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Difficulty: MediumMost Strongly Supported Questions

Linguists studying the Voro language family have observed that Voro languages that evolved in coastal environments possess a highly specialized vocabulary for distinct types of ocean currents. In contrast, Voro languages that evolved in inland, arid regions almost entirely lack such vocabulary. The modern language of Zani, which belongs to the Voro family and is spoken exclusively by a nomadic population in a landlocked desert, nonetheless contains an extensive array of archaic terms for ocean currents. Historical texts provide strong evidence that the Zani people have never traded or interacted with coastal populations.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

  1. A
    Any language that possesses a highly specialized vocabulary for distinct types of ocean currents must have evolved in a coastal environment.
  2. B
    Zani is the only Voro language spoken in an inland, arid region that possesses a specialized vocabulary for ocean currents.
  3. The Zani language likely underwent at least some of its development in a coastal region.Answer
  4. D
    The Zani people currently use their archaic terms for ocean currents to describe features of their desert environment.
  5. E
    If a Voro language did not evolve in a coastal environment, it will completely lack specialized vocabulary for ocean currents.

Answer

The statement that the Zani language likely underwent at least some of its development in a coastal region is the most strongly supported inference.
The stimulus establishes a mystery: Zani possesses a specialized coastal vocabulary despite being an inland language, and it explicitly eliminates trade as a source for this vocabulary. Since inland Voro languages generally lack such terms, the most logical explanation strictly supported by the text is that Zani acquired this vocabulary by developing, at least partially, in a coastal region before its speakers became completely landlocked.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the premises provided in the stimulus.
Coastal Voro languages have ocean current vocabulary; inland Voro languages generally lack it. Zani is a landlocked Voro language with this vocabulary. Zani people never interacted with coastal populations.
To establish the factual constraints and relationships of the argument.
2
Evaluate the anomaly presented.
Zani has coastal vocabulary despite being an inland language whose speakers have no history of coastal trade.
To identify the logical gap that the correct inference must resolve based solely on the text.
3
Synthesize the premises to find the most strongly supported conclusion.
Since Zani could not have acquired the vocabulary through trade, and inland Voro languages don't typically develop it, the language must have acquired it by developing in a coastal region before its speakers became fully landlocked.
To derive a logical inference that explains all the provided facts without relying on outside assumptions.

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