English In India: Important Questions

Here are some important MCQS from Chapter 6: English in India, from the perspective of UGC NET English Literature. The answers to all the questions have been provided at the end of this page.

A. “Language is nothing but a set of human habits, the purpose of which is a given expression to thoughts and feelings and especially to import them to others.” – This definition of language has been given by:

1. Jespersen
2. Vivekanand
3. Noam Chomskey
4. Ferdinand de Sassure

B. Language is a combination of a) sounds, b) words, c) structures, d) society. Select the right combination:

1. a and b
2. b and c
3. a, c, and d
4. a, b, and c

C. Who among the following said that “The English language is ours by historic necessity”?

1. Jawahar Lal Nehru
2. M.K. Gandhi
3. R. Mohan Roy
4. None of these

D. The sentence pattern in English is:

1. subject – object – verb
2. subject – verb – object
3. object – subject – verb
4. object – verb – subject

E. However, in view of the slow progress of Hindi, in 1963, the parliament had to pass an Act, making English as the associate official language of India for an/a _____

1. definite period
2. indefinite period
3. decade
4. none of these

F. Who wanted to create a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals and in intellect?

1. Lord Dalhauji
2. Lord Kenning
3. Willliam Bentic
4. Lord Macauley

G. He was a professor of linguistics who coined the term ‘World English’.

1. Michael Halliday
2. M.S. Prabhu
3. Braj Kachru
4. C.K. Ogden

H. English is also the state language of two states in India named:

a. Meghalaya b. Tamil Nadu c. Nagaland d. Kerala

Select the right combination –

1. a and b
2. b and c
3. a and c
4. a, b, and c

I. English is in India today a symbol of people’s aspiration for quality in education and fuller participation in national and international life. Its colonial origins now forgotten or irrelevant, its initial role in independence India, tailored to high education now felt to be insufficiently inclusively socially and linguistically, the current state of English stems from its overwhelming presence on the world stage and the reflection of this in the national arena.

1. NCERT
2. Kothari Commission
3. BBC India
4. Ram Mohan Roy

J. Who proclaimed English as the official language and by the end of the 15th c Law Books were made available in English language?

1. King Henry IV
2. King Henry V
3. King Henry VI
4. None of these

K. Three agents of modern English education in India:

a. The British Government (East India Company)

b. Christian Missionaries

c. Indian Intellectuals and Reformers

d. Merchant of East India Company

Select the right combination –

1. a and b
2. a, b, and c
3. a, c, and d
4. a, b, c, and d

L. Sanskrit college was started in Varanasi by Jonathan Duncan for the study of Hindu philosophy and laws in the year:

1. 1789
2. 1790
3. 1791
4. 1792

M. The Charter Act/ East India Company act of 1813 passed by the British parliament renewed the East India company’s charter for another ______ grant for education was the first step towards education being made an objective of the government.

1. 10 years with Rs 1000000
2. 10 years with Rs. 200000
3. 15 years with Rs. 10000
4. 20 years with Rs. 100000

N. In 1835, it was decided that western sciences and literature would be imparted to Indians through the medium of English by ______ government.

a. Lord William Bentick’s b. Lord Macaulay c. William Bentic d. Zachary Macaulay

choose the right combination –

1. a and b
2. a, b, and c
3. a, c, and d
4. a, b, c, and d

O. Who was the chairman of the General committee of Public Instruction 17th July, 1823 –

1. William Bentick
2. Thomas Babington Macaulay
3. H.T. Prinsep
4. H. H. Wilson

P. The English language set foot in India with the granting of the East India Company charter by

1. Queen victoria
2. Queen Elizabeth I
3. James I
4. Queen Mary

Q. “A single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia”, is a statement by –

1. William Bentinck
2. Thomas Babington Macaulay
3. H.T. Prinsep
4. H.H. Wilson

R. Which among the following is not true regarding Wood’s Dispatch, 1854:

a. An education department in every province

b. The government should always support education for women.

c. At least one government school per state

d. Training in second language

select the right combination –

1. a and b
2. a, b, and c
3. c and d
4. a, b, c, and d

S.. Hunger Education Commission was a landmark commission appointed by

1. Thomas Babington Macaulay
2. Viceroy Lord Ripon
3. W.W. Hunter
4. None of these

T. Hunter commission recommended two division of secondary education –

1. literary up to university
2. vocational for commercial career
3. 1 and 2
4. none of these

U. how many members are there in Mudaliar commission?

1. a member secretary, an associate secretary, and fifteen members
2. a ember secretary, an associate secretary and fourteen members
3. a member secretary, an associate secretary, and twelve members
4. a member secretary, an associate secretary, and sixteen members

V. What was the purpose of appointing Mudaliar commission?

1. to bring changes in the present education system and make it better for the nation.
2. increasing productivity; promoting social and national integration; education and modernisation and developing social, moral and spiritual values.
3. 1 and 2
4. none of these

W. The Travels of Dean Mahomet is regarded as the first book to be written in English by an Indian in ____

1. 1791
2. 1792
3. 1793
4. 1794

X. With _____ help, Ram Mohan Roy gained his mastery over the English language.

1. Digby’s
2. Macauley’s
3. Macmillan’s
4. All of the above

ANSWERS:

A. 1. Jespersen

B. 4. a, B, and C (sound, word, structure – phonology, morphology, and syntax)

C. Jawahar Lal Nehru

D. Subject – verb – object

E. indefinite period

F.Lord Macauley

G. Braj Kachru

[Braj Kachru was a professor of Linguistics who coined the term “World English”. World English refers to the fact that the English language has been used a a global means of communication in numerous dialects worldwide. It also refers to the movement towards an ‘international standard’ of the English language. ]

H. Meghalaya and Nagaland

I. NCERT

J. King Henry V

K. 2. The British government, Christian Missionaries, Indian intellectuals and reformers.

L. 1791

M. 4. 20 years with Rs. 100000

N.1. Lord William Bentick’s and Lord Macaulay

O. Thomas Babington Macaulay

P. Queen Elizabeth I

Q. Thomas Babington Macaulay

R. 3. c and d

S. Viceroy Lord Ripon

T. 3. 1 and 2 – literary up to university and vocational for commercial career

U. 1. a member secretary, an associate secretary, and fifteen members

V. 3. 1 and 2

W. 1793

X. Digby’s