Tribal communities in North America believe that their traditional

Tribal communities in North America believe that
their traditional languages are valuable resources that
must be maintained. However, these traditional
languages can fall into disuse when some of the effects
(5) of the majority culture on tribal life serve as barriers
between a community and its traditional forms of
social, economic, or spiritual interaction. In some
communities the barrier has been overcome because
people have recognized that language loss is serious
(10) and have taken action to prevent it, primarily through
community self-teaching.

Before any community can systemically and
formally teach a traditional language to its younger
members, it must first document the language’s
(15) grammar; for example, a group of Northern Utes
spent two years conducting a thorough analysis and
classification of Northern Ute linguistic structures. The
grammatical information is then arranged in sequence
form the simpler to the more complex types of usage,
(20) and methods are devised to present the sequence in
ways that will be most useful and appropriate to the
culture.

Certain obstacles can stand in the way of
developing these teaching methods. One is the difficulty
(25) a community may encounter when it attempts
to write down elements (particularly the spellings of
words) of a language that has been primarily oral for
centuries, as is often the case with traditional
languages. Sometimes this difficulty can simply be a
(30) matter of the lack of acceptable written equivalents
for certain sounds in the traditional language: problems
arise because of an insistence that every sound in the
language have a unique written equivalent—a desirable
but ultimately frustrating condition that no written
(35) language has ever fully satisfied.

Another obstacle is dialect. There may be many
language traditions in a particular community; which
one is to be written down and taught? The Northern
Utes decided not to standardize their language,
(40) agreeing that various phonetic spellings of words
would be accepted as long as their meanings were
clear. Although this troubled some community
members who favored Western notions of standard
language writing or whose training in Western-style
(45) linguistics was especially rigid, the lack of standard
orthography made sense in the context of the
community’s needs. Within a year after the adoption of
instruction in the Northern Ute language, even
elementary school children could write and speak it
(50) effectively.

It has been argued that the attempt to write down
traditional languages is misguided and unnecessary;
after all, in many cases these languages have been
transmitted in their oral form since their origins.
(55) Defenders of the practice counter that they are writing
down their languages precisely because of a general
decline in oral traditions, but they concede that
languages could be preserved in their oral form if a
community made every effort to eschew aspects of the
(60) majority culture that make this preservation difficult.

1. Which one of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?

(A) In the face of the pervasive influences of the majority culture, some tribes are having difficulty teaching their traditional languages to younger tribe members.
(B) If tribes are to continue to hold on to their cultures in the face of majority culture influences, it is necessary for them to first teach their traditional languages to younger tribe members.
(C) Responding to doubts about the value of preserving oral forms of culture, some tribes, using techniques of Western-style linguistics, have taught their traditional languages to younger tribe members.
(D) Recognizing the value of their traditional languages, some tribes, despite the difficulties involved, have developed programs to teach their traditional languages to younger tribe members.
(E) Sidestepping the inherent contradiction of preserving oral forms of culture in writing, some tribes are attempting, eschewing the influences of the majority culture, to teach their traditional languages to younger tribe members.


2. According to the passage, the first step in preparing to formally teach a traditional language is to

(A) analyze and classify its linguistic structures
(B) develop a hierarchy of its grammatical information
(C) determine appropriate methods for its presentation
(D) search for written equivalents for each of its sounds
(E) decide whether its syntax and spelling will be standardized


3. Based on the passage, those who hold the view described in lines 51–54 would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

(A) Even if left exclusively in oral form, traditional languages are likely to survive.
(B) There has been a decline in communication among tribal members in general.
(C) Some oral customs do not need to be preserved orally.
(D) External influences have little effect on tribal customs.
(E) Tribes must focus on establishing a written tradition.


4. Which one of the following scenarios is LEAST compatible with aspects of traditional-language preservation discussed in the passage?

(A) A community decides that the best way to maintain its traditional language is to rejuvenate its oral culture.
(B) A community arranges the grammatical structures of its traditional language sequentially according to the degree of their complexity.
(C) A community agrees to incorporate words from the majority culture in its traditional language to make it easier to teach.
(D) A community determines the most appropriate methods for presenting its traditional language to students.
(E) A community deliberates about which dialect of its traditional language should be taught to students.


5. Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?

(A) A problem is identified, followed by a list of obstacles to its solution; examples of the obstacles are discussed; a solution is proposed; methods of implementing the solution are described; an alternative to the solution is introduced and endorsed.
(B) A problem is identified, followed by solutions to the problem; methods of implementing the solutions are discussed; obstacles to implementing the solutions are described; an alternative method of implementing one of the solutions is proposed.
(C) A problem is identified, followed by a solution to the problem; a method of implementing the solution is discussed; obstacles to implementing the solution are described; a challenge to the solution is introduced and countered.
(D) A problem is identified, followed by examples of the problem; a solution is proposed; a method for implementing the solution is described; examples of successful implementation are discussed; the solution is applied to other similar problems.
(E) A problem is identified, followed by a proposal for solving the problem; benefits and drawbacks of the proposal are discussed; examples of the benefits and drawbacks are described; a challenge to the proposal is introduced and the proposal is rejected.


6. Based on the passage, the group of Northern Utes mentioned in lines 38–42 would be likely to believe each of the following statements EXCEPT:

(A) Standardizing traditional languages requires arbitrary choices and is sometimes unnecessary.
(B) Written languages should reflect one standard dialect rather than several dialects.
(C) Traditional languages can be taught even if they are not rigorously standardized.
(D) Variant spellings of words are acceptable in a language if their meanings are clear.
(E) The extent to which a language should be standardized depends upon a community’s needs.


7. Which one of the following most accurately describes the author’s attitude toward the goal of having a written language exactly match its oral equivalent?

(A) conviction that an exact match is all but impossible to achieve
(B) doubt that an exact match is worthy of consideration even in principle
(C) faith that an exact match is attainable if certain obstacles are eliminated
(D) confidence that an exact match can easily be accomplished in most languages
(E) suspicion that the motives behind the attempts to achieve the goal are not entirely benevolent


8. Based on the passage, which one of the following appears to be a principle guiding the actions of those attempting to preserve their traditional languages?

(A) In writing down an oral language, one should always be concerned primarily with the degree of correspondence between spoken sounds and written symbols.
(B) In deciding whether and how to standardize and teach a primarily oral language, one should always keep the needs of the community and the culture foremost.
(C) In determining whether to preserve a language orally or preserve it in writing, one should always strive to ignore the influences of the majority culture and focus on which method is most effective.
(D) In considering how to present the grammar of a primarily oral language to students, one should always employ a sequence that tackles more difficult concepts first.
(E) In adjudicating among variant spellings of words from different language traditions, one should always favor the spelling preferred by the majority of the community.