When languages come together, they mix

Question

Linguist: When languages come together, they mix. There is no documented case in human
history in which languages were spoken in the same region and did not spice one another
not only with words, but also with grammar. This means that even without recordings of
seventh-century Celts speaking Old English and peppering the sentences with phrases that
copied Celtic grammar, we can reasonably assume that they did so.

Which of the following premises, if added to the linguist’s argument, would allow the
argument’s conclusion to be properly drawn?

A. There are some principles of grammar that are shared by all languages.
B. When people learn a second language they acquire the new language’s structures in a
manner similar to that in which they learned the structures of their first language.
C. Several words in modern English resemble seventh-century Celtic words.
D. Within a generation, Celts regularly conducted trade with the speakers of English who
conquered them.
E. English overlaps extensively in both words and grammar with several other languages.

OA after some discussions...

ice_rush · Answer

was debating between C n D -- would go with C here. What's the source and OA?

vikram4689 · Answer

imo B. anyways what's the source (doesn't seem a good gmat-style argument)

a), e) these points need not be assumed. this is classic gmat trap, mentioning too broad a stmt. than required.
c) modern english ? , d) trade ? - we didn't even talk about these topics - assumptions can't be random, they must be related to some topic in argument.

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Bill@VeritasPrep · Answer

I would agree with B. The conclusion is that we can safely say that Celts spoke Old English using Celtic grammar because languages spoken in the same region splice words and grammar. We need something that goes along with that.

A--this does not necessarily lend support to the idea that Celts brought their own grammar to Old English. The existence of universal principles may simply indicate that there are some properties that are innate to human language and thus arise independently.

B--Works well. If it is the case that people learning second languages learn them in the context of their original language, then we can say that the Celts would do so as well.

C--our conclusion is about grammar, not word choice.

D--trade is not relevant.

E--those several other languages may not include Celtic.

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umeshpatil · Answer

Premises: 1. When languages come together they mix. Languages come together, it means people come together for some reason with their native languages. This result in mixture of their language with their grammar and word formation. So, necessary condition for mixture of languages is that speakers of language should come together. 2. There is no exception for the principle in Premise 1. i.e. When two or more communities with their language come together, their languages must mix in terms of grammar and word(in premise 3). Conclusion: With no record or study of 7th century people, Celt people spoke old English with phrases copied from Celtic grammar. Answer: A. It may be true, but not mentioned by argument anywhere. It is not required for conclusion to be true. B. This shows, HOW and WHY two languages mix in grammer or word. but, It is not required for conclusion to be true. This argument brings something new not mentioned in the argument. C. It is what the conclusion is. Repeating this same. D. Correct. This says, celtic people come across english speakers. It is the required condition, for overlapping of celtic and english language. If speakers of celtic and english have no point of contact, languages will never mix in terms of grammer and phrases. So, this is required premise for given conclusion to be drawn properly. E. Out of context. Argument doesn't require mentioning about any other language than english and celtic.

Bill@VeritasPrep · Answer

umeshpatil wrote: Answer:

A. It may be true, but not mentioned by argument anywhere. It is not required for conclusion to be true.
B. This shows, HOW and WHY two languages mix in grammer or word. but, It is not required for conclusion to be true. This argument brings something new not mentioned in the argument.
C. It is what the conclusion is. Repeating this same.
D. Correct. This says, celtic people come across english speakers. It is the required condition, for overlapping of celtic and english language. If speakers of celtic and english have no point of contact, languages will never mix in terms of grammer and phrases. So, this is required premise for given conclusion to be drawn properly.
E. Out of context. Argument doesn't require mentioning about any other language than english and celtic.

But we know that Celts and English were in the same region because they are given as an example of the universal principle that languages spoken in the same region mixed grammar and words.

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gmatdriller · Answer

given OA is D

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