Aspects of Language Solved Assignment
Introduction
The Master of Arts in English (MEG) by IGNOU features MEG‑04: Aspects of Language, a compulsory course that explores several basic topics of linguistics and language studies. At the end of each term, students have to submit a Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) that examines their grasp of these concepts. In this article, we provide a solved assignment (July 2025 – January 2026) for your reference purposes and provide tips and techniques to enable you to score maximum marks, grasp concepts, and write your own solutions in a plagiarism‑free format.
Note: This solution assignment is only for reference. You must answer in your own words and handwriting (or style), as per IGNOU instructions.
Why This Assignment Is Important
- Compulsory for Assessment: TMAs are part of ongoing assessment in IGNOU and count towards your overall grade.
- Triggers Conceptual Understanding: The MEG-04 syllabus covers phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, etc. The assignment task requires you to synthesize these concepts.
- Prepares for Term Tests: Practicing assignment questions serves to refresh what is to be observed in the term-end test.
4. Enhances Answer Writing: Solved assignments practice enables you to organize long answers, frame introductions/conclusions, and handle word limits.
Assignment Questions (July 2025 – January 2026)
As per published sources, the MEG‑04 assignment for 2025–26 consists of the following series of questions:
- Short notes on the following:
- (i) Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar
(ii) Linguistic Sign - Explain the classification of morphemes. Support with appropriate examples.
- How are phonetics and phonology different from one another? Elaborate on their importance in the study of language.
- What is bilingualism? Describe the various forms of bilingualism and the socio‑cultural factors that affect it.
- Discuss the salient features of the Sapir‑Whorf hypotheses.
In the following sections, we provide exemplary model answers to each question, along with advice on how to write them well.
Question 1: Descriptive vs Prescriptive Grammar; Linguistic Sign
1(i) Descriptive vs Prescriptive Grammar
Descriptive Grammar
- A descriptive grammar explains how language is actually employed by speakers in a specific community or situation.
- It is observational and documents patterns without labeling them as correct or incorrect.
- Linguists use descriptive grammar to study language phenomena like slang, regional uses, or evolving usages over time.
- Example: To say “She don’t know” might be grammatically “non-standard,” but descriptive grammar would note that many people use this in casual speech.
Prescriptive Grammar - Prescriptive grammar tries to prescribe rules of “correct” or “standard” usage.
- Prescriptive rules usually reflect educated speech or writing norms, and are used in language instruction, style guides, grammar handbooks.
- Prescriptive rules such as “Don’t split infinitives,” “Don’t end a sentence with a preposition,” etc.
- Prescriptivism tends to oppose language variation and change.
Comparison / Tension - Descriptive norms are frequently in arrears relative to usage; actual language changes and develops.
- Descriptive grammar is more relaxed and accommodating of dialects, variation, and change.
- As a teacher, one tends to instruct prescriptive norms for formal and academic writing while admitting to descriptive variations.
1(ii) Linguistic Sign
The theory of the linguistic sign comes from structural linguistics, particularly from Ferdinand de Saussure.
- A sign in language is made up of signifier + signified.
- Signifier = the “sound image” or the form (spoken or written word)
- Signified = the concept or meaning behind the form
- For instance, the word “tree” (the sound or written string “tree”) is the signifier; the mental idea of a woody plant is the signified.
- The linguistic sign is arbitrary in the majority of instances — there isn’t a natural, inherent link between signifier and signified (why “dog” is a dog is conventional).
- The correspondence is linear (temporally) for the oral form, spatial for the written one but always a combination of form and meaning.
- And signs are in a system — their value relies on their difference from other signs (i.e. cat and bat).
- Some criticisms/extensions: onomatopoeic words, iconic signs, indexical / symbolic signs (in semiotics) do not quite follow strict arbitrariness.
How to write this answer well: - Define both terms succinctly.
- Give examples.
- Emphasize their linguistic importance.
- Employ diagrams (if permitted) to illustrate signifier + signified.
Summarize with relevance in contemporary linguistics / semiotics.
Question 2: Classification of Morphemes (with Examples)
What is a Morpheme?
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in language. A morpheme cannot always occur alone (some must be attached to others). Words tend to be constructed out of one or more morphemes.
Classification of Morphemes
Morphemes are divided along various dimensions:
Dimension Types Description / Example
Free vs Bound Free morpheme Can occur independently as a word (e.g. book, run, happy)
Bound morpheme Cannot occur alone, prefixes to another
Derivational vs Inflectional Derivational morpheme | Alters the meaning or grammatical category (e.g. happy → happiness, kind → kindness, beauty → beautify) |
Inflectional morpheme Indicates grammatical information (tense, number, gender) without altering the essential meaning (e.g. cats (plural -s), walked (past -ed), better (comparative) )
Root / Stem vs Affix Root / stem The main morpheme with the central lexical meaning
Affix (prefix, suffix, infix, circumfix) Root morphemes added to change meaning
Allomorphs Different variant forms of the same morpheme (such as the plural morpheme.
