Assignment Code: BEGLA-137 / TMA / 2022-23

Course Code: BEGLA-137

Assignment Name: Language through Literature

Year: 2022 -2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Answer all questions.

Q 1. Discuss the relationship between Language and Literature. Also comment on how the literary language is different from ordinary language. (20)

Ans) Communication relies on language as its medium. When we discuss literature, it contributes something to the aesthetic value of the language. Reading becomes more interesting because of exposure to literature. In general, writers intend to convey a message to the reader through the medium of poetry, drama, or some other form of literature. If we are unable to communicate our thoughts to another individual face-to-face, we will convey our thoughts to them in an indirect manner by means of a song, a poem, a proverb, or a dialogue. To put it plainly, the various ornaments of literature are the forms of language. With the proper embellishment of literature, language will either become more effective or interesting.

Not only are literature and language linked, but they are also inter-related to one another. Because literature is concretized using the mechanism that language provides, literature is considered to presuppose language. Therefore, it appears to be pointless to study. either the study of literature in which language does not play a significant role or the study of language in which literature does not feature prominently. According to this point of view, the relationship that exists between literature and language is one that can be very accurately described as symbiotic.

Work in literature is an organisation suitable for readers of all ages and levels of language, and it requires linguistic awareness to be read, understood, and appreciated. The process results in the student gaining significant practical experience.

As a result, language in the workplace is expressed through literature. Language is at the heart of literature, and literature is responsible for breathing life into language.

Literary Language and Ordinary Language

Ordinary language is the form of language that is used the most frequently by the public, whereas literary language is a more refined and figurative form of language that is frequently used in written works. The common, everyday usage of a particular language is referred to as its ordinary language. As a result, it is composed of everyday phrases and vocabulary, which enables anyone to understand what is being said. In other words, when people talk about ordinary language, they are referring to the language that the average person uses daily. In addition to that, it is broken down further into subcategories such as formal usage, informal usage, etc. In everyday speech, the use of language enhancers is relatively uncommon. But language enhancers such as alliteration, rhythm, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and other similar devices are always used in literary language. The way language is used varies greatly depending on the context in which it is used. Language usage forms can be broken down into several main branches, two of which are literary language and everyday language. The most common and everyday use of language is known as ordinary language, whereas literary language refers to a more figurative form of language that is frequently found in works of literature. The most important distinction that can be made between everyday language and literary language is context of usage. The usage of language can be broken down into two categories: literary language and everyday language. Therefore, these two modes of usage are present in virtually every language.

Q 2. Read the whole of the poem Baby Running Barefoot by D.H. Lawrence given below and try to answer the questions given at the end. (10)

When the white feet of the baby beat across the grass

The little white feet nod like white flowers in a wind,

They poise and run like puffs of wind that pass

Over water where the weeds are thinned.

And the sight of their white playing in the grass

Is winsome as a robin's song, so fluttering;

Or like two butterflies that settle on a glass

Cup for a moment, soft little wing-beats uttering.

And I wish that the baby would tack across here to me

Like a wind-shadow running on a pond, so she could

stand With two little bare white feet upon my knee

And I could feel her feet in either hand.

Cool as syringa buds in morning hours,

Or firm and silken as young peony flowers.

Q2. a) What is the picture that comes to your mind when you read the poem?

Ans) Association of Infancy with Innocence.

Q2. (b) Make a list of the similes used by the poet.

Ans) The list of similes are as follows:

1. white feet nod like white flowers. 2. run like ripples lapping across the water. 3. sight of their white play among the grass Is like a little robin’s song. 4. baby to wander hither to me

Like a wind-shadow wandering over the water. 5. Firm and silken like pink young peony flowers.

Q2. (c) How do the similes make the description more vivid to us?

Ans) The narrator uses similes and metaphors that describe the baby's feet by comparing them to aspects of the natural world such as butterflies, flowers, and water.

