Linguist: Three of the four subfamilies of the so-called "Austronesian

Question

Linguist: Three of the four subfamilies of the so-called "Austronesian" languages are found only among indigenous peoples in Taiwan, whereas the fourth is found on islands over a huge area stretching from Madagascar to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Since these subfamilies all originated in the same language, which must have been originally spoken in a single geographic location, these facts suggest that Taiwan is the homeland where Austronesian languages have been spoken longest and, hence, that Austronesian-speaking peoples originated in Taiwan and later migrated to other islands.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the overall conclusion drawn in the linguist's argument?

(A) The Austronesian family of languages has four subfamilies, three of which are found only among indigenous peoples in Taiwan.

(B) Wherever most subfamilies of the Austronesian family of languages have been spoken longest is probably the homeland where Austronesian languages originated.

(C) Taiwan is probably the homeland where Austronesian languages have been spoken longest.

(D) Austronesian-speaking peoples originated in the homeland where Austronesian languages have been spoken longest.

(E) Austronesian-speaking peoples probably originated in Taiwan and later migrated to other islands.

APram · Answer

"Therefore" test can be used here to show us the correct answers in any question where we are told to bring out the conclusion.

Therefore test proves right in both c and e

C. Therefore, Taiwan is the homeland where Austronesian is spoken the longest

But this option does not say anything why other island or country says the same language.

E very well does this 
It says that the language most probably originated in Taiwan and then migrated to other places
So E is correct conclusion

Other options fail Therefore test

egmat · Answer

Understanding Critical Reasoning "Conclusion" Questions

I completely understand your confusion - Critical Reasoning questions can seem overwhelming when you're not sure what they're asking for! Let me break this down for you.

What This Question Is Really Asking:

When you see "Which one of the following most accurately expresses the  overall conclusion ," the question is asking you to identify the  main point  the author is trying to prove. Think of it as: "What is the author's main claim that they want you to believe?"

How to Approach Conclusion Questions - A Simple 3-Step Method:
 
 Step 1: Look for Conclusion Indicators

Words/phrases that signal a conclusion:
 
  "Therefore," "Hence," "Thus," "So"  
 "Suggests that," "Indicates that"  
 
 "Must be," "Probably," "It follows that" 
  In this passage, notice:  "these facts suggest that"  - this is your golden signal! What comes after this phrase is the conclusion.

Step 2: Distinguish Facts from Conclusions

Facts/Premises  (given information):

3 of 4 language subfamilies found only in Taiwan 
 4th subfamily spread across huge area 
 All originated from same language

Conclusion  (what the author argues based on these facts): Taiwan is the homeland → Austronesian peoples originated there and migrated

Step 3: Match the Conclusion to Answer Choices

The passage concludes:  "these facts suggest that Taiwan is the homeland where Austronesian languages have been spoken longest and,  hence , that Austronesian-speaking peoples originated in Taiwan and later migrated to other islands."
 
This matches perfectly with  Choice E : "Austronesian-speaking peoples probably originated in Taiwan and later migrated to other islands."

Why Other Choices Are Wrong:

Option A: Just restates a fact/premise - not the conclusion  
 Option B: Too general - doesn't mention Taiwan specifically  
 Option C: Only partial - misses the "peoples originated and migrated" part 
 Option D: Too general - doesn't mention Taiwan

Key Takeaway:

For ANY conclusion question, always:
 
 Find conclusion indicator words 
 Identify what the author is trying to prove (not just stating as fact) 
 Pick the answer that captures the  complete  main point

The conclusion is always what the author  argues  or  infers , not what they simply  state as given .

Hope this clarifies the approach! With practice, you'll start spotting conclusions quickly.

GMATNinja · Answer

Adding on to the  thorough explanation  by  egmat , (E) has one other advantage over (D): it's less definitive.

The linguist states: "... these facts  suggest ...". That's subtly different than saying something like, "...therefore, Taiwan  is  the homeland where Austronesian languages have been spoken longest and, hence, Austronesian-speaking peoples  originated  in Taiwan and later migrated to other islands."

The use of the word "suggests" indicates that, according to the linguist, the evidence is not definitive. That fits with (E), which uses the word "probably" to, appropriately, indicate a lack of certainty.

(D) on the other sounds more certain, and that doesn't fit with what's stated in the passage. And since (D) also fails to mention Taiwan specifically, we have two good reasons to pick (E) over (D).

parthk24 · Answer

Hi, isn't E just restating what has been given in the passage? It is the last line mentioned with hardly any change ( "hence, that Austronesian-speaking peoples originated in Taiwan and later migrated to other islands."  vs the option  "Austronesian-speaking peoples probably originated in Taiwan and later migrated to other islands." )

Don't questions that test Conclusion usually advise against picking options that repeat given information? These options are not adding anything new for us to assess and are sharing something we already know.

Can someone please let me know if my understanding is correct for these kind of questions? Or if I've missed something in option E?

guddo · Answer

I’d say your understanding is mixing two different question types.

For  main conclusion  questions, the correct answer often does restate a sentence from the passage. That is exactly the point: identify the claim the author is trying to prove.

The “do not pick something that merely repeats the passage” warning applies more to  inference/strengthen/weaken  questions, where the answer usually needs to do something beyond just repeat a premise.

Here, “hence” signals the final conclusion, so (E) is correct because it restates that conclusion accurately.

egmat · Answer

Hi parthk24,

Your instinct about "don't just repeat given info" is a real rule, but it belongs to a  different question type , and that's the whole knot here.

Two families of questions, two opposite expectations:

-  Inference / "must be true"  questions: the credited answer is  not  stated in the passage, you build it. Repeating a given line is a trap there.
-  Main Point / "overall conclusion"  questions (this one): the conclusion is  already sitting in the argument . Your job isn't to generate something new, it's to  locate  the author's main claim and separate it from the premises and any intermediate steps. So yes, the right answer will read almost word-for-word like a line in the passage. That's expected, not a red flag.

So E "restating" the last line isn't a weakness, it's exactly what a correct main-conclusion answer should do.

Now, why E and not C , because this argument actually has  two  claims that get restated:

- "...Taiwan is the homeland where Austronesian languages have been spoken longest..." - this is choice  C .
- "... and, hence,  that Austronesian-speaking peoples originated in Taiwan and later migrated..." - this is choice  E .

The word  "hence"  tells you C is a stepping-stone  used to reach  E. The Taiwan-homeland point supports the migration point, so the migration claim is the final destination, the overall conclusion. That's E.

A quick way to feel it:  take a mini-argument:

"It rained last night,  so  the ground is wet;  therefore  the game will be cancelled."

If asked for the  overall  conclusion, you'd pick "the game will be cancelled," even though it's copied straight from the sentence. "The ground is wet" is true and stated too, but it's only a middle step. Same structure as C vs. E here.

So your understanding of the  inference  rule is correct; it just doesn't apply to conclusion questions. Here, restating is the point, you only have to make sure you grab the  final  claim, not an intermediate one.

Answer: E

Linguist: Three of the four subfamilies of the so-called "Austronesian

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Linguist: Three of the four subfamilies of the so-called "Austronesian

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