PrepTest 125, Section 4, Question 12
Linguist: The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that a society's(36 more words not shown)
If the linguist's statements are(11 more words not shown)
- AThe Sapir-Whorf hypothesis(3 more words not shown)
- BOnly the hypotheses(5 more words not shown)
- COnly verifiable hypotheses(4 more words not shown)
- DWe do not(9 more words not shown)
- EOnly the hypotheses(7 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
That sounds plausible, but how would we find out whether it's true?
The idea is that the language people speak influences how they see the world. I can imagine language affecting the distinctions people habitually make. But imagining how an idea could work isn't the same as verifying it. Even comparing speakers of different languages could leave us wondering whether some other difference between the groups explains what we observe.
What we’re looking for
The linguist's claim is about that testing problem. It isn't clear that this hypothesis could be tested, so it lacks the verifiability attributed to hypotheses in physical science. For the question asking what is supported, I want a conclusion about what we know. The passage gives us uncertainty about the hypothesis, not a verdict that it's false or a rule that we should stop considering it.
Working the answers
- A
Not being able to verify a hypothesis doesn't establish that it is probably false. The idea could be true even if we don't know how to test it. The linguist criticizes its verifiability without giving evidence against the relationship it proposes.
- B
Physical science is the comparison here, not an exhaustive list of everything that can be verified. The passage identifies a problem with this hypothesis. It doesn't rule out verifiable hypotheses in every other field, or even make that claim about all linguistic hypotheses.
- C
We never get a rule about which hypotheses deserve serious consideration. Someone could think an idea deserves attention precisely because figuring out how to test it would be worthwhile. The passage doesn't settle that issue. C adds a recommendation to a discussion of verification.
- DCorrect
We don't know whether the hypothesis is true or false. That is the uncertainty supported by the linguist's concern: we have the proposed connection between language and world view, but no clear way to test it. D doesn't mistake the lack of verification for evidence that the hypothesis is wrong.
- E
This adds both an exclusive category and a recommendation. The linguist doesn't say physical science contains the only worthwhile hypotheses, and doesn't tell us to dismiss other fields. A comparison about verifiability is not a command about what deserves to be taken seriously.
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