Examples Demonstrating Each Type
- Free morpheme: book, cat, sing
- Bound morpheme: -s, re-, un-, -ment
- Derivational: teach → teacher (adds ‑er), heal → health (add ‑th)
- Inflectional: girl → girls, go → went, run → running
- Root + affix: unhappiness = un‑ + happy + ‑ness
- Allomorph example: plural of leaf is leaves (the f → v + ‑es), still same underlying plural morpheme
Some Further Points
- Some morphemes are bound and derivational (e.g. ‑ness)
- A morpheme can be empty (zero morpheme) in certain forms (e.g. sheep for plural has no overt plural morpheme).
- Morphemes can also represent processes such as compounding (two free morphemes combined) or conversion (same form, new lexical category).
Tips for answer structure: - Start with a formal definition.
- Offer a table or bullet classification.
- Give unambiguous examples.
- Describe edge/exception cases (allomorphs, zero morpheme).
Sum up by highlighting why this division assists linguistic analysis.
Question 3: Phonetics vs Phonology — Differences & Significance
What is Phonetics?
- Phonetics is the linguistic discipline dealing with the physical, articulatory, acoustic, and auditory characteristics of speech sounds.
- It is concerned with the production of sounds (articulation), transmission (acoustics), and perception (auditory phonetics).
- Fields within it are articulatory phonetics (the way organs of speech function), acoustic phonetics, and auditory phonetics.
What is Phonology?
- Phonology examines how sounds work in a specific language or languages — how they are structured and what patterns they create.
- It is interested in mental/abstract sound systems: phonemes, allophones, distinctive features, phonological rules, syllable structure, stress, intonation.
Key Differences
Feature Phonetics Phonology
Focus Physical / articulatory / acoustic properties
Abstract, systematic patterns in language Level Universal (all possible human sounds) Language‑specific (which sounds are contrastive)
Units Phones, articulatory gestures, waveforms Phonemes, allophones, feature systems Methods Instrumental measurement, spectrograms, auditory testing Distributional analysis, minimal pairs, rule formulation Scope Doesn’t concern itself with meaning or function in specific language Concerned with how sounds help create contrasts of meaning
Importance of Study in Linguistics
- Interdependence: Phonetics gives the raw material; phonology orders it.
- Language instruction / accent training: Phonetics assists learners to produce sounds physically; phonology assists in knowing which differences are significant in a target language.
- Speech pathology & forensic linguistics: Phonetics assists in the diagnosis of articulatory/physical speech disorders; phonology assists in looking at patterns of misarticulation.
- Historical linguistics / change: Knowing how phonetic changes cause phonological reorganization assists in following the trail of language change.
- Phonological rules / alternations: E.g., English plural ‑s, phonetic realisation is accounted for by phonological rules in context.
Sample Answer Flow
- Definition of both terms
- Table / comparison
- Examples (e.g. English pat, bat, cat exhibit phonemic contrast)
- Importance in language learning, analysis, & historical change
5. A final statement bridging phonetics & phonology in synergy
Question 4: Bilingualism — Types & Socio‑Cultural Factors
Definition of Bilingualism
Bilingualism can be interpreted as the capacity of a person or group to acquire two languages (or two dialects) with competence. The precise boundary of “competence” can differ, from native-like proficiency in both to functional bilingualism in most areas.
Types of Bilingualism
Bilingualism is not monolithic — linguists categorize it into different types:
- By Age / Acquisition
- Simultaneous bilingualism: Two languages learned from birth.
- Sequential / successive bilingualism: First language acquired first, second one later (e.g. learning a second language)
- By Proficiency / Competence
- Balanced bilingualism: Identical competence in both languages
- Dominant bilingualism: More competent in a single language, less competent in the other
- By Domain / Function
- Home vs formal bilingualism: One used in close/home settings, another in school/work.
- Diglossia / Diglossic bilingualism: Two varieties are employed in distinct social settings (e.g. “High” and “Low” varieties).
- By Type of Use
- Compound bilingualism: Two languages have base concepts (e.g., bi-lingual child acquiring two languages in same setting)
- Coordinate bilingualism: Two distinct language use contexts, concepts affiliated with each separately
- Subordinate bilingualism: Second language acquired by means of the first .
