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Difficulty: HardMain Idea and Primary Purpose

Passage: In the mid-nineteenth century, historical linguistics was dominated by August Schleicher’s cladistic tree model (Stammbaumtheorie), which posited that languages diverge through discrete, binary branchings from a common ancestral tongue. Schleicher’s framework, influenced by contemporary evolutionary biology, conceptualized language splitting as an irreversible process resulting in mutually isolated daughter lineages. However, in 1872, Johannes Schmidt proposed an alternative paradigm: the wave model (Wellentheorie). Schmidt argued that linguistic innovations do not propagate through neat, catastrophic bifurcations; rather, specific phonetic and structural changes spread like concentric waves across geographic space, intersecting and overlapping across pre-existing dialect continuums. Under Schmidt’s formulation, shared linguistic features between adjacent speech communities often reflect areal contact and gradual diffusion rather than exclusive common ancestry. Although nineteenth-century neogrammarians initially dismissed the wave model as an unnecessary complication to their deterministic sound laws, modern dialectology and phylogenetics increasingly recognize that language evolution is reticulate—involving both vertical inheritance and horizontal transfer. Far from invalidating the tree model entirely, Schmidt's insight introduced an essential nuance, demonstrating that genealogical classification must account for the continuous spatial dynamics of language contact.

Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of the passage?

  1. To evaluate a historical alternative to a dominant linguistic paradigm and highlight its enduring contribution to contemporary language evolution models.Answer
  2. B
    To argue that August Schleicher's tree model must be discarded entirely in light of recent advances in modern dialectology.
  3. C
    To detail how nineteenth-century neogrammarians successfully refuted Johannes Schmidt's formulation using deterministic sound laws.
  4. D
    To contrast the specific phonetic mechanisms of dialect continuums with the biological principles underlying cladistic inheritance.
  5. E
    To show that mid-nineteenth-century evolutionary biology derived its core principles from spatial diffusion theories in linguistics.

Answer

The primary purpose of the passage is to evaluate a historical alternative to a dominant linguistic paradigm and highlight its enduring contribution to contemporary language evolution models.
The correct answer accurately summarizes the overall scope and intent of the passage. The author introduces the prevailing nineteenth-century 'tree model' of language evolution, introduces Schmidt's 'wave model' as a competing framework, notes initial skepticism, and ends by demonstrating how modern linguistics incorporates both models to explain language contact. This matches the description of evaluating a historical alternative and highlighting its lasting contribution.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the passage structure and paragraph progression.
The passage begins by outlining Schleicher's dominant tree model, introduces Schmidt's wave model as an alternative concept, describes historical resistance to it, and concludes by showing how modern science reconciles both perspectives.
Tracking structural transitions reveals the author's overarching rhetorical intent.
2
Identify the author's main thesis and concluding assessment.
The author concludes that Schmidt's model did not invalidate the tree model but introduced an essential nuance that modern dialectology and phylogenetics now recognize.
The concluding lines state the synthesis that captures the passage's primary purpose.
3
Evaluate the answer options against the identified main purpose.
The option referring to evaluating a historical alternative and highlighting its enduring contribution accurately reflects both the historical context and the modern relevance discussed in the text.
A primary purpose answer choice must cover the passage as a whole without overstating claims or focusing on isolated details.

Key Concept

Identifying Primary Purpose in Reading Comprehension
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Topics

Main Idea and Primary Purpose

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