Sociologist: Some scholars claim that the accelerating extinction of minority languages is driven exclusively by the economic advantages associated with fluency in dominant global languages. This perspective, however, ignores the profound impact of social stigma. In many regions, the dominant culture characterizes minority language use as a marker of lower social status. To protect their children from discrimination, parents in these communities frequently choose to raise them speaking only the dominant language. It follows that economic factors alone cannot fully explain the phenomenon of language loss. Thus, the desire to avoid social marginalization must be recognized as a primary catalyst in the disappearance of minority languages.
Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the sociologist's argument?
- The need to avert social marginalization should be recognized as a major contributing factor in the extinction of minority languages.Answer
- BEconomic incentives are not the sole explanation for the accelerating loss of minority languages.
- CParents in minority communities often raise their children to speak only the dominant language in order to shield them from discrimination.
- DThe disappearance of minority languages is driven exclusively by the economic benefits of speaking a dominant global language.
- EIf dominant cultures ceased to stigmatize minority languages, the economic advantages of dominant languages would no longer cause language extinction.