GATE 2025 Question Paper Humanities & Social Sciences - Linguistics (XH-C3)

GATE
2025
Question Paper | Answer Key
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
(GATE) is a prestigious national-level exam
that assesses candidates for
comprehensive understanding in various
undergraduate-level subjects in
Engineering, Technology, Science,
Architecture, and Humanities.

General Aptitude
Q.1 – Q.5 Carry ONE mark Each

Q.1 Here are two analogous groups, Group-I and Group-II, that list words in their
decreasing order of intensity. Identify the missing word in Group-II.

Group-I: Abuse → Insult → Ridicule

Group-II: ________ → Praise → Appreciate

(A) Extol

(B) Prize

(C) Appropriate

(D) Espouse

Q.2 Had I learnt acting as a child, I ________ a famous film star.

Select the most appropriate option to complete the above sentence.

(A) will be

(B) can be

(C) am going to be

(D) could have been

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Q.3 The 12 musical notes are given as 𝐶, 𝐶 # , 𝐷, 𝐷# , 𝐸, 𝐹, 𝐹 # , 𝐺, 𝐺 # , 𝐴, 𝐴# , and 𝐵.
12
Frequency of each note is √2 times the frequency of the previous note. If the
frequency of the note C is 130.8 Hz, then the ratio of frequencies of notes 𝐹 # and 𝐶
is:

(A) 6
√2

(B)
√2

(C) 4
√2

(D) 2

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Q.4 The following figures show three curves generated using an iterative algorithm. The
total length of the curve generated after ‘Iteration 𝑛’ is:

Note: The figures shown are representative.

1
Iteration 0:

1 1
Iteration 1:
3 Length of each segment: 3

1
1
Iteration 2: 9 Length of each segment: 9

𝑛
(A) 5 2
( )
3

(B) 5 𝑛
( )
3

(C) 5 2𝑛
( )
3

(D) 5 𝑛(2𝑛−1)
( )
3

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Q.5 |𝑥|
Which one of the following plots represents 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = − , where 𝑥 is a non-
𝑥
zero real number?

Note: The figures shown are representative.

(A) f(x)

(0,1)

x
(0, −1)

(B) f(x)
(0,1)

x
(0, −1)

(C) f(x)

(1,0)
(−1,0) x

f(x)
(D)
(0,1)

x
(0, −1)

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Q.6 – Q.10 Carry TWO marks Each

Q. 6 Identify the option that has the most appropriate sequence such that a coherent
paragraph is formed:

P. Over time, such adaptations lead to significant evolutionary changes with
the potential to shape the development of new species.

Q. In natural world, organisms constantly adapt to their environments in
response to challenges and opportunities.

R. This process of adaptation is driven by the principle of natural selection,
where favorable traits increase an organism’s chances of survival and
reproduction.

S. As environments change, organisms that can adapt their behavior, structure
and physiology to such changes are more likely to survive.

(A) P→Q→R→S

(B) Q→S→R→P

(C) R→S→Q→P

(D) S→P→R→Q

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Q.7 A stick of length one meter is broken at two locations at distances of 𝑏1 and 𝑏2 from
the origin (0), as shown in the figure. Note that 0 < 𝑏1 < 𝑏2 < 1. Which one of the
following is NOT a necessary condition for forming a triangle using the three
pieces?

Note: All lengths are in meter. The figure shown is representative.

(A) 𝑏1 < 0.5

(B) 𝑏2 > 0.5

(C) 𝑏2 < 𝑏1 + 0.5

(D) 𝑏1 + 𝑏2 < 1

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Q.8 Eight students (P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W) are playing musical chairs. The figure
indicates their order of position at the start of the game. They play the game by
moving forward in a circle in the clockwise direction.

After the 1st round, 4th student behind P leaves the game. After 2nd round, 5th student
behind Q leaves the game. After 3rd round, 3rd student behind V leaves the game.
After 4th round, 4th student behind U leaves the game. Who all are left in the game
after the 4th round?

Note: The figure shown is representative.

(A) P; T; Q; S

(B) V; P; T; Q

(C) W; R; Q; V

(D) Q; T; V; W

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Q.9 The table lists the top 5 nations according to the number of gold medals won in a
tournament; also included are the number of silver and the bronze medals won by
them. Based only on the data provided in the table, which one of the following
statements is INCORRECT?

