While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:English shares remarkable similarities with German—both use similar grammatical str...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- English shares remarkable similarities with German—both use similar grammatical structures and have cognate words like "house/Haus" and "water/Wasser."
- These languages, along with Dutch and Scandinavian languages, descended from a common ancestral language spoken thousands of years ago.
- Spanish, French, and Italian also share ancestry, forming what linguists call the Romance branch.
- Both Germanic and Romance languages belong to the broader Indo-European family, which spans from Europe to parts of Asia.
- Franz Bopp and Jacob Grimm pioneered systematic methods in the 19th century for tracing these linguistic relationships.
- This comparative approach revealed that seemingly different languages often share deep structural and historical connections.
The student wants to illustrate what a language family is. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Indo-European represents a major language family that encompasses both Germanic languages like English and Romance languages like Spanish.
Language families are classification systems based on shared ancestry and structural similarities among languages.
The classification of languages into families was developed by 19th-century comparative linguists like Franz Bopp and Jacob Grimm.
Linguists name language families after their most prominent or geographically central member languages.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "English shares remarkable similarities with German—both use similar grammatical structures and have cognate words like 'house/Haus' and 'water/Wasser.'" |
|
| "These languages, along with Dutch and Scandinavian languages, descended from a common ancestral language spoken thousands of years ago." |
|
| "Spanish, French, and Italian also share ancestry, forming what linguists call the Romance branch." |
|
| "Both Germanic and Romance languages belong to the broader Indo-European family, which spans from Europe to parts of Asia." |
|
| "Franz Bopp and Jacob Grimm pioneered systematic methods in the 19th century for tracing these linguistic relationships." |
|
| "This comparative approach revealed that seemingly different languages often share deep structural and historical connections." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Languages that appear different often share common ancestry and can be grouped into families based on systematic similarities traced through comparative linguistic methods.
Argument Flow: The notes begin with a concrete example of English-German similarities, explain these through shared ancestry, provide a parallel example with Romance languages, then zoom out to show how both fit into the larger Indo-European family. They conclude by explaining how 19th-century linguists developed methods to systematically trace these relationships.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to illustrate what a language family is.
What type of answer do we need? An illustration or explanation that uses specific information from the student's notes to show what constitutes a language family.
Any limiting keywords? "most effectively" tells us we need the choice that best accomplishes the goal, and "uses relevant information from the notes" means the answer must draw on specific details provided in the research notes.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The correct answer needs to use specific examples and information from the notes to show what a language family actually is, rather than just defining it abstractly
- From our analysis, we have concrete examples: Germanic languages (English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian), Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian), and the broader Indo-European family that encompasses both
- The answer should demonstrate the concept by showing how these languages group together based on shared ancestry and similarities
Indo-European represents a major language family that encompasses both Germanic languages like English and Romance languages like Spanish.
- Uses specific information directly from the notes: Indo-European family, Germanic languages, English, Romance languages, Spanish
- Illustrates the concept by showing the hierarchical structure we mapped out
- Demonstrates what a language family is through concrete example rather than abstract definition
Language families are classification systems based on shared ancestry and structural similarities among languages.
- Provides an abstract definition of language families
- While accurate, doesn't use specific information from the notes
- Fails to illustrate the concept through the concrete examples provided in the research
The classification of languages into families was developed by 19th-century comparative linguists like Franz Bopp and Jacob Grimm.
- Focuses on the historical development of classification methods rather than what a language family is
- Uses names from the notes (Bopp and Grimm) but doesn't illustrate the concept of language families
Linguists name language families after their most prominent or geographically central member languages.
- Makes a claim about naming conventions that isn't supported by the notes
- Doesn't use any specific information from the research notes