Bunuel wrote:
Letter to the editor of a Dublin newspaper: The traditional Gaeilge language is currently being taught in some Irish schools with funding from the Irish government. This should be stopped at once. Gaeilge is the language of revolution among the Irish and has done more throughout history to contribute to unrest and even open conflict in Ireland than it has done to bring about peace. The teaching of this language will ultimately bring about division in Ireland. The Irish government should rethink its funding and remove it as soon as possible.
Considering the statements above, the reasoning in the letter to the editor is flawed because of which of the following?
(A) The author fails to note that language is an important part of any culture, and the loss of that language will deprive a people of an essential link to their past.
(B) The author assumes that events occurring in history when the Irish spoke Gaeilge will occur once again simply by teaching students the language.
(C) The author relies on obsolete sociological data to derive a conclusion about current events.
(D) The author focuses on an isolated historical event and assumes that it establishes a trend for the modern day.
(E) The author ignores other traditional languages in Ireland, and fails to explain why they should not be taught as well.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Overview: Question presents a letter to the editor of a Dublin-based newspaper, in which the writer claims that the Irish government should stop funding the teaching of the Gaeilge (or traditional Irish) language in Irish schools because this language has historically been used as the language of Irish revolutionaries. The letter writer notes that, because of this history, the language will divide rather than unite and thus should not be funded by the government. The question asks the student to identify the flaw in the letter writer’s reasoning. The primary point to note is that the letter writer makes sweeping assumptions about the role of the language in contributing to events in Ireland’s history. There is a comment in the beginning that this is the “traditional” language, indicating that this is the language of Ireland’s past and an inherent part of its culture. But the letter writer then goes on to say that this traditional language is connected primarily to revolution and will thus create “unrest” and “division” in Ireland. Given that the letter writer offers no real historical data to support this, nor is there an explanation about why or how the language itself contributed to unrest and division, the correct answer choice will reflect the letter writer’s failure to explain how past events will inevitably become current problems simply by teaching the language.
The Correct Answer:B Answer choice (B) correctly explains the flaw in the letter writer’s reasoning: that the historical events will occur again simply through the teaching of a language and that the language itself will contribute to unrest and division in Ireland. Answer choice (B), therefore, is correct.
The Incorrect Answers:A, E Although the letter writer certainly fails to explain that language is an important part of a culture and offers people a link to their past, these options do not address the specific claims made by the author, i.e. do not point out a specific flaw in the author’s own explicit reasoning. Answer choices (A) and (E) are incorrect.
C Rather than relying on obsolete sociological data, the letter writer fails to provide any data, making a claim about the role of the language in Irish revolutions without offering any historical information to support this claim. Answer choice (C) is clearly incorrect.
D Answer choice (D) is incorrect because the author does not focus on an isolated historical event, claiming instead that the language is “the language of revolution among the Irish and has done more throughout history to contribute to unrest and even open conflict in Ireland than it has to bring about peace” – indicating a series of historical events rather than just one. Answer choice (D), then, is incorrect.