Nation Gold Silver Bronze

USA 40 44 41

Canada 39 27 24

Japan 20 12 13

Australia 17 19 16

France 16 26 22

(A) France will occupy the third place if the list were made on the basis of the total
number of medals won.

(B) The order of the top two nations will not change even if the list is made on the basis
of the total number of medals won.

(C) USA and Canada together have less than 50% of the medals awarded to the nations
in the above table.

(D) Canada has won twice as many total medals as Japan.

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Q.10 An organization allows its employees to work independently on consultancy
projects but charges an overhead on the consulting fee. The overhead is 20% of the
consulting fee, if the fee is up to ₹ 5,00,000. For higher fees, the overhead is
₹ 1,00,000 plus 10% of the amount by which the fee exceeds ₹ 5,00,000. The
government charges a Goods and Services Tax of 18% on the total amount (the
consulting fee plus the overhead). An employee of the organization charges this
entire amount, i.e., the consulting fee, overhead, and tax, to the client. If the client
cannot pay more than ₹ 10,00,000, what is the maximum consulting fee that the
employee can charge?

(A) ₹ 7,01,438

(B) ₹ 7,24,961

(C) ₹ 7,51,232

(D) ₹ 7,75,784

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Q.11– Q.17 Carry ONE mark Each

Q.11 Which one of the following numbers is odd one out?

31541 42651 53791 64871 75981

(A) 31541

(B) 42651

(C) 53791

(D) 75981

Q.12 Ankit, Arun, and Ankur have one apple each. Ankur also has one banana. Alam has
one mango and one kiwi. Ankit has just bought one pineapple.

Who has the least number of fruit(s)?

(A) Ankit

(B) Arun

(C) Ankur

(D) Alam

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Q.13 If each vowel in the word RESIDE is changed to its previous letter in the English
alphabet and each consonant is changed to the next letter in the English alphabet,
which one of the following options will be the third from the right?

(A) T

(B) D

(C) S

(D) H

Q.14 Vipul, Ahmad, Santosh, and David are playing Carrom. Vipul and Ahmad are
partners sitting opposite to each other. David faces towards South. If Vipul faces
towards West, then who faces towards the North?

(A) Alam

(B) Santosh

(C) David

(D) Vipul

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Q.15 Consider the following sentence.

What the country needs ____ ____ ____ ____ accordingly.

First and last parts of the sentence are given. P, Q, R, and S are the remaining parts
of the sentence, not necessarily in that order.

P: and change tactics
Q: who would encourage players
R: are coaches and officials
S: to read the game as it progresses

Which one of the following options is correct that gives the most appropriate order
and meaning to the sentence?

(A) QSPR

(B) RQSP

(C) RQPS

(D) SPRQ

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Q.16 A car started from city P at 9.40am. The time taken for the car to reach the city Q
is 4 hours and 50 minutes.

The time of arrival of the car at city Q is

(A) 15:10 Hours

(B) 14:20 Hours

(C) 14:30 Hours

(D) 14:10 Hours

Q.17 P is three years younger than R but one year older than S.

S is one year older than Q but 4 years younger than R.

R is 15 years old.

The age of Q is ____ years (answer in integer).

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Q.18 – Q26 Carry TWO marks Each

Q.18 In a certain code language, ATTITUDE is written as TAUJUEDU and CHILDREN
is written as HCJMENER.

How LANGUAGE is written in that code language?

(A) ALOHVEGA

(B) ALHOVAGA

(C) LAVOHEGA

(D) ALHOVGEA

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Q.19 The table shows the data of 450 candidates who appeared in the examination of
three subjects – Social Science, Mathematics, and Science.

Particulars Number of candidates
Passed in all the three subjects 167
Failed in all the three subjects 60
Failed in Social Science subject 175
Failed in Mathematics subject 199
Failed in Science subject 191
Passed in only Social Science subject 62
Passed in only Mathematics subject 48
Passed in only Science subject 52

How many candidates have passed in at least one subject?

(A) 48

(B) 162

(C) 390

(D) 425

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Q.20 If × means +, + means ÷, − means ×, and ÷ means −,

then 8 × 7 − 8 + 40 ÷ 2 =

(A) 8
3
5

(B) 2
7
5

(C) 7
2
5

(D) 3
8
5

Q.21 Given a series 5, 8, 11, 14, …

If the nth term of the given series is 320, then n (where, n ≥ 1) is

(A) 104

(B) 105

(C) 106

(D) 107

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Q.22 Suppose, your last year taxable income was Rs. 22000. Due to hike in salary, your
taxable income this year is Rs. 34200. The details for tax calculation are given in
the table below.

