Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 15:36 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 15:36
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
555-605 Level|   Weaken|      
avatar
pmenon
avatar
Joined: 28 Dec 2005
Last visit: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 692
Own Kudos:
600
 [27]
Given Kudos: 2
Posts: 692
Kudos: 600
 [27]
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to Updated on: 19 Dec 2018, 04:58
Originally posted by pmenon on 04 Aug 2007, 20:22.
Last edited by Bunuel on 19 Dec 2018, 04:58, edited 1 time in total.
Renamed the topic, edited the question and added the OA.
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
21
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

35% (medium)

Question Stats:

68% (01:29) correct 32% (01:27) wrong based on 3006 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue. For proof, we need only consider Canada, which is being torn asunder by conflicts between French-speaking Quebec and the other provinces, which are dominated by English speakers.

Which of the following, if true, most effectively challenges the author’s conclusion?


(A) Conflicts over language have led to violent clashes between the Basque-speaking minority in Spain and the Spanish-speaking majority.

(B) Proposals to declare English the official language of the United States have met with resistance from members of Hispanic and other minority groups.

(C) Economic and political differences, along with linguistic ones, have contributed to the provincial conflicts in Canada.

(D) The public of India, in existence sine 1948, has a population that speaks hundreds of different, though related, languages.

(E) Switzerland has survived for nearly a thousand years as a home for speakers of three different languages.
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
E
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
Amit05
User avatar
Joined: 09 Aug 2006
Last visit: 09 Jan 2015
Posts: 283
Own Kudos:
527
 [11]
Posts: 283
Kudos: 527
 [11]
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 04 Aug 2007, 21:30
9
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
pmenon
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue. For proof, we need only consider Canada, which is being torn asunder by conflicts between French-speaking Quebec and the other provinces, which are dominated by English speakers.
Which of the following, if true, most effectively challenges the author’s conclusion?

(A) Conflicts over language have led to violent clashes between the Basque-speaking minority in Spain and the Spanish-speaking majority.

(B) Proposals to declare English the official language of the United States have met with resistance from members of Hispanic and other minority groups.

(C) Economic and political differences, along with linguistic ones, have contributed to the provincial conflicts in Canada.

(D) The public of India, in existence sine 1948, has a population that speaks hundreds of different, though related, languages.

(E) Switzerland has survived for nearly a thousand years as a home for speakers of three different languages.

Confused as to why the right answer is actually the right one. Will post the OA after a few replies :-D
Show more


Agree with beckee529.

What does author say ?
That NO nation can survive if people don't speak a common language.

Why does the author say so ?
because Canada as conflicts between French and Eng speaking people.

The Questions stems asks us to weaken the authors argument.
2 ways :
a) If we can find another reason for conflicts in Canada.
b) If we can give eg of another country which is surviving in spite of multiple languages.

Lets look at the options :

A - Out of scope.
B - Strengthens
C - Could have right if had not included along with linguistic ones . So in a way strengthens the authors argument.
D - Can't say.. May be India also might be having similar conflicts due to language .. We cannot assume things in GMAT.
E - Correct. Weakens the author properly.
General Discussion
User avatar
sondenso
User avatar
Joined: 04 May 2006
Last visit: 04 Dec 2018
Posts: 858
Own Kudos:
7,460
 [3]
Given Kudos: 1
Concentration: Finance
Schools:CBS, Kellogg
Posts: 858
Kudos: 7,460
 [3]
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 20 Feb 2009, 21:53
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
reply2spg
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue. For proof, we need only consider Canada, which is being torn asunder by conflicts between French-speaking Quebec and the other provinces, which are dominated by English speakers.
Which of the following, if true, most effectively challenges the author’s conclusion?
(A) Conflicts over language have led to violent clashes between the Basque-speaking minority in Spain and the Spanish-speaking majority.
(B) Proposals to declare English the official language of the United States have met with resistance from members of Hispanic and other minority groups.
(C) Economic and political differences, along with linguistic ones, have contributed to the provincial conflicts in Canada.
(D) The public of India, in existence sine 1948, has a population that speaks hundreds of different, though related, languages.
(E) Switzerland has survived for nearly a thousand years as a home for speakers of three different languages.
Show more

Focus on how the claim is made. The claim is generalized by basing on a specific case. If you show that there is another one that contradics the claim, you successfully damage the argument.

