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Zorluk: OrtaInferences and Implicit Meaning

In the mid-twentieth century, linguist Morris Swadesh proposed glottochronology, a quantitative method designed to calculate the time elapsed since two related languages diverged from a common ancestral tongue. Swadesh posited that a core vocabulary of basic cultural and biological concepts changes at a constant, uniform rate across all human societies, analogous to radioactive decay in radiometric dating. However, critics led by anthropologist Edward Sapir's intellectual successors argued that lexical decay rates are fundamentally non-linear. They maintained that social factors—such as intense intercultural contact, prestige-driven borrowing, taboos on names of the deceased, and deliberate archaism—can drastically accelerate or decelerate vocabulary replacement. Furthermore, glottochronologists relied on the assumption that core vocabulary items remain semantically stable over centuries, overlooking how subtle shifts in meaning can obscure cognate relationships without replacing the lexical item itself. Consequently, while glottochronology provided an intriguing framework for chronological modeling, its reliance on a universal rate of lexical turnover ignored the complex socio-historical realities that govern linguistic evolution.

Based on the passage, which of the following can be inferred regarding the assumptions underlying Morris Swadesh's model of glottochronology?

  1. The model presupposed that vocabulary turnover occurs at a steady rate unaffected by socio-cultural disruptions.Cevap
  2. B
    The model was discarded by twentieth-century anthropologists in favor of radiometric dating techniques borrowed from physics.
  3. C
    The model assumed that non-core vocabulary changes at a demonstrably faster rate than core vocabulary items.
  4. D
    The model failed primarily because it was incapable of identifying cognate relationships between divergent languages.
  5. E
    The model was criticized because Swadesh intentionally altered linguistic data to mirror radioactive decay models.

Cevap

The model presupposed that vocabulary turnover occurs at a steady rate unaffected by socio-cultural disruptions.
Swadesh's model rested on the proposition that core vocabulary changes at a constant, uniform rate across all human societies. Because the passage highlights that social factors (such as borrowing, taboos, and contact) actually accelerate or decelerate vocabulary replacement, Swadesh's model inherently relied on the unstated assumption that socio-cultural dynamics do not disrupt or alter this steady rate of turnover.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Identify the target of the question stem.
The question asks what can be inferred about the underlying assumptions of Swadesh's glottochronological model.
Focusing on the specific target prevents selecting options that summarize counterarguments rather than the model's assumptions.
2
Analyze the passage evidence regarding Swadesh's assumptions.
Swadesh posited that core vocabulary changes at a 'constant, uniform rate across all human societies' and critics countered that social factors like contact, taboos, and borrowing alter this rate.
An unstated assumption is a premise that must be true for the author's explicit claim to hold.
3
Deduce the implicit assumption.
If Swadesh assumed a universal, constant rate of change across all human groups, he implicitly assumed that local socio-cultural dynamics do not alter the steady pace of vocabulary turnover.
This logical inference directly links Swadesh's premise of uniformity to the exclusion of external socio-cultural influences.

Anahtar Kavram

Identifying implicit assumptions and implicit meaning in Reading Comprehension passages.
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Konular

Inferences and Implicit Meaning

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