- Other Distinctions
- Additive bilingualism: Acquisition of second language enhances one’s repertoire without endangering the first
- Subtractive bilingualism: Second language slowly substitutes for or reduces the first
Socio‑Cultural Factors Affecting Bilingualism
- Prestige and power relations: A language can be socially regarded as “higher” (e.g. English in India) and thus cause shift.
- Language policy and education: School language, official language policy, medium of instruction.
- Language attitudes / identity: Stigma or pride associated with specific languages/dialects.
- Home/community / family background: Use of home language, intergenerational transmission.
- Economic incentives: Employment, social mobility, globalization benefits specific languages.
- Media / technology: TV, internet, social media exposure affects bilingual use.
- Migration / diaspora: Communities migrate, bilingualism is a survival strategy.
- Urbanization / social networks: Multilingual cities create daily bilingualism.
Writing Tips & Example
- Begin with a clear definition.
- Separate types (use subheadings).
- Use real examples to illustrate (e.g. India: Hindi–English bilingualism; Canada: English–French).
- Explain how socio-cultural aspects appear in tangible environments (e.g. language change within immigrant groups).
Summarize by connecting bilingualism to language policy, identity, or mental benefits.
Question 5: Sapir‑Whorf Hypothesis — Salient Features
Background
The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, also referred to as the linguistic relativity principle, is the hypothesis that the nature of a language determines (or at least affects) the speakers’ cognition, worldview, and behavior. Its two chief forms are:
- Strong version (linguistic determinism): Thought is controlled by language; you cannot think outside your language.
- Weak version (linguistic relativity): Language affects thought and perception but does not strictly determine it.
Salient Features / Key Components
- Language and thought are interrelated — The manner in which languages divide up experience (e.g. color terms, spatial relations) determines how speakers see the world.
- Cultural embeddedness of language
Language bears the cultural worldview, and variation in language results from variation in cultural cognition.
- Influence of cognition, not total determination — Contemporary views tend towards weak version: language has an influence but doesn’t totally limit thought.
- Linguistic categories as filters — Languages divide up the world differently; e.g. some languages have numerous words for snow, spatial systems such as absolute vs relative orientation.
- Empirical studies & criticism — Many experiments test color perception, spatial reasoning, time, agents vs patients, etc. Some support weaker influence, others challenge strong determinism.
Critics argue that thought can exist independently of language, infants think without fully developed language, and translation is possible.
Examples to Illustrate
- Color terms: Color vocabularies differ between languages; color term poor speakers in poorer color vocabulary tribes will take longer to identify color boundaries.
- Spatial cognition: Some languages utilize absolute, not relative, directions (north, south) which appears to influence the way the speaker perceives space and orientation.
- Time metaphors: English understands time as horizontal (the future is “ahead”), whereas some languages (such as Aymara) distinguish from it differently (past ahead, future behind).
Relevance and Critiques
- The hypothesis provoked a great deal of cross-linguistic and cognitive inquiry.
- It emphasizes the influence of language on our mental categories.
- It is not necessarily accepted by everyone in the strong form. Most current linguistic anthropologists take a middle position or weak stance.
- Subsequent advances in cognitive science, psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics refine the original arguments.
Answer strategy: - Present strong and weak versions.
- Enumerate features in bullet or subhead format.
- Employ representative, empirical examples.
- Refute criticisms and contemporary reinterpretations.
End with significance to modern linguistic theory.
Writing High‑Scoring Assignment Answers Hints
- Read the Question Carefully
Ensure you tackle all sections: “Discuss,” “Illustrate,” “Examine,” etc. Employ these as a guide to structure.
- Employ Clear Structure
- Introduction (short)
- Body / subheads
- Examples, definitions, comparisons
- Conclusion / relevance
- Employ Subheadings & Numbering Makes reading easier and prevents omission of bits.
- Reference Units & Course Material
You may refer to blocks or units from the MEG‑04 study material to show you’re engaging with the syllabus.
- Use Examples Realistic examples from English, Indian English, bilingual contexts, etc.
- Maintain Academic Tone Don’t be too informal. Use linguistic terminology correctly.
- Stick to Word / Time Limits
IGNOU typically anticipates around 800–1,000 words for a long answer (if weight is heavy). Keep it brief.
- Plagiarism
Don’t copy & paste from model answers. Always paraphrase in your own words.
- Revise & Proofread
Look out for grammar, punctuation, clarity, and coherence.
How to Use This Solved Assignment
- Utilize it as a study guide to realize how to frame answers.
- Use it to compare your drafts with, but not to copy.
- Write your own versions under timed conditions.
- Take the examples provided here as seeds — use them and adapt them or replace them with your own.
- Read your assignment preparation alongside IGNOU study material MEG‑04 blocks (for example, phonetics, morphology, sociolinguistics)