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by fruti_yum » Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:59 am
Efficiency and redundancy are contradictory characteristics of linguistic systems: however, they can be used together to achieve usefulness and reliability in communication. If a spoken language is completely efficient, then every possible permutation of its basic language sounds can be an understandable word. However, if the human auditory system is an imperfect receptor of sounds, then it is not true that every possible permutation of a spoken language's basic language sounds can be an understandable word.


If all of the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) Efficiency causes a spoken language to be useful and redundancy causes it to be reliable.
(B) Neither efficiency nor redundancy can be completely achieved in spoken language.
(C) If a spoken language were completely redundant, then it could not be useful.
(D) If the human auditory system were a perfect receptor of sounds, then every permutation of language sounds would be an understandable word.
(E) If the human auditory system is an imperfect receptor of sounds, then a spoken language cannot be completely efficient.


I went for E
dont have the OA for this one.. what do u guys think?
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Source: — Critical Reasoning |

by BrianSmith » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:23 am
I think you are right - E.

I was considering A but although it seems to be correct it requires more assumptions than E.

B - requires many assumptions. Since the premises in the argument begin with IF, and we are not told whether the human ear is perfect or imperfect, we cannot determine whether efficiency is possible.
C - again, may be true but it's too far from the premises, requires us to "complete" too big a gap
D - for D to be true we also need to know that the language is efficient, and it is not said.

E - this connects the last two sentences. If the human ear indeed cannot hear perfectly, then efficiency is impossible, and each basic sound cannot be an understandable word.
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by kris77 » Sun May 15, 2016 4:20 pm
It seems to me that the right answer is E
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