Income range (Rs.) Tax slab (Rs.)
0 to 5000 2 % of income
Greater than 5000 to 10000 100 + 3 % of income over 5000
Greater than 10000 to 20000 250 + 5 % of income over 10000
Greater than 20000 to 30000 750 + 8 % of income over 20000
Greater than 30000 to 50000 1550 + 10 % of income over 30000
Greater than 50000 to 100000 3550 + 20 % of income over 50000

Consider the appropriate tax slab corresponding to your income. What is the
additional amount of tax you need to pay this year compared to last year?

(A) 1970

(B) 1060

(C) 910

(D) 420

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Q.23 Anand, Hari, and Chris are engaged in one of the three type of occupations – clerk,
teacher, and plumber, not necessarily in that order. Each person is assigned only
one type of occupation. No two or more persons can be assigned same type of
occupation. Clerk is Chris’s cousin. Hari lives next door to the plumber.
Anand, who knows more facts than the teacher, has to drive more than 1 hour to
reach Hari’s home. Identify each of the person’s correct type of occupation, and
accordingly, which one of the following options is correct?

(A) Anand is teacher and Chris is clerk.

(B) Hari is clerk and Anand is plumber.

(C) Chris is teacher and Hari is clerk.

(D) Anand is clerk and Chris is plumber.

Q.24 Many countries are facing water shortage crises in the past few years. A report of
the United Nation has named India among the worst countries for poor quality of
water. The report ranks 122 countries according to the quality of their water as well
as their commitment to improve the situation. Some countries in Europe are
considered the worst because of the quality of its ground water. Rain failed in some
parts of India in the past. The vast areas of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra
Pradesh were affected by severe drought. People without water turn desperate and
violent. Consequently, the food godowns were attacked in some of the states.

Based on the details given in the passage, which of the following option(s) is/ are
correct statement(s)?

(A) There is no proof that India is affected by poor quality of water.

(B) A few European countries are suffering due to occurrence of drought.

(C) Lack of access to water can lead to social unrest.

(D) Intense shortage of water is visible in some states of India.

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Q.25 In the following figure, four overlapping shapes (rectangle, triangle, circle, and
hexagon) are given.

The sum of the numbers which belong to only two overlapping shapes is_______.

Q.26 Consider a square field ABCD. The diagonal AC is 50 meter. The cost of laying
grass in the field is Rs. 5 per square-meter. The total cost for laying grass in the field
ABCD is Rs. ________ (rounded off to two decimal places).

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Q.27– Q.44 Carry ONE mark Each

Q.27 Choose the option that demonstrates Grassmann’s law of sound change.

(A) Voiced changes to voiceless

(B) Voiceless changes to fricative

(C) Voiceless changes to voiced

(D) Aspirated changes to unaspirated

Q.28 Assuming a language has 5 basic colour terms, which one of the following options
is predicted by language universals?

(A) white, black, red, green, blue

(B) white, black, red, green, yellow

(C) white, black, red, orange, blue

(D) white, black, red, green, brown

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Q.29 Consider the following two statements and choose the correct option.

S1: Patients with Broca’s aphasia have trouble producing speech.

S2: Patients with Wernicke’s aphasia have trouble understanding what others say.

(A) Both S1 and S2 are correct

(B) Both S1 and S2 are incorrect

(C) S1 is correct and S2 is incorrect

(D) S1 is incorrect and S2 is correct

Q.30 Language X is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by
some, though this is not yet widespread or sustainable. Based on the EGIDS scale
by Lewis and Simons 2010, what is the status of the language X?

(A) Vigorous

(B) Threatened

(C) Moribund

(D) Developing

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Q.31 Choose the option that correctly matches the names of scholars (P – S) in column
X with the fields or approaches (i – iv) in column Y they are primarily associated
with.

(A) P – ii, Q – iii, R – iv, S – i

(B) P – ii, Q – iii, R – i, S – iv

(C) P – iii, Q – ii, R – iv, S – i

(D) P – iii, Q – i, R – iv, S – ii

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Q.32 Given the Hindi and English words below, which one of the options is the reason
for their similarity?

