首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
Partly due to a historical development marked by worldwide colonialism, urbanization, and globalization, in the course of this c
Partly due to a historical development marked by worldwide colonialism, urbanization, and globalization, in the course of this c
admin
2019-09-30
24
问题
Partly due to a historical development marked by worldwide colonialism, urbanization, and globalization, in the course of this century humankind is likely to experience its most extreme cultural loss. As K. David Harrison notes in When Languages Die, "The last speakers of probably half of the world’s languages are alive today." Their children or grandchildren are pressured to speak only the dominant language of their community or country. Under one estimate, more than 50% of the 6,900 or so languages identified nowadays are expected to become extinct in a matter of a few decades.
The precise criteria for what counts as a distinct language are controversial—especially those regarding closely related linguistic systems, which are often inaccurately referred to as dialects of the same language. The problem is complicated by the insufficiency of studies about the grammar of many of the world’s endangered languages. In addition, from a cognitive standpoint any two groups of individuals whose languages are mutually intelligible may in fact have distinct mental grammars.
As a cognitive system, a language shows dynamic properties that cannot exist independently of its speakers. This is the sense in which the Anatolian languages and Dalmatian are extinct. Therefore, language preservation depends on the maintenance of the native-speaking human groups. Unfortunately, the most accelerated loss of distinct languages takes place where economic development is rapid, worsening the breakdown of minority communities that speak different languages. In this perspective, a language often begins to die long before the passing of the last speaker: New generations may start using it only for limited purposes, increasingly shifting to the community’s dominant language. In this process, knowledge of the dying language erodes both at the individual level and at the community level.
Linguistic diversity itself may be the worst loss at stake, because it may be the most promising and precise source of evidence for the range of variation allowed in the organization of the human cognitive system. For instance, Harrison discusses many strategies for manipulating quantities across languages, often endangered ones. The rapid loss of linguistic diversity substantially hinders comparative investigation about the multiple ways in which a single cognitive domain can be organized.
Linguists are well aware that their efforts alone cannot prevent this loss. Community involvement, especially with government support, has proven essential in slowing or even reversing language loss in different cases(e.g., Basque and Irish). Crucially, endangered languages must be acquired by new generations of speakers. Here the biological metaphor adopted by Harrison applies appropriately — documentation of dead languages is akin to a fossil record, providing only partial clues about complex cognitive systems.
According to the first paragraph, language loss
选项
A、is caused partly by colonialism, urbanization and globalization.
B、is the most extreme cultural loss people experiences.
C、is expected to occur in a few centuries.
D、occurs in less than half of the world’s 6,900 languages.
答案
A
解析
事实细节题。根据题干直接定位到第一段。本段第一句提到,本世纪人类很有可能经历最极端的文化流失,这个危机一部分是由以世界殖民主义、城市化、全球化为标志的历史发展引起的。故A项为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/xee4777K
0
考研英语二
相关试题推荐
Theauthorthinksthatpullfactors______.Peoplemovingwithincountrybordersareoftenmotivatedbythedesireto______.
Nameshavegainedincreasingimportanceinthecompetitiveworldofhighereducation.Ascollegesstriveformarketshare,they
TheInternetaffordsanonymitytoitsusers,ablessingtoprivacyandfreedomofspeech.Butthatveryanonymityisalsobehind
TheInternetaffordsanonymitytoitsusers,ablessingtoprivacyandfreedomofspeech.Butthatveryanonymityisalsobehind
Thegreatrecessionmaybeover,butthiseraofhighjoblessnessisprobablybeginning.Beforeitends,itwilllikelychanget
Readthefollowingtextandanswerquestionsbyfindinginformationfromtherightcolumnthatcorrespondstoeachofthemarked
Beautyhasalwaysbeenregardedassomethingpraiseworthy.Almosteveryonethinksattractivepeoplearehappierandhealthier,h
Moveover,organic,fairtradeandfreerange—thelatestinenlightenedediblesishere:foodwith"embedded"positiveintention
ArecentcaseinAustraliashowshoweasilyfearcanfrustrateaninformant’sgoodintentions.InDecember,awomanwroteanonym
ArecentcaseinAustraliashowshoweasilyfearcanfrustrateaninformant’sgoodintentions.InDecember,awomanwroteanonym
随机试题
牙周膜所具有的神经末梢种类是
口腔分级预防的概念正确的是
风险等级评估时,以下状况为Ⅲ级风险的是()。
债券按发行方式分类,可分为()。
对确认的资产评估结果有异议的,可以在接到通知书后()日内,向上一级国有资产管理部门申请复议。
关于房地产开发企业进行土地增值税清算的说法,正确的有()。
课堂上人际关系出现双方相互亲近,认知协调,情感和谐,行为一致,这是一种()。
如图,矩形ABCD被分为四个小矩形,面积分别为6,12,18,24,则图中阴影部分面积是()。
规范式的公文标题不包含的要素是()。
简述刑事违法性与违法的关系。
最新回复
(
0
)