A Christmas Gift from Santa Claus
For Students Preparing for UGC NET Folk Literature. Jan 3, 2026 | Code 71
Syllabus of UGC NET Folk Literature (Paper 2)
Unit-wise MCQs
UNIT 5: THEORIES OF FOLKLORE II (DIACHRONIC)
Q1. Synchronic approaches study folklore by focusing on
(A) Historical origin
(B) Evolution over time
(C) Structure and meaning at a given time
(D) Diffusion routes
Correct Answer: (C)
Q2. Structural approaches in folklore are influenced by
(A) Darwinism
(B) Linguistics
(C) Marxism
(D) Romanticism
Correct Answer: (B)
Q3. Ferdinand de Saussure’s theory emphasized language as
(A) Historical record
(B) Social institution
(C) System of signs
(D) Individual expression
Correct Answer: (C)
Q4. Saussure distinguished between
(A) Text and context
(B) Langue and parole
(C) Myth and ritual
(D) Signifier and symbol
Correct Answer: (B)
Q5. In Saussurean theory, “langue” refers to
(A) Individual speech act
(B) Abstract language system
(C) Written text
(D) Performance
Correct Answer: (B)
Q6. “Parole” in Saussure’s model refers to
(A) Language system
(B) Collective grammar
(C) Individual speech act
(D) Mythic structure
Correct Answer: (C)
Q7. Vladimir Propp’s analysis of folktales focused on
(A) Characters
(B) Motifs
(C) Functions
(D) Rituals
Correct Answer: (C)
Q8. Propp identified how many functions in folktales?
(A) 12
(B) 21
(C) 31
(D) 45
Correct Answer: (C)
Q9. Propp’s method is described as
(A) Diachronic
(B) Structural-syntagmatic
(C) Functionalist
(D) Psychological
Correct Answer: (B)
Q10. Propp analyzed Russian folktales to study
(A) Meaning
(B) Narrative structure
(C) Performance context
(D) Symbolism
Correct Answer: (B)
Q11. The order of Propp’s functions is
(A) Random
(B) Fixed
(C) Performer-dependent
(D) Culturally relative
Correct Answer: (B)
Q12. Propp distinguished between functions and
(A) Symbols
(B) Motifs
(C) Characters
(D) Performances
Correct Answer: (C)
Q13. Syntagmatic structuralism focuses on
(A) Vertical relationships
(B) Sequential order
(C) Historical origin
(D) Cultural diffusion
Correct Answer: (B)
Q14. Paradigmatic structuralism is associated with
(A) Propp
(B) Malinowski
(C) Lévi-Strauss
(D) Freud
Correct Answer: (C)
Q15. Claude Lévi-Strauss viewed myths as
(A) Historical accounts
(B) Symbolic systems
(C) Psychological fantasies
(D) Ritual scripts
Correct Answer: (B)
Q16. Lévi-Strauss analyzed myths using
(A) Linear structure
(B) Binary oppositions
(C) Narrative functions
(D) Performance theory
Correct Answer: (B)
Q17. Paradigmatic analysis emphasizes
(A) Sequence
(B) Contrast and opposition
(C) Historical change
(D) Diffusion
Correct Answer: (B)
Q18. Lévi-Strauss was influenced by
(A) Marx
(B) Freud
(C) Saussure
(D) Frazer
Correct Answer: (C)
Q19. Structuralism treats folklore as
(A) Social behaviour
(B) Textual artifact
(C) System of relations
(D) Historical survival
Correct Answer: (C)
Q20. A major criticism of structuralism is that it
(A) Ignores text
(B) Ignores context and performance
(C) Lacks theory
(D) Rejects language
Correct Answer: (B)
Q21. Functional approaches focus on
(A) Origin of folklore
