Reading Comprehension

PT107 · S2 · P2 · Q8 Traditional Languages

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Tribal communities in North America believe that their traditional languages are valuable resources that must be maintained.

Topic

The challenges and methods involved in preserving traditional tribal languages in North America.

Framework

Problem / Solution

Main Point

Traditional tribal languages in North America are under threat due to the influence of majority culture, but communities can address this challenge by documenting and teaching their languages, even while facing obstacles like writing systems and dialect differences. (The most valuable sentence appears at the end of paragraph 1: )

P1: The Problem of Language Loss

Many tribal communities value their traditional languages, but these languages are threatened by cultural changes that interrupt traditional ways of life. Some communities have taken action to preserve their languages through self-teaching when they've realized the seriousness of language loss.

P2: Documenting the Language

Before teaching younger generations, a community must first formally document the grammar of its language. The example of the Northern Utes is given, who analyzed and organized their language rules to develop effective teaching methods suitable for their culture.

P3: Challenge of Developing Teaching Methods – Writing Issues

A big challenge in creating teaching materials is transcribing oral languages, since some sounds don't have easy written equivalents. Problems especially arise when people try to assign a unique written symbol for every sound—something no language has actually accomplished.

Which one of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?

In the face of the
Wrong Emphasis
Everything about this answer seems workable, except for the emphasis of its main clause. If we switched it from "some tribes are having difficulty teaching their traditional languages" to something like "some tribes are choosing to teach their traditional languages", then it would be fine. As written, this answer makes it sound like the passage was primarily about the Problem of teaching traditional language. In reality, the Problem was traditional languages are disappearing, and the Solution was to teach the traditional language. Yes, there are difficult obstacles to deal with as you embark on the process of trying to teach a traditional language, but the passage doesn't spend any time talking about how younger tribe members are struggling to learn it.
6% picked this
If tribes are to continue
Too Strong: necessary
This is pretty close to the correct big picture; it's just phrased too severely. Where can we point to that would justify saying that the author claimed that teaching traditional languages is necessary for tribes to hold on to their cultures? The first paragraph uses much softer language: - traditional language can fall into disuse in the face of majority culture influences - in some communities the barrier has been overcome because they've started teaching these languages
3% picked this
Responding to doubts about the
Trap
Unsupported Causal Relationship Wrong Emphasis: Western linguistics The first clause is saying that what has caused some tribes to start teaching traditional languages is "doubts about the value of preserving oral forms of culture". That's not what the passage identifies as the causal catalyst. The second sentence of the passage says that the background conditions prompting this were that the languages were falling into disuse because the majority culture was creating a barrier between a community and its traditional interaction. This answer also gets weird by elevating "Western-style linguistics" to the main point, when that didn't play any central role in the passage. In fact, in the one sentence where that appears, it doesn't even appear in the main clause of that sentence.
3% picked this
Correct
Recognizing the value of their
Why this is right
The first clause nicely captures the first two sentences of the passage where we lay out the Problem (tribal communities believe their traditional languages are valuable resources, however, those languages are falling into disuse). The little phrase about "despite the difficulties involved" captures the 3rd and 4th paragraphs, in which we discuss obstacles. And the main clause, "some tribes have developed programs to teach traditional languages" sounds like it's naming the Solution without going over the top and saying it's 'necessary'.
Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
71% picked this
Sidestepping the inherent contradiction of
Out of Scope: inherent contradiction
The main clause here is fine: some tribes are attempting to teach their traditional languages to younger tribe members. In fact, weirdly, all five answers had a main clause that was pretty much on point. So all the eliminations are about the add-ons and qualifiers. Can we match up anything from the passage with "the inherent contradictions of preserving oral forms in writing"? The only pushback to this endeavor comes at the start of the final paragraph, but they aren't saying, "Why are you guys trying to teach traditional languages in written form? Don't you find it contradictory to write down something oral?" They are saying, "Why are you guys bothering to write down traditional languages? Isn't that unnecessary? Haven't they been transmitted orally since their origins?" The debate in the final paragraph isn't about whether or not it's inherently dumb to write down something oral. The debate is about whether the oral tradition is still alive and well enough to dependably carry on the traditional language.
18% picked this

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