Linguist: Tarania's indigenous language features a complex tonal system, structurally identical to mainland languages 2,000 miles away, but unlike the non-tonal languages of neighboring islands. Anthropologists argue this tonal system evolved independently due to similar acoustic environments between Tarania and the mainland. However, geological records prove Tarania's environment has always resembled its non-tonal neighbors, not the mainland. Therefore, Tarania's tonal system must have been introduced by ancient mainland settlers who migrated to the island.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the linguist's conclusion?
- AThe specific tonal structure of the mainland language has remained remarkably stable and largely unchanged for over three thousand years.
- BRecent archaeological excavations on Tarania have uncovered artifacts indicating that extensive, long-distance trade networks connected Tarania and the mainland.
- CScientific studies have conclusively proven that the acoustic environment of a region has absolutely no impact on whether a language naturally develops a tonal system.
- Fundamental linguistic structures, such as a highly complex tonal system, are universally adopted only through long-term demographic integration and not through temporary contact.Cevap
- EIn documented cases where mainland settlers migrated to neighboring islands, the native populations rapidly abandoned their original languages in favor of the settlers' language.
Cevap
Fundamental linguistic structures, such as a highly complex tonal system, are universally adopted only through long-term demographic integration and not through temporary contact.
The correct answer strengthens the argument by explicitly ruling out a highly plausible alternative explanation: temporary contact through trade networks. By establishing that such complex linguistic features strictly require long-term demographic integration, it bridges the gap between the observed phenomenon and the author's specific conclusion that settlers permanently migrated.
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Ruling out alternative explanations to strengthen a causal claim.
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