(B) Meaning in performance
(C) Social role of folklore
(D) Narrative structure
Correct Answer: (C)
Q22. Bronislaw Malinowski viewed myth as
(A) False belief
(B) Entertainment
(C) Social charter
(D) Literary art
Correct Answer: (C)
Q23. Malinowski emphasized the study of folklore in
(A) Archives
(B) Field context
(C) Textual form
(D) Written tradition
Correct Answer: (B)
Q24. Radcliffe-Brown viewed folklore as part of
(A) Individual psychology
(B) Social structure
(C) Linguistic system
(D) Mythic imagination
Correct Answer: (B)
Q25. Emile Durkheim associated folklore with
(A) Collective consciousness
(B) Individual mind
(C) Literary symbolism
(D) Performance context
Correct Answer: (A)
Q26. Symbolic functionalism is associated with
(A) Frazer
(B) Lévi-Strauss
(C) Clifford Geertz
(D) Propp
Correct Answer: (C)
Q27. Clifford Geertz viewed culture as
(A) Biological instinct
(B) System of symbols
(C) Economic structure
(D) Literary canon
Correct Answer: (B)
Q28. Victor Turner’s work focused on
(A) Structural linguistics
(B) Ritual and liminality
(C) Diffusion
(D) Evolution
Correct Answer: (B)
Q29. Liminality refers to
(A) Final ritual stage
(B) Transitional phase in ritual
(C) Fixed social status
(D) Performance text
Correct Answer: (B)
Q30. Turner expanded van Gennep’s concept of
(A) Binary opposition
(B) Rites of passage
(C) Myth-ritual theory
(D) Structuralism
Correct Answer: (B)
Q31. Psychological approaches focus on
(A) Society
(B) Language
(C) Human mind
(D) Performance
Correct Answer: (C)
Q32. Sigmund Freud interpreted folklore through
(A) Symbolic anthropology
(B) Collective consciousness
(C) Psychoanalysis
(D) Structuralism
Correct Answer: (C)
Q33. Freud linked folklore symbols with
(A) Ritual roles
(B) Unconscious desires
(C) Social function
(D) Performance
Correct Answer: (B)
Q34. Carl Jung’s approach emphasized
(A) Personal unconscious
(B) Collective unconscious
(C) Language system
(D) Ritual sequence
Correct Answer: (B)
Q35. Jung’s archetypes are
(A) Cultural rules
(B) Universal symbolic patterns
(C) Historical survivals
(D) Narrative functions
Correct Answer: (B)
Q36. Jung differed from Freud by stressing
(A) Sexuality
(B) Social order
(C) Collective symbolism
(D) Ritual practice
Correct Answer: (C)
Q37. Jacques Lacan reinterpreted Freud through
(A) Anthropology
(B) Linguistics
(C) Marxism
(D) Feminism
Correct Answer: (B)
Q38. Lacan emphasized the role of
(A) Ritual
(B) Symbolic order
(C) Performance
(D) Diffusion
Correct Answer: (B)
Q39. Contextual approaches emphasize
(A) Text alone
(B) Historical origin
(C) Performance situation
(D) Mythic structure
Correct Answer: (C)
Q40. “Verbal art as performance” is associated with
(A) Propp
(B) Dell Hymes
(C) Frazer
(D) Freud
Correct Answer: (B)
Q41. Dell Hymes stressed
(A) Grammar
(B) Communicative competence
(C) Structural order
(D) Ritual origin
Correct Answer: (B)
Q42. Roman Jakobson proposed the
(A) Performance theory
(B) Functions of language model
(C) Myth-ritual theory
(D) Diffusion model
Correct Answer: (B)
Q43. Jakobson’s model includes how many language functions?