Q3. Insert appropriate modal auxiliaries in the blanks. The required meanings are given in brackets: (10)

Q3. i) You ............... do as you are told. (strong obligation: tone of command)

Ans) You must do as you are told.

Q3. ii) Children ...............be very noisy. (theoretical possibility)

Ans) Children may be very noisy.

Q3. iii) As a child, I. ............... recite the whole of Gita. (general ability in the past)

Ans) As a child, I would recite the whole of Gita.

Q3. iv) He ………..... be very annoyed with me to write a letter like that. (a necessary conclusion from evidence)

Ans) He would be very annoyed with me to write a letter like that.

Q3. v) He was so weak he ............. n't even raise his hand. (general ability in the past)

Ans) He was so weak he couldn't even raise his hand.

Q3. vi) You ................. consult a specialist if you want to. (permission)

Ans) You may consult a specialist if you want to.

Q3. vii) He ............... smoke heavily. (habit in the past)

Ans) He used to smoke heavily.

Q3. viii) He …………….. come tomorrow. (weak possibility)

Ans) He might come tomorrow.

Q3. ix) ‘ ……..... I order a coffee for you?’ (offer)

Ans) Can I order a coffee for you?’

Q3. x) ‘……....... you mind opening the door?’ (polite request)

Ans) ‘Would you mind opening the door.’

Q 4. Make five words using each prefix ‘pre’ and ‘non.’ (10)

Ans) Five words with prefix ‘pre’-

1. prejudice

2. preview

3. predict

4. prepare

5. precaution.

Five words with prefix ‘non’-

1. non-perishable

2. non-poisonous

3. non-stick

4. non-smoker

5. non-existent.

Q 5. Make five words using each suffix ‘ism’ and ‘ship.’ (10)

Ans) Five words using suffix ‘ism’ -

1. magnetism.

2. fanaticism.

3. feminism.

4. scepticism.

5. egoism.

Five words using suffix ‘ship’ –

1. Relationship

2. Membership

3. Leadership

4. Partnership

5. ownership

Q 6. Put the bracketed verb in the correct form in the following sentences and identify the verb phrase type: (10)

Q6. i) He is (sing). ______________

Ans) He is singing. (transitive verb type)

Q6. ii) Arun may be (expel). ___________

Ans) Arun may be expelled. (intransitive verb type)

Q6. iii) He has (accept) his mistake. _________

Ans) He has accepted his mistake. (passive verb type)

Q6. iv) You ought (accept) your mistake. _________

Ans) You ought to have accepted your mistake. (passive verb type)

Q6. v) Arun has been (watch) the game for two hours. _____________

Ans) Arun has been watching the game for two hours. (transitive verb type)

Q6. vi) This song has already been (sing) twice.__________ 

Ans) This song has already been sung twice. (passive verb type)

Q6. vii) As a young man, I used (walk) seven miles a day. ______________

Ans) As a young man, I was used to be walking seven miles a day. (passive verb type)

Q6. viii) He should have been (punish) for his carelessness. _________________

Ans) He should have been punished for his carelessness. (intransitive verb type)

Q6. ix) I was (lead) to believe that the matter had (be) settled._____________

Ans) I was led to believe that the matter had been settled. (passive verb type)

Q6. x) This programme is (be) watched by millions of people all over the country._______

Ans) This programme is being watched by millions of people all over the country. (transitive verb type)

Q 7. Read this passage from the story The Lost Child by Mulk Raj Anand and answer the questions given at the end. (5 x 6 = 30)

It was the festival of Spring. From the wintry shades of narrow lanes and alleys emerged a gaily clad humanity, thick as a crowd of bright-coloured rabbits issuing from a warren, and entering the flooded sea of sparkling silver sunshine outside the city gates, sped towards the fair. Some walked, some rode on horses, others sat, being carried in bamboo and bullock-carts. One little boy ran between his parent's legs, brimming over with life and laughter, as the joyous, smiling morning, with its open greetings and unashamed invitations to come away into the fields, full of flowers and songs.

