While researching the Amazonian language Pirahã, a student takes the following notes:
* Daniel Everett's 2005 study analyzed the grammar of Pirahã, an indigenous language of the Amazon Basin.
* Everett argued that Pirahã lacks recursion, which is the grammatical process of embedding phrases within other phrases.
* Generative linguistics theories, championed by Noam Chomsky, had long held that recursion is a universal feature of all human languages.
* Everett proposed that cultural values, rather than an innate universal grammar, limit the structural complexity of Pirahã.
* The study initiated a major debate over whether universal grammar exists or if language is primarily a culturally shaped tool.
The student wants to present a generalization about the significance of Everett’s study. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?
- By arguing that Pirahã lacks recursion, a feature previously assumed to be universal, Everett's study challenged the long-held linguistic theory of universal grammar.Cevap
- BBy analyzing the grammar of Pirahã in a 2005 study, Daniel Everett documented the language of an indigenous group living in the Amazon Basin.
- CBy proposing that cultural values limit structural complexity, the study demonstrates that all human languages are primarily shaped by culture rather than biology.
- DBy asserting that generative linguists believed recursion was optional, the study mischaracterized Chomsky's prevailing theory that language is a universal human trait.