(A) 4
(B) 5
(C) 6
(D) 7
Correct Answer: (C)
Q44. Oral-Formulaic Theory is associated with
(A) Propp
(B) Parry and Lord
(C) Lévi-Strauss
(D) Geertz
Correct Answer: (B)
Q45. Oral-Formulaic Theory explains
(A) Written composition
(B) Improvised oral composition
(C) Structural meaning
(D) Ritual symbolism
Correct Answer: (B)
Q46. Formulae in oral tradition help performers
(A) Fix texts
(B) Improvise during performance
(C) Avoid memory
(D) Eliminate variation
Correct Answer: (B)
Q47. Lauri Honko’s concept of “multiforms” refers to
(A) Errors
(B) Co-existing variants
(C) Degraded texts
(D) Ritual stages
Correct Answer: (B)
Q48. Contextual approaches reject the idea that meaning is
(A) Fixed
(B) Social
(C) Performative
(D) Negotiated
Correct Answer: (A)
Q49. Poststructural approaches question the idea of
(A) Meaning
(B) Stable meaning
(C) Performance
(D) Context
Correct Answer: (B)
Q50. Poststructuralism emphasizes
(A) Fixed structure
(B) Play of meanings
(C) Historical origin
(D) Social function
Correct Answer: (B)
Q51. Paul Ricoeur is associated with
(A) Structuralism
(B) Theories of interpretation
(C) Functionalism
(D) Evolutionism
Correct Answer: (B)
Q52. Hermeneutics deals with
(A) Collection of folklore
(B) Interpretation of meaning
(C) Performance analysis
(D) Structural form
Correct Answer: (B)
Q53. Deconstruction is associated with
(A) Derrida
(B) Frazer
(C) Malinowski
(D) Propp
Correct Answer: (A)
Q54. Derrida challenged the idea of
(A) Language
(B) Binary oppositions
(C) Textual hierarchy
(D) Stable center of meaning
Correct Answer: (D)
Q55. Foucault’s theories relate folklore to
(A) Ritual
(B) Power and discourse
(C) Myth origin
(D) Performance
Correct Answer: (B)
Q56. Gender theories in folklore focus on
(A) Textual form
(B) Power relations and representation
(C) Historical diffusion
(D) Narrative structure
Correct Answer: (B)
Q57. Feminist folklore studies aim to
(A) Eliminate folklore
(B) Recover women’s voices
(C) Promote structuralism
(D) Focus on ritual only
Correct Answer: (B)
Q58. Gender and genre studies examine
(A) Language structure
(B) How gender shapes folklore forms
(C) Ritual origin
(D) Diffusion patterns
Correct Answer: (B)
Q59. Queer theory challenges
(A) Oral tradition
(B) Normative gender identities
(C) Structural analysis
(D) Performance
Correct Answer: (B)
Q60. Semiotic approaches treat folklore as
(A) Cultural survival
(B) Sign system
(C) Historical product
(D) Ritual script
Correct Answer: (B)
Q61. Charles Sanders Peirce contributed to
(A) Diffusionism
(B) Semiotics
(C) Functionalism
(D) Evolutionism
Correct Answer: (B)
Q62. Peirce’s sign model includes
(A) Signifier and signified
(B) Icon, index, symbol
(C) Text and context
(D) Langue and parole
Correct Answer: (B)
Q63. Semiotic analysis focuses on
(A) Meaning-making processes
(B) Historical origin
(C) Performance sequence
(D) Social function only
Correct Answer: (A)
Q64. Discourse analysis studies folklore as
(A) Fixed text
(B) Communication in context
(C) Historical artifact
(D) Ritual survival
Correct Answer: (B)
Q65. Synchronic approaches differ from diachronic because they focus on
(A) Past
(B) Origin
(C) Present structure and meaning
(D) Evolution
Correct Answer: (C)
Q66. Structuralism influenced folklore studies by introducing
(A) Historical ranking
(B) Linguistic models
(C) Colonial categories
(D) Evolutionism
Correct Answer: (B)
Q67. Functionalism explains folklore by asking
(A) Where did it come from?
(B) What does it do in society?
(C) How old is it?
(D) Who created it?
Correct Answer: (B)
Q68. Psychological approaches interpret folklore as
(A) Social rule
(B) Expression of unconscious
(C) Ritual performance
(D) Textual form
Correct Answer: (B)
Q69. Contextual approaches emphasize meaning as
(A) Fixed
(B) Performer-controlled
(C) Emerging in interaction
(D) Universal
Correct Answer: (C)
Q70. Postmodern approaches reject
(A) Theory
(B) Grand narratives
(C) Interpretation
(D) Context
Correct Answer: (B)
Q71. Synchronic theories focus on folklore as
(A) Product
(B) Process
(C) Historical residue
(D) Degraded culture
Correct Answer: (B)
Q72. Structuralism is criticized for neglecting
(A) Language
(B) Performance context
(C) Text
(D) Symbols
Correct Answer: (B)
