ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

(Department of English Language & Applied Linguistics)

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 ASSIGNMENTS BORROWED OR STOLEN FROM
OTHER(S) AS ONE’S OWN WILL BE PENALIZED AS DEFINED IN
“AIOU PLAGIARISM POLICY”.

Course: Semantic & Discourse Analysis (557) Semester: Spring, 2010

Level: MA TEFL Total Marks: 100
Pass Marks: 40

ASSIGNMENT No. 1
(Reading Passages 1–6)

Q.1 What do you understand by the term Semantics? (10)

Q.2 What is the relationship between Semantics and Linguistics? (10)

Q.3 How would you differentiate between Speaker meaning and Sentence meaning? (10)

Q.4 Give a two-part definition of the term Utterance. (10)

Q.5 Define the terms Proposition and Theory. (10)

Q.6 What do the writers mean when they say: (10)

‘utterance as being tokens of sentences, phrases or single words’.

Q.7 How would you comment on the following statement: (15)

‘One important characteristic of the linguistic approach towards the study of
Language is that it is not concerned merely with the written language, but also with
the spoken language’.

Q.8 What is different between semantics as studied by linguists and semantics studied
by philosopher and logicians? (15)

Q.9 What do you understand by the terms Sense and Reference? (10)

1
 ASSIGNMENT No. 2
(Reading Passages 7–12) Total Marks: 100

Q.1 Explain briefly the following terms: (25)

 Discourse Analysis
 Communicative act
 Rules of use
 Contextual appropriacy

Q.2 How would you comment on the following statement: (25)

‘The world is one of the basic units of semantics, yet there are difficulties’.

Q.3 How would you demonstrate with at least five examples that: (25)
‘Every expression that has meaning has sense, but not very expression has
reference’.

Q.4 Refer to the tutorial group activity given at the end of the reading passage 4 in the
guide. (25)
‘Construct a list of lexemes in the field CLASSROOM. Construct that list to form a
tree diagram’.

ASSIGNMENT No. 3
(Reading Passages 13–18) Total Marks: 100

Q.1 Read the following and point out the Locutionary, Illocutionary and
Perlocutionary acts involved: (20)
‘John and Harry are walking across a field. Harry sees a large dong bounding
towards them, growing and showing its teeth. He shouts ‘Quick! Up that free!’
Harry sees what is about to happen, they both shin up the free’.

Q.2 What is the common concern of Linguists, Ethnographers, Anthropologists and

Psychologists? (20)

Q.3 Define and describe Sinclair’s categories of discourse. (20)

Q.4 Explain how a Communicative syllabus is different from a Grammatical syllabus.(20)

Q.5 What do these terms mean? Illustrate your answer with examples: (20)
 Conversational turns
 Conversation maneuvers

2
 ASSIGNMENT No. 4
This assignment is more of a project or research work. You have to write a formal report
and give a presentation in your tutorial session.

 40 marks will be given on the written report. Please bear in mind that your written
assignment / report must be written following conventions of formal writing, Read
the booklet “How to Write formal Reports and give Presentations:
A Guide for TEFL students” carefully.
 60 marks will be given for your oral presentation. We will once again advise you to
be prepared and confident.

Choose any one topic from the two given.

1. Discourse analysis is the name we give to communicative study that seeks to

understand how conversation or talk functions. Take an example of a conversation
or a talk and arrive at an interesting analysis. To accomplish this purpose, you will
practicing the technical and analytic skills that comprise discourse analysis by
listening, transcribing, and finally analyzing.

Now decide on the conversation you are going to analyse. The conversation or talk
can occur in a store with a salesperson, in the doctor’s office; among family
members or friends; in political and workplace meetings; and on the telephone,
basically choose a day-to-day life interaction.

Listen to the conversation or talk, transcribe and analyse it on the lines as who the
people are, their relationships, and the content of their conversation and develop an
analysis of the conversation as a communicative event.

2. This question is concerned with aspects in Semantics. Demonstrate with examples

meanings expressed by speakers and meanings expressed by words, phrases and
sentences.