PrepTest 120, Section 1, Question 14
Linguist: Regional dialects, many of which eventually become(43 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- ANo two local(9 more words not shown)
- BIn some regions(20 more words not shown)
- CA universal language(14 more words not shown)
- DWhen the unification(25 more words not shown)
- EAfter the unification(20 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A shared trade language sounds useful. But why must it develop regional versions?
The linguist explains dialects through local needs. People in different places may need different expressions because they communicate about different things. I can follow that account. My question is whether those local differences would reach this particular language.
What if everyone used the shared language only for international business, then used their existing local language with family and friends? The local conversations could keep producing local expressions without changing the language reserved for trade. We need a reason the proposed trade language would face different regional demands too.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for an assumption the argument requires. My initial concern is how regional usage gets into an international language. Look for something the linguist needs to connect the explanation of dialects with the predicted dialects in this new language.
Working the answers
- A
Every pair of local populations doesn't have to be different. Two neighboring populations might have the same needs while many other populations have different ones. The linguist predicts many regional dialects, not a unique dialect for every single population.
- B
Some people staying out of international trade doesn't determine what happens among the people using the trade language. Regional dialects could develop among those users whether or not other people also participate. We don't need a group of nonparticipants for the argument to work.
- C
The argument considers what happens when economic unification brings about the shared language. It doesn't require unification to be the only possible route to such a language. The language might also arise another way without changing the linguist's prediction about its later regional variations.
- D
New dialects wouldn't require old ones to disappear. People could retain their existing languages and dialects while developing regional versions of the trade language too. D adds a claim about replacement where the argument only needs development.
- ECorrect
This gives regional differences within international trade itself. Even if people reserve the new language for business, different local populations would still have different communicative needs when using it. That's the connection my concern was pointing toward.
Without such variation, the stated explanation—dialects arise in response to particular local needs—would provide no basis for predicting many dialects in this trade language. E doesn't tell us how every dialect must develop in the real world. It supplies the variation this argument relies on.
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