Q73. Functionalism is criticized for overemphasizing
(A) Meaning
(B) Social harmony
(C) Structure
(D) History
Correct Answer: (B)
Q74. Psychological theories are critiqued for
(A) Ignoring society
(B) Over-universalizing symbols
(C) Neglecting mind
(D) Rejecting theory
Correct Answer: (B)
Q75. Contextual approaches improved folklore studies by
(A) Ignoring text
(B) Integrating text, context, and performance
(C) Rejecting theory
(D) Eliminating structure
Correct Answer: (B)
Q76. Semiotic approaches view folklore meaning as
(A) Fixed
(B) Produced through signs
(C) Ritual-bound
(D) Historical
Correct Answer: (B)
Q77. Discourse analysis connects folklore with
(A) Power relations
(B) Evolution
(C) Diffusion
(D) Ritual origin
Correct Answer: (A)
Q78. Synchronic approaches became prominent
(A) Before 1900
(B) Mid-20th century onward
(C) During Romanticism
(D) In medieval period
Correct Answer: (B)
Q79. Synchronic theories complement diachronic theories by explaining
(A) Origin
(B) Meaning and function
(C) Diffusion
(D) History
Correct Answer: (B)
Q80. Structuralism and functionalism differ mainly in focus on
(A) Language vs society
(B) Past vs present
(C) Origin vs diffusion
(D) Text vs archive
Correct Answer: (A)
Q81. Jung’s archetypes are considered
(A) Culture-specific
(B) Universal
(C) Historical
(D) Linguistic
Correct Answer: (B)
Q82. Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory emphasizes
(A) Biology
(B) Language and the unconscious
(C) Ritual
(D) Performance
Correct Answer: (B)
Q83. Poststructural theories argue that texts
(A) Have single meaning
(B) Have unstable meanings
(C) Are meaningless
(D) Are ritual-based
Correct Answer: (B)
Q84. Feminist folklore studies critique
(A) Gender neutrality of folklore
(B) Performance context
(C) Structuralism
(D) Orality
Correct Answer: (A)
Q85. Gender perspectives reveal folklore as
(A) Neutral
(B) Power-laden
(C) Fixed
(D) Apolitical
Correct Answer: (B)
Q86. Queer theory in folklore questions
(A) Narrative form
(B) Normativity
(C) Performance
(D) Ritual
Correct Answer: (B)
Q87. Semiotic approaches broaden folklore studies by
(A) Eliminating culture
(B) Connecting signs and meaning
(C) Rejecting performance
(D) Ignoring context
Correct Answer: (B)
Q88. Synchronic approaches treat folklore primarily as
(A) Historical survival
(B) Meaningful system
(C) Degraded culture
(D) Origin-based artifact
Correct Answer: (B)
Q89. Structural analysis is best suited for studying
(A) Performance dynamics
(B) Narrative patterns
(C) Social function
(D) Historical spread
Correct Answer: (B)
Q90. Functional analysis is best suited for studying
(A) Narrative sequence
(B) Social role of folklore
(C) Linguistic structure
(D) Myth origin
Correct Answer: (B)
Q91. Contextual analysis is best suited for studying
(A) Text alone
(B) Interaction of performer and audience
(C) Origin
(D) Diffusion
Correct Answer: (B)
Q92. Postmodern approaches emphasize
(A) Stability
(B) Fragmentation and plurality
(C) Evolution
(D) Canon
Correct Answer: (B)
Q93. Semiotic theory connects folklore with
(A) Biology
(B) Communication
(C) Economy
(D) Politics only
Correct Answer: (B)
Q94. Discourse analysis treats folklore as
(A) Artifact
(B) Communicative practice
(C) Historical residue
(D) Ritual text
Correct Answer: (B)
Q95. Synchronic theories focus on
(A) Past stages
(B) Present meaning
(C) Origin
(D) Diffusion
Correct Answer: (B)
Q96. Synchronic approaches became necessary because diachronic theories
(A) Were unethical
(B) Ignored meaning and function
(C) Rejected theory
(D) Overused fieldwork
Correct Answer: (B)
Q97. Modern folklore studies combine
(A) Only synchronic
(B) Only diachronic
(C) Both approaches
(D) Neither
Correct Answer: (C)
Q98. Unit 5 emphasizes folklore as
(A) Historical survival
(B) Meaningful cultural system
(C) Degraded culture
(D) Colonial data
Correct Answer: (B)
Q99. Synchronic theories help explain
(A) Where folklore came from
(B) How folklore works
(C) How folklore spreads
(D) When folklore began
Correct Answer: (B)
Q100. Unit 5 of the syllabus primarily focuses on
(A) Origins of folklore
(B) Structural, functional, psychological, and contextual theories
(C) Indian folk practices
(D) Fieldwork methods
Correct Answer: (B)