E is the best
User avatar
gurpreet07
User avatar
Joined: 23 May 2008
Last visit: 04 Sep 2011
Posts: 222
Own Kudos:
1,905
 [3]
Given Kudos: 14
Posts: 222
Kudos: 1,905
 [3]
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 09 Nov 2009, 07:58
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
E for me.......

D states that "The public of India, in existence sine 1948, has a population that speaks hundreds of different, though related, languages"--since the argument already mentions that no nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common language.

So D in other way strengthens the arguments since the languages are relates despite being different.

E is the best answer which weakens the argument.
User avatar
BM
User avatar
Joined: 28 Sep 2009
Last visit: 07 Jun 2015
Posts: 1,505
Own Kudos:
1,187
 [3]
Given Kudos: 432
Status:Graduated
Affiliations: HEC
Concentration: Economics, Finance
GMAT 1: 730 Q48 V44
GMAT 1: 730 Q48 V44
Posts: 1,505
Kudos: 1,187
 [3]
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 12 Nov 2009, 17:22
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
reply2spg
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue.
Show more

This is the argument of the passage. The remainder of the passage serves as the author's premise. Option E directly challenges the author's assertion.

It has been over a year, yet the OA has not been posted. :(
avatar
atrayee345
avatar
Joined: 19 Dec 2018
Last visit: 19 Dec 2018
Posts: 33
Own Kudos:
10
Posts: 33
Kudos: 10
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 19 Dec 2018, 04:54
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Option A and option B strengthen the argument.Option C tells us why Canada had problems but it doesn't directly attack the main conclusion i.e. no country can survive unless people have a common tongue. Option D tells us that the languages are related. So it doesn't weaken the conclusion. Option E gives evidence to directly attack the main conclusion. Hence (e).
avatar
SUNILAA
avatar
Joined: 09 Apr 2018
Last visit: 21 Nov 2021
Posts: 26
Own Kudos:
6
Given Kudos: 92
Location: India
Schools: IIMA PGPX"20
GPA: 3.5
Schools: IIMA PGPX"20
Posts: 26
Kudos: 6
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 31 Dec 2018, 03:39
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Amit05
pmenon
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue. For proof, we need only consider Canada, which is being torn asunder by conflicts between French-speaking Quebec and the other provinces, which are dominated by English speakers.
Which of the following, if true, most effectively challenges the author’s conclusion?

(A) Conflicts over language have led to violent clashes between the Basque-speaking minority in Spain and the Spanish-speaking majority.

(B) Proposals to declare English the official language of the United States have met with resistance from members of Hispanic and other minority groups.

(C) Economic and political differences, along with linguistic ones, have contributed to the provincial conflicts in Canada.

(D) The public of India, in existence sine 1948, has a population that speaks hundreds of different, though related, languages.

(E) Switzerland has survived for nearly a thousand years as a home for speakers of three different languages.

Confused as to why the right answer is actually the right one. Will post the OA after a few replies :-D

Agree with beckee529.

What does author say ?
That NO nation can survive if people don't speak a common language.

Why does the author say so ?
because Canada as conflicts between French and Eng speaking people.

The Questions stems asks us to weaken the authors argument.
2 ways :
a) If we can find another reason for conflicts in Canada.
b) If we can give eg of another country which is surviving in spite of multiple languages.

Lets look at the options :

A - Out of scope.
B - Strengthens
C - Could have right if had not included along with linguistic ones . So in a way strengthens the authors argument.
D - Can't say.. May be India also might be having similar conflicts due to language .. We cannot assume things in GMAT.
E - Correct. Weakens the author properly.
Show more
not agrred with u
your reasoning for d goes with e also and youe reasoning for e applies to d also.
if u are nt assuming that "India also might be having similar conflicts due to language", same also applies for swizerland
User avatar
Gladiator59
User avatar
Joined: 16 Sep 2016
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 839
Own Kudos:
2,613
 [1]
Given Kudos: 260
Status:It always seems impossible until it's done.
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40
GMAT 2: 770 Q51 V42
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 2: 770 Q51 V42
Posts: 839
Kudos: 2,613
 [1]
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 31 Dec 2018, 04:03
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hey SUNILAA,

Welcome to the GMAT Club.

In this case D is not as good an option as E. Few reasons why...

1. The laguanges if India are mentioned as "tough related" which weakens it a bit
2. The argument says - no nation can survive long. India is said to have existed since 1948 which could be around 70 years but E is saying Switzerland has survived for thousands.

