ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD
(Department of English)
WARNING
1. PLAGIARISM OR HIRING OF GHOST WRITER(S) FOR SOLVING
THE ASSIGNMENT(S) WILL DEBAR THE STUDENT FROM AWARD
OF DEGREE/CERTIFICATE, IF FOUND AT ANY STAGE.
2. SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENT(S) BORROWED OR STOLEN FROM
OTHER(S) AS ONE’S OWN WILL BE PENALIZED AS DEFINED IN
“AIOU PLAGIARISM POLICY”.
Course: Semantics (9065) Semester: Autumn, 2023
Level: BS (English)
Please read the following instructions for writing you assignments. (AD, BS, B.Ed,
MA/MSc, Med, ODL Mode)
1. All questions are compulsory and carry equal marks but within a question, the
marks are distributed according to its requirements.
2. Read the question carefully and the answer it according to the requirements of
the question.
3. Avoid irrelevant discussion/information and reproducing from books, study
guide or allied material.
4. Hand written scanned assignments are not acceptable.
5. Upload you typed (in Word or PDF format) assignments on or before the due
date.
6. Your own analysis and synthesis will be appreciated.
7. Late assignments can’t be uploaded at LMS.
8. The students who attempt their assignments in Urdu/Arabic may upload a
scanned copy of the hand written assignments (in PDF format) on University
LMS. The size of the file should not exceed 5MB.
1
Total Marks: 100 Pass Marks: 50
Assignment No. 1
(Units 1-4)
Q.1. Every human child, with a few pathological exceptions, learns the language of the
society in which he/she grows up. Elaborate. (10)
Q.2. Below are four pairs of sentences. In each pair assume that the first sentence is true.
Then decide what we know about the second sentence, which has the same topic(s).
If the first is true, must the second also be true? Or if the first is true, must the
second be false? Or does the truth of the first tell us nothing about the truth of the
second? (20)
1a Rose is married to Tom.
1b Rose is Tom's wife.
2a David is an unmarried adult male.
2b David is a bachelor.
3a This knife is too dull to cut the rope.
3b This knife isn't sharp enough to cut the rope.
4a Victoria likes to sing.
4b Victoria doesn't sing.
Q.3. Conventional signs have human senders as well as human receivers; each one has
an intention and an interpretation. What are the three steps that comprise the
process of observing any such sign and getting information from it? (20)
Q.4. In the following short discourses what is the implicature that connects the second
utterance to the first? (20)
(a) Is there a garage near here? Our engine is making strange noises.
(b) Barbara: How did you do on the examination?
Barry: I think I’ll just drop this course.
(c) Jim: Would you like to go celebrating tomorrow night?
Laura: We have guests coming from out of town.
Has Laura answered Jim's question? If so, what is her answer? Has she answered
a question that he didn't ask? If so, what is the question?
Q.5. Define in detail the following with regard to meaning making: (10)
a) reference
b) denotations
c) connotation
d) sense
Q.6. What is lexical ambiguity? How does it alter meaning of a spoken discourse? (10)
2
Q.7. What is the difference between Sentence and Proposition? Explain with help of
appropriate examples. A sentence has certain kinds of modification that we call inflection
that includes tense; aspect, and modality. Elaborate with examples. (10)
Total Marks: 100 Pass Marks: 50
Assignment No. 2
(Units 5-9)
Q.1. Kinship systems make an interesting area for componential analysis. Do you think
so? Give an example from the Urdu language to validate your claim. (20)
Q.2. Define the term truth conditional semantics. Explain the different types of lexical
relationships in the English language contributing to truth conditional semantics. (10)
Q.3 Explain what is the Extension of a referring expression and how Extension and
Intension can be differentiated? (10)
Q.4. Every language has deictic words which point to things in the physical-social
context of the speaker and addressee(s) and whose referents can only be
determined by knowing the context in which they are used. Elaborate with
examples. (10)
Q.5. Define the following: (20)
a) Full statement clauses
b) Question clauses
c) Infinitive clauses
d) Gerund clauses
e) Non-factual clauses
Q.6. The following occur in expressions with concrete reference and in expressions that
have abstract reference. For each noun give an example of each kind of reference.
Is there also a difference of countability? (10)
a) beauty
b) curiosity
c) kindness
d) novelty
e) personality
Q.7. What is the structure of embedded sentences in a larger sentence? How many
characteristics does a clause have? How are reduced clauses different from any
other clause? Explain with appropriate examples: (20)