(A) Borrowing

(B) Language phylogeny

(C) Coincidence

(D) Language contact

Q.33 Which of the following sets depict/s natural class of alveolar consonants?

(A) / s, z, n /

(B) / θ, ʃ, ɹ /

(C) / n, j, t /

(D) / d, t, l /

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Q.34 Which of the following acoustic characteristics is/are applicable to the vowel /i/?

(A) Periodic waveforms

(B) Voice Onset Time (VOT)

(C) Formants

(D) Voicing

Q.35 Which of the following is/are type/s of affix/es?

(A) Infix

(B) Graphfix

(C) Circumfix

(D) Transfix

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Q.36 Which of the following writing system/s follow/s right to left writing direction?

(A) Arabic

(B) Hebrew

(C) Aramaic

(D) Amharic

Q.37 Which of the following is/are random sampling method/s?

(A) Snowball sampling

(B) Cluster sampling

(C) Convenience sampling

(D) Stratified sampling

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Q.38 Which of the following aspect/s use/s pitch as a primary acoustic correlate?

(A) Tone

(B) Intonation

(C) Loudness

(D) Aspiration

Q.39 Which of the following set/s consist/s of at least two [+continuant] sounds?

(A) [s, z, j, l, k]

(B) [p, t, k, w]

(C) [ʃ, tʃ, dʒ, ɹ]

(D) [j, l, w, h]

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Q.40 What is/are the grammatical feature/s encoded in the English morpheme –s in the
sentence ‘The director sing-s’?

(A) Person

(B) Number

(C) Gender

(D) Tense

Q.41 In William Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard study, what is/are the sound change/s
involved?

(A) Vowel diphthongization

(B) Rhoticization

(C) Diphthong centralization

(D) Vowel lengthening

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Q.42 Which of the following is/are NOT true about Sign languages?

(A) They do not have any internal structure

(B) They are governed by similar syntactic rules that govern spoken languages

(C) All Sign languages are mutually intelligible

(D) All words in Sign languages are iconic

Q.43 In which of the following options, both languages do NOT exhibit verbal
agreement?

(A) Malayalam: Manipuri

(B) Telugu: Bodo

(C) Kannada: Rabha

(D) Tamil: Tangkhul

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Q.44 Which of the following statement/s is/are TRUE about tones in Indian languages?

(A) All Tibeto-Burman languages in India are tonal

(B) All Austroasiatic languages in India are tonal

(C) All Dravidian languages in India are non-tonal

(D) All Indo-Aryan languages in India are non-tonal

Q.45 – Q.65 Carry TWO marks Each

Q.45 Choose the option that correctly matches the type of writing systems (P – S) in
column X with the names of writing systems (i – iv) in column Y.

(A) P – ii, Q – iii, R – iv, S – i

(B) P – ii, Q – iii, R – i, S – iv

(C) P – iii, Q – ii, R – iv, S – i

(D) P – iii, Q – i, R – ii, S – iv

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 29 of 44

Q.46 Given the following phonological rule, which one of the options CANNOT be an
output?

(A) [sampark]

(B) [lantap]

(C) [piŋkata]

(D) [danpo]

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Q.47 A set of raw data is provided in columns P, Q, and R. A list of standard deviations is
provided in i), ii) and iii). Choose the appropriate option that correctly matches the
data in the columns (P – R) with their standard deviations (i – iii).

Hint: No calculation is necessary to solve this problem.

(A) P – i, Q – iii, R – ii

(B) P – iii, Q – i, R – ii

(C) P – ii, Q – i, R – iii

(D) P – iii, Q – ii, R – i

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Q.48 Consider the following two statements, S1 and S2 and choose the correct option.

S1: If X is an adjunct of Y, then Y is an argument of X because the presence of Y in
a sentence is necessary for X to occur.

S2: It is not necessarily true that if Y is an argument of X, then X is Y’s adjunct.

(A) Both S1 and S2 are correct

(B) S1 is correct and S2 is incorrect

(C) S1 is incorrect and S2 is correct

(D) Both S1 and S2 are incorrect

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Q.49 In the following truth table, what does X stand for?

(A) [P ˄ Q]

(B) [P ˅ Q]

(C) [P → Q]

(D) [P ↔ Q]

Q.50 Which one of the following languages is a verb-second (V2) language?

