| TRUE | if the statement agrees with the information |
| FALSE | if the statement contradicts the information |
| NOT GIVEN | if there is no information on this |
Languages around the world are dying off at a tremendous rate. Linguists estimate that between 20 per cent and 50 per cent of the 6000 languages now spoken are no longer being taught to children, and will become extinct in the next century. According to linguists at the AAAS, the loss of language is bad not only for linguists but for all humanity. "The world would be less beautiful and less interesting without linguistic diversity," said Michael Krauss of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. "I challenge anyone to prove to me we are better off without linguistic diversity."
Languages are dying as improved transport and telecommunications bring different peoples into closer contact, and speakers of minority tongues abandon them for the languages of more dominant cultures. Sometimes the switch is voluntary, but often it is forced. Earlier this century, for example, American Indian schoolchildren were punished for speaking their native tongue.
The most basic reason why linguistic diversity should be preserved is that language helps people to retain their culture. But speakers cited several other good reasons too. "As linguists we need linguistic diversity," said Kenneth Hale of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We wouldn't even know what questions to ask with only one language."
Linguists are especially interested in the rules of grammar that seem common to all languages, because they provide important clues to how the mind works. As an example, Hale pointed to the distinction between singular and plural forms, such as "cat" and "cats". Trying to figure out the deeper rule that allows this distinction, a linguist who knew only English might come up with two possible explanations. One is that built into the brain there is a basic binary distinction between "one" and "more than one". Alternatively, there might be in-built distinctions between one subject, two, three or more. In English, it is impossible to tell which of these processes is at work. But by studying many different languages, linguists find the common factor is the binary distinction.
Hale also argued that language should be seen as "the product of human intellectual toil" rather than something that evolves unaided. For example, he studied a language called Damin, an offshoot of Lardil, an Australian Aboriginal tongue. Damin was a special language spoken only by young men in the first few years after their initiation. It was an extremely abstract, simplified form of Lardil, which could be taught to initiates in a few hours. Hale said the genius of Damin was the way it broke Lardil down into its most basic concepts. Lardil, for example, has many words for "fish" while Damin has only two - one meaning "bony fish", and one meaning "cartilaginous fish". This shows that for Lardil speakers, there is a fundamental distinction between the two.
In a similar vein, Lardil has about 90 words to cover pronouns such as "me" and "you" and determiners such as "this" and "that". But in Damin, these are boiled down to two words, "niaa" and "niuu", meaning "I" and "not-I". "I hope you'll realise this is a very big invention," said Hale. "It's not just joking around." It is as if an expert linguist had sat down to make a basic study of the Lardil language, he said. Unfortunately, Damin is no longer spoken, and Lardil is dying out.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Question Focus: Contradiction - Krauss argues the opposite of the statement
Correct Answer: FALSE
Why this is correct: The statement says Krauss feels the world does not need many languages. But Krauss clearly argues the opposite. He says the world would be less beautiful and less interesting without linguistic diversity and challenges the idea that we are better off without it.
Passage Reference: "The world would be less beautiful and less interesting without linguistic diversity," said Michael Krauss of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. "I challenge anyone to prove to me we are better off without linguistic diversity."
Common Mistake: Students sometimes miss the negative meaning and think this is NOT GIVEN. But the passage clearly states the opposite view, which makes this a Contradiction trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'better off without linguistic diversity' = Statement: 'does not need so many languages'
Tips: When a statement says someone believes X, always find that person's exact words and check if they support or oppose X.
Key Vocabulary:
- linguistic diversity = many different languages
- challenge = strongly question
Question Focus: Missing information about preference
Correct Answer: NOT GIVEN
Passage Reference: Earlier this century, for example, American Indian schoolchildren were punished for speaking their native tongue.
Why this is correct: The passage tells us that American Indian schoolchildren were punished for speaking their native tongue. It does not say whether they preferred to speak it or not. The passage does not discuss their feelings or preferences.
Common Mistake: Students often mark this FALSE because punishment sounds negative. But punishment does not tell us about preference. This is a Not Given trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'punished for speaking their native tongue' = Statement: 'prefer to speak their mother tongue'
Tips: Do not guess feelings or opinions. If the passage does not mention preference, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
Key Vocabulary:
- native tongue = mother tongue
- punished = given a penalty
Question Focus: Wrong person - belief not linked to Hale
Correct Answer: NOT GIVEN
Passage Reference: The most basic reason why linguistic diversity should be preserved is that language helps people to retain their culture. But speakers cited several other good reasons too. "As linguists we need linguistic diversity," said Kenneth Hale of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Why this is correct: The passage says that language helps people retain their culture, but it does not say that Kenneth Hale personally believes this. Hale is quoted talking about the needs of linguists, not about culture. The passage does not link this belief directly to him.
Common Mistake: Students often connect the culture sentence to Hale because it is nearby. This is a Context shift trap - the idea is in the passage, but not said by that person.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'language helps people to retain their culture' = Statement: 'keep different languages to maintain different cultures'
Tips: In TFNG, always check who is speaking. Do not assign ideas to the wrong person.
Key Vocabulary:
- retain = keep
- preserved = protected
Question Focus: Synonym match - 'how the mind works' = 'how people think'
Correct Answer: TRUE
Passage Reference: Linguists are especially interested in the rules of grammar that seem common to all languages, because they provide important clues to how the mind works.
Why this is correct: The passage clearly says that rules of grammar provide important clues to how the mind works. This matches the idea of understanding how people think. The meaning is the same even though the words are different.
Common Mistake: Some students look for the exact words 'how people think' and miss the paraphrase. This is a Synonym match.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'how the mind works' = Statement: 'how people think'
Tips: If the meaning matches but the words are different, it is often TRUE through paraphrasing.
Key Vocabulary:
- clues = hints
- mind = brain
Question Focus: Reverse meaning - relationship between languages is inverted
Correct Answer: FALSE
Passage Reference: Damin was a special language spoken only by young men in the first few years after their initiation. It was an extremely abstract, simplified form of Lardil, which could be taught to initiates in a few hours.
Why this is correct: The statement says Lardil is simplified from Damin, but the passage says the opposite. It clearly states that Damin was a simplified form of Lardil. This directly contradicts the statement.
Common Mistake: Students sometimes mix up which language came from which. This is a Reverse meaning trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'simplified form of Lardil' = Statement: 'Lardil is a simplified version of Damin'
Tips: When two things are compared, double-check the direction of the relationship.
Key Vocabulary:
- simplified = made simpler
- form = version
Question Focus: Contradiction based on current status
Correct Answer: FALSE
Passage Reference: Unfortunately, Damin is no longer spoken, and Lardil is dying out.
Why this is correct: The passage says Damin is no longer spoken, which means it is not used at all. Lardil is dying out, but it is still used. So Lardil is used more than Damin, not less.
Common Mistake: Students see both languages disappearing and assume they are the same. This is a Contradiction trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'no longer spoken' and 'dying out' = Statement: 'used less'
Tips: Pay attention to degree. 'No longer spoken' is stronger than 'dying out'.
Key Vocabulary:
- no longer = not anymore
- dying out = disappearing
General Tips:
- TFNG questions follow passage order. Use the location of the previous answer to find the next one faster.
- To choose between FALSE and NOT GIVEN, ask: does the passage clearly say the opposite? If not, choose NOT GIVEN.
- Do not add your own ideas or world knowledge. Only use what is written in the passage.
- Watch for paraphrases. Different words can have the same meaning.
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