“Come, child, come,” called his parents, as he lagged behind, arrested by the toys in the shops that lined the way.

He hurried towards his parents, his feet obedient to their call, his eyes still lingering on the receding toys. As he came to where they had stopped to wait for him, he could not suppress the desire of his heart, even though he well knew the old, cold stare of refusal in their eyes.

“I want that toy,” he pleaded

His father looked at him red-eyed in his familiar tyrant's way. His mother, melted by the free spirit of the day, was tender, and giving him her finger to catch, said;

“Look, child, what is before you.”

The faint disgust of the child's unfulfilled desire had hardly been quelled in the heavy, pouting sob of a breath, “M—o—th—e-r,” when the pleasure of what was before him filled him eager eyes. They had left the dusty road on which they had walked so far to wend its weary way circuitously to the north, and had entered a footpath in a field.

It was a flowering mustard-field, pale, pale, like melting gold, as it swept across miles and miles of even land, a river of yellow light, ebbing and falling with each fresh eddy of wild wind, and straying at places into broad, rich tributary streams, yet running in a constant sunny sweep towards the distant mirage of an ocean of silver light. Where it ended, on a side stood a dense group of low, mudwalled houses put into relief both by the lower forms of a denser crowd of yellow-robed men and women and by high-pitched sequence of whistling, creaking, squeaking, roaring, humming noises that rose from it, across the groves, to the blue-throated sky like the weird, strange sound of Siva’s mad laughter.

(a) What words and phrases in the opening paragraph suggest the festive mood of the crowd?

Ans) The following words suggest the festive mood of the crowd: One little boy ran between his parent's legs, brimming over with life and laughter, as the joyous, smiling morning, with its open greetings and unashamed invitations to come away into the fields, full of flowers and songs.

(b) In the first paragraph, what is the crowd of people compared to? What figure of speech is it?

Ans) The crowd of people are compared to: Thick as a crowd of bright-coloured rabbits issuing from a warren.

(c) Give the meanings of the following expressions:

i) a gaily clad humanity

Ans) Gaily clad humanity means brightly dressed people.

ii) lagged behind

Ans) Lagged behind means to fail to keep up with one's peers.

iii) receding toys

Ans) Anything that's receding is fading or moving backwards.

iv) red-eyed

Ans) Red-eyed means being angry to the point of system overload.

v) circuitously

Ans) Circuitously means in a way that is not straight or direct.

vi) put into relief

Ans) Put into relief means to cause something to stand out sharply or be vividly visible or noticeable.

(d) The mustard field is compared to a river of yellow light. Write the comparison in your own words.

Ans) It was a bowering mustard field, pale like melting gold as it swept across miles and miles of even land-a river of yellow liquid light, ebbing and falling with each fresh eddy of wild wind, and straying in places into broad rich tributary streams, yet running in a constant sunny sweep towards the distant mirage of an ocean of silver light.

(e) The whistling, creaking, squeaking, roaring, humming noises’ are likened to ‘Siva’s mad laughter. What does this comparison suggest?

Ans) The comparison suggests that where the river ended, on one side stood a cluster of low, mud-walled houses, thrown into relief by a dense crowd of yellow-robbed men and women from which arose a high-pitched sequence of whistling, creaking, squeaking, roaring, humming noises, sweeping across the groves to the blue-throated sky were like the weird, strange sound of Siva’s mad laughter.

(f) What literary device has the writer adopted in the use of words such as ‘whistling,’ ‘creaking’, ‘squeaking’, ‘roaring’ and ‘humming’?

Ans) The literary device the writer adopted in the use of words such as ‘whistling, creaking, squeaking, roaring and humming is Onomatopoeia a word which mimics the sound it represents. Onomatopoeias are used in poetry, comic books, advertising, and even in everyday speech.