The cats will be chasing the mice.”
Both sentences have the same three stressed syllables: “cats,” “chase/chasing,” and “mice.” Even though the second sentence has more words, it can be spoken in almost the same amount of time as the first because the extra words are spoken more quickly and softly.
To maintain this rhythm, native speakers often use weak forms of function words, contractions, and link sounds between words. For instance, the word “to” is often pronounced as “tə” in natural speech.
So, in the sentence “I want to go,” it is commonly pronounced as “I wanna go.”
Similarly, “He is going to eat” becomes “He’s gonna eat.” These changes do not indicate laziness but are a natural part of fluent, connected speech.
Another feature that supports stress and rhythm is linking. In connected speech, words are not separated. Instead, sounds at the end of one word are often linked to the beginning of the next.
For example, in “Go on,” the final vowel sound in “go” links smoothly into “on,” sounding like “Go-won.” Similarly, “pick it up” might sound like “pick-it-up” with almost no pause between the words.
This helps the speaker maintain the rhythm of the sentence without breaking the flow.
One more example is elision, where a sound is dropped for easier pronunciation. For instance, in rapid speech, “friends of mine” might be pronounced as “frens of mine” where the “d” in “friends” is omitted.
Similarly, “next day” may be pronounced as “nex day.” Elision happens so the speaker can maintain the rhythm without stopping or slowing down.
Intonation also works alongside stress and rhythm. While stress tells us which syllables or words to emphasize, intonation helps convey the speaker’s attitude, emotion, or the function of a sentence—whether it’s a question, command, or statement.
Rising intonation often indicates a question, while falling intonation signals a statement or a sense of finality. For example, “Are you coming?” rises at the end, whereas “I’m coming.” falls.
Q 2.Examine different kinds of affixes by giving suitable examples.
Ans. In English morphology, affixes are word parts that are added to a base or root word to change its meaning, function, or grammatical category. Affixes play a key role in word formation and vocabulary expansion.
They are not complete words on their own, but when attached to roots, they help form new words with related meanings. Affixes are generally divided into two main types: prefixes and suffixes.
In some languages, there are other types such as infixes and circumfixes, but in English, prefixes and suffixes are most commonly used.
Each type has a specific function and helps in changing either the meaning or the grammatical form of a word.
The first type is the prefix. Prefixes are affixes that are added before the root word. They usually change the meaning of the word, often in terms of direction, quantity, or negation.
For example, the prefix “un-” means “not.” When added to the word “happy”, it becomes “unhappy,” meaning “not happy.”
Another example is “pre-”, which means “before.” If we add it to “view”, we get “preview,” which means “to view something in advance.”
Similarly, the prefix “dis-” in “disagree” changes the meaning of the word to indicate opposition or reversal. Prefixes do not usually change the grammatical category of a word; for instance, “happy” and “unhappy” are both adjectives.
The second and more common type in English is the suffix, which is added after the root word. Suffixes often change the grammatical function of the word.
For example, the suffix “-ness” turns the adjective “kind” into the noun “kindness.” Another example is “-ly,” which converts the adjective “quick” into the adverb “quickly.”
Similarly, “-ment” in “enjoyment” and “-er” in “teacher” help in forming nouns from verbs. Suffixes can also indicate verb tenses, plurals, or comparative forms.
For instance, “-ed” in “walked” shows past tense, “-s” in “cats” marks plural, and “-er” in “faster” makes the comparative form of the adjective “fast.”
Apart from prefixes and suffixes, some languages use infixes, which are inserted within the root word. However, infixes are extremely rare in English and mostly appear in informal or playful expressions.
For example, in casual speech, someone might say “fan-bloody-tastic” as a humorous or emphatic version of “fantastic.” Here, “bloody” is used as an infix, but this is not a standard feature of English word formation.
Another rare and mainly theoretical type is the circumfix, which is placed around the root word. While circumfixes are common in some other languages like German, they are not actively used in modern English.
However, scholars sometimes describe constructions such as “enlighten” (with “en-” as a prefix and “-en” as a suffix) as a form of circumfixation, though it’s not widely accepted as a separate category in English.
Affixes can also be categorized based on their function in grammar. For example, derivational affixes create new words by changing the meaning or grammatical category.
An example is “beauty” (noun) becoming “beautiful” (adjective) by adding the suffix “-ful.” On the other hand, inflectional affixes do not create new words but rather express grammatical relationships like tense, number, possession, or comparison.
For example, “play” becomes “played” in the past tense, or “girl” becomes “girls” in the plural form.
IGNOU BEGG 171 Free Solved Assignment 2024