In light of these two small differences.. E stands stronger than D. Afterall, in a GMAT question we are looking for the best among the lot.

Hope this helps.

Kind Regards,
Gladi


SUNILAA
Amit05


Agree with beckee529.

What does author say ?
That NO nation can survive if people don't speak a common language.

Why does the author say so ?
because Canada as conflicts between French and Eng speaking people.

The Questions stems asks us to weaken the authors argument.
2 ways :
a) If we can find another reason for conflicts in Canada.
b) If we can give eg of another country which is surviving in spite of multiple languages.

Lets look at the options :

A - Out of scope.
B - Strengthens
C - Could have right if had not included along with linguistic ones . So in a way strengthens the authors argument.
D - Can't say.. May be India also might be having similar conflicts due to language .. We cannot assume things in GMAT.
E - Correct. Weakens the author properly.
not agrred with u
your reasoning for d goes with e also and youe reasoning for e applies to d also.
if u are nt assuming that "India also might be having similar conflicts due to language", same also applies for swizerland
Show more

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
TheNightKing
User avatar
Joined: 18 Dec 2017
Last visit: 20 Mar 2024
Posts: 1,139
Own Kudos:
1,299
 [1]
Given Kudos: 421
Location: United States (KS)
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
Posts: 1,139
Kudos: 1,299
 [1]
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 18 Mar 2020, 16:20
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
pmenon
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue. For proof, we need only consider Canada, which is being torn asunder by conflicts between French-speaking Quebec and the other provinces, which are dominated by English speakers.

Which of the following, if true, most effectively challenges the author’s conclusion?


(A) Conflicts over language have led to violent clashes between the Basque-speaking minority in Spain and the Spanish-speaking majority.

(B) Proposals to declare English the official language of the United States have met with resistance from members of Hispanic and other minority groups.

(C) Economic and political differences, along with linguistic ones, have contributed to the provincial conflicts in Canada.

(D) The public of India, in existence sine 1948, has a population that speaks hundreds of different, though related, languages.

(E) Switzerland has survived for nearly a thousand years as a home for speakers of three different languages.
Show more

Nice Question.
I was confused between C and E. I fell for C but clearly the OA is E. The author considers only one country. The best weaken will be to provide an example of other country which has survived with different languages.
User avatar
SatvikVedala
User avatar
Joined: 03 Oct 2022
Last visit: 03 May 2025
Posts: 177
Own Kudos:
121
 [1]
Given Kudos: 51
Posts: 177
Kudos: 121
 [1]
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common to 08 Aug 2024, 19:00
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
pmenon
No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue. For proof, we need only consider Canada, which is being torn asunder by conflicts between French-speaking Quebec and the other provinces, which are dominated by English speakers.

Which of the following, if true, most effectively challenges the author’s conclusion?


(A) Conflicts over language have led to violent clashes between the Basque-speaking minority in Spain and the Spanish-speaking majority.

(B) Proposals to declare English the official language of the United States have met with resistance from members of Hispanic and other minority groups.

(C) Economic and political differences, along with linguistic ones, have contributed to the provincial conflicts in Canada.

(D) The public of India, in existence sine 1948, has a population that speaks hundreds of different, though related, languages.

(E) Switzerland has survived for nearly a thousand years as a home for speakers of three different languages.
Show more
­I suppose it's a good example of GMAT style question

Usually on reading the Question stem we expect something regarding India in the options. The same happened here but Option D has a trap set for you.

A) "Conflicts over language have led to violent clashes between the Basque-speaking minority in Spain and the Spanish-speaking majority." -> Strengthens the argument. so eliminated

B) "Proposals to declare English the official language of the United States have met with resistance from members of Hispanic and other minority groups". -> Okay, this is giving another instance, but how is it weakening the conclusion?

C) "Economic and political differences, along with linguistic ones, have contributed to the provincial conflicts in Canada." -> Conclusion of question explicitly states "No nation can long survive unless its people are united by a common tongue" & author wants us to weaken the same. So contribution of econoimc & political differences might be the causes but correct option must explicitly reject something on common tongue

D) "The public of India, in existence sine 1948, has a population that speaks hundreds of different, though related (Trap), languages." -> initialyy i was skeptical between option D & E, but eliminated D only based on the above trap. We certainly don't know the effects if languages are different but related.

E) "Switzerland has survived for nearly a thousand years as a home for speakers of three different languages." - Correct answer­
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
miag
188 posts