Colonized by Spain in the 1600s, New Mexico is home to a dialect of Spanish that differs significantly from dialects...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Colonized by Spain in the 1600s, New Mexico is home to a dialect of Spanish that differs significantly from dialects spoken in Spain's other former colonies in the Americas. Most notably, the New Mexican dialect retains older features of the language that other dialects lost in later centuries. But why would it have done so? New Mexico was so distant from population centers in Spain's other colonies that it attracted few colonists after its initial colonization. Geographical isolation in turn would have limited the exposure of New Mexican colonists to changes occurring to Spanish grammar and vocabulary elsewhere in the empire. Thus, the present-day uniqueness of the New Mexican dialect suggests the extent to which ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
a language can protect itself from being influenced by other languages.
the grammar and vocabulary of any given language change from one generation to the next.
geographical isolation can influence how a language develops.
speakers of one dialect of a language can understand speakers of another dialect of that language.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Colonized by Spain in the 1600s, New Mexico is home to a dialect of Spanish that differs significantly from dialects spoken in Spain's other former colonies in the Americas." |
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| "Most notably, the New Mexican dialect retains older features of the language that other dialects lost in later centuries." |
|
| "But why would it have done so?" |
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| "New Mexico was so distant from population centers in Spain's other colonies that it attracted few colonists after its initial colonization." |
|
| "Geographical isolation in turn would have limited the exposure of New Mexican colonists to changes occurring to Spanish grammar and vocabulary elsewhere in the empire." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: New Mexico's geographical isolation from other Spanish colonies explains why its dialect preserved older Spanish features that other dialects lost.
Argument Flow: The passage starts by noting that New Mexican Spanish is unique among Spanish colonial dialects because it retained older features. It then explains this phenomenon through a cause-and-effect argument: geographical distance led to fewer colonists and isolation, which in turn limited exposure to linguistic changes happening elsewhere in the Spanish empire.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The entire passage builds a case that geographical isolation affected how New Mexican Spanish developed
- The evidence shows that isolation prevented linguistic changes from spreading to New Mexico, allowing older features to survive
- The correct answer should reference geographical isolation and its impact on language development or change
- It should capture the main lesson we can draw from the New Mexican Spanish example
a language can protect itself from being influenced by other languages.
- This suggests languages actively protect themselves, which does not match the passage
- The passage shows isolation passively prevented changes, not active protection
the grammar and vocabulary of any given language change from one generation to the next.
- This is about general language change over generations
- While true, it misses the specific point about isolation's role
- The passage focuses on why some dialects changed while others did not
geographical isolation can influence how a language develops.
- Directly connects to the passage's main argument about isolation affecting development
- Matches our prethinking about isolation influencing language
- The New Mexican example demonstrates exactly this principle
speakers of one dialect of a language can understand speakers of another dialect of that language.
- About mutual intelligibility between dialects
- This concept is not discussed or implied anywhere in the passage
- Completely unrelated to the isolation argument