(A) Kannada

(B) Kashmiri

(C) Konkani

(D) Konyak

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Q.51 Given the principle of naturalness of sound change, in the comparative method of
reconstruction, which one of the options may be reconstructed as a proto form for the
cognates in Language P, Language Q, Language R, Language S, and
Language T?

(A) *[asa]

(B) *[aha]

(C) *[aa]

(D) *[ata]

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Q.52 Consider the following data. The intended and actual utterances (P – S) are given in
columns X and Y, respectively. Choose one option that correctly matches the
sentences (P – S) with the error types (i – iv) in column Z.

(A) P – ii, Q – i, R – iv, S – iii

(B) P – iii, Q – i, R – ii, S – iv

(C) P – iii, Q – iv, R – ii, S – i

(D) P – ii, Q – iv, R – iii, S – i

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Q.53 Given the sentences S1 and S2, choose the option that explains why S2 cannot be
derived from S1.

S1: Deadpool was interested in Wolverine’s description of morphosyntax.

S2: *What was Deadpool interested in Wolverine’s description of?

(A) Principle A violation

(B) Island violation

(C) Scope violation

(D) Ellipses violation

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Q.54 Choose the option that correctly matches the compound words (P – S) in column X
with their types (i – iv) in column Y.

(A) P – iv, Q – i, R – ii, S – iii

(B) P – iii, Q – ii, R – i, S – iv

(C) P – iii, Q – iv, R – i, S – ii

(D) P – iv, Q – iii, R – ii, S – i

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Q.55 Consider the following list of languages, from the Austroasiatic (AA), Dravidian
(DR), Indo-Aryan (IA) and Tibeto-Burman (TB) language families, spoken in India.

Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani,
Khasi, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit,
Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Tulu and Urdu

Choose the option that shows the correct number of languages from each of the four
language families in the list.

(A) AA: 2, DR: 5, IA: 14, TB: 3

(B) AA: 3, DR: 3, IA: 16, TB: 2

(C) AA: 2, DR: 5, IA: 15, TB: 2

(D) AA: 1, DR: 5, IA: 15, TB: 3

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Q.56 Choose the option that correctly matches the terms in column X with their
corresponding terms in column Y.

(A) P – iv, Q – ii, R – iii, S – i

(B) P – ii, Q – iii, R – i, S – iv

(C) P – iv, Q – i, R – iii, S – ii

(D) P – iv, Q – i, R – ii, S – iii

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Q.57 Which of the following is / are demonstrated by dichotic listening experiments?

(A) Selective auditory attention

(B) Left ear dominance for speech sounds

(C) Right ear dominance for speech sounds

(D) Left hemisphere dominance for speech sounds

Q.58 Which of the option/s can be applied to the following sound change rule?

(A) Lenition

(B) Assimilation

(C) Debuccalization

(D) Velarization

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 40 of 44

Q.59 Which of the following sentence/s depict/s unaccusative construction/s?

(A) Hulk ran

(B) Hulk stumbled

(C) Hulk joked

(D) Hulk collapsed

Q.60 Choose the option/s that lead/s to the ungrammaticality of the English word
*grammarismian.

(A) -ian is a primary affix

(B) -ism is a primary affix

(C) -ian is a secondary affix

(D) -ism is a secondary affix

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 41 of 44

Q.61 Based on the statements in (1) – (4), which option/s is/are correct?

(A) (1) entails (2); (3) entails (4)

(B) (2) entails (1); (4) does not entail (3)

(C) (1) does not entail (2); (3) does not entail (4)

(D) (2) does not entail (1); (4) entails (3)

Q.62 Which of the following antonyms is/are gradable antonym/s?

(A) Married / unmarried

(B) Hot / cold

(C) Old / young

(D) Alive / dead

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 42 of 44

Q.63 Which of the following option/s show/s increasing order of sonority, from left to
right?

(A) voiced stops, nasals, high vowels, low vowels

(B) voiceless stops, voiced fricatives, voiced stops, high vowels

(C) low vowels, nasals, voiced fricatives, voiceless stops

(D) voiceless stops, voiced stops, voiced laterals, low vowels

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 43 of 44

Q.64 Which of the following autosegmental representation/s violate/s the
Well-Formedness Conditions (WFC) in a tone language, where V is the tone-bearing
unit (TBU) and T is a lexical tone?

(A) P

(B) Q

(C) R

(D) S

Q.65 Examine the given data. The value of X is __________ (in integer).

Hint: Onset clusters are not allowed in the language.

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 44 of 44

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