Question:
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow, based solely on the passage.
An attempt to determine the number of languages in the world is affected by other factors. A new language do continue to be discovered even these days, as unexplored regions of the world begin to be opened up. The discovery does not usually take place straight away. Often there are similarities with an already known language which makes the investigators assume that what they have found is just a dialect of that language. Only after a considerable period of contact does it transpire that the speech is so different that it has to be considered a different language. It takes a language survey to establish the facts, and there are still many countries where such surveys are incomplete or have not even begun. The people may be known, but the identity of their language may not be. Because many such people are bilingual or multilingual, and converse with outsides in lingua franca, it may take a while before linguists come to realise that the there is an ethnic language there at all.
Question:
Which one of following is a way to establish the discovery of a new language?
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow, based solely on the passage.
An attempt to determine the number of languages in the world is affected by other factors. A new language do continue to be discovered even these days, as unexplored regions of the world begin to be opened up. The discovery does not usually take place straight away. Often there are similarities with an already known language which makes the investigators assume that what they have found is just a dialect of that language. Only after a considerable period of contact does it transpire that the speech is so different that it has to be considered a different language. It takes a language survey to establish the facts, and there are still many countries where such surveys are incomplete or have not even begun. The people may be known, but the identity of their language may not be. Because many such people are bilingual or multilingual, and converse with outsides in lingua franca, it may take a while before linguists come to realise that the there is an ethnic language there at all.
Question:
Which one of following is a way to establish the discovery of a new language?
Options:
- a) By establishing contact over a period of time with speakers of the language.
- b) By finding the similarities of the language with other languages.
- c) By comparing with the lingua franca of the region.
- d) By conducting a survey of all languages of the region.
- a) By establishing contact over a period of time with speakers of the language.
- b) By finding the similarities of the language with other languages.
- c) By comparing with the lingua franca of the region.
- d) By conducting a survey of all languages of the region.
correct answer : a)
Explanation:
The passage explains that only after a considerable period of contact does it become clear that the speech is different enough to be a new language. Hence, establishing contact over time with speakers helps discover new languages.
The passage explains that only after a considerable period of contact does it become clear that the speech is different enough to be a new language. Hence, establishing contact over time with speakers helps discover new languages.