Lost For Words Many Minority Languages Are On The Danger List — IELTS Reading Answers

“Isolation breeds linguistic diversity: as a result, the world is peppered with languages spoken by only a few people”

The gap needs the cause of diversity: 'isolation breeds linguistic diversity', producing languages spoken by only a few people.

“But Salikoko Mufwene, who chairs the Linguistics Department at the University of Chicago, argues that the deadliest weapon is not government policy but economic globalisation. 'Native Americans have not lost pride in their language, but they have had to adapt to socio-economic pressures,' he says”

The gap needs the 'deadliest weapon': Mufwene argues it 'is not government policy but economic globalisation'.

“But a growing interest in cultural identity may prevent the direst predictions from coming true”

The gap needs the hopeful trend: 'a growing interest in cultural identity may prevent the direst predictions from coming true'.

“Volunteer 'apprentices' pair up with one of the last living speakers of a Native American tongue to learn a traditional skill such as basket weaving, with instruction exclusively in the endangered language”

The gap needs what apprentices learn: they pair with last speakers 'to learn a traditional skill such as basket weaving'.

Endangered languages cannot be saved unless people learn to speak more than one language.

“'The key to fostering diversity is for people to learn their ancestral tongue, as well as the dominant language,' says Doug Whalen, founder and president of the Endangered Language Fund in New Haven, Connecticut. 'Most of these languages will not survive without a large degree of bilingualism,' he says”

Doug Whalen says most languages 'will not survive without a large degree of bilingualism', matching speaker E.

Saving languages from extinction is not in itself a satisfactory goal.

“But Mufwene says that preventing a language dying out is not the same as giving it new life by using it every day. 'Preserving a language is more like preserving fruits in a jar,' he says”

Mufwene says preventing a language dying is 'not the same as giving it new life', like 'preserving fruits in a jar' — speaker B.

The way we think may be determined by our language.

“'Your brain and mine are different from the brain of someone who speaks French, for instance,' Pagel says, and this could affect our thoughts and perceptions”

Pagel says different languages make different brains, and this 'could affect our thoughts and perceptions' — speaker D.

Young people often reject the established way of life in their community.

“When the next generation reaches their teens, they might not want to be inducted into the old traditions”

Ostler notes that when the next generation reaches their teens, 'they might not want to be inducted into the old traditions' — speaker C.

A change of language may mean a loss of traditional culture.

“Language is also intimately bound up with culture, so it may be difficult to preserve one without the other. 'If a person shifts from Navajo to English, they lose something,' Mufwene says”

Mufwene says language 'is also intimately bound up with culture', so shifting from Navajo to English means losing something — speaker B.

The Navajo language will die out because it currently has too few speakers.

“Navajo is considered endangered despite having 150,000 speakers. What makes a language endangered is not just the number of speakers, but how old they are”

Navajo is 'considered endangered despite having 150,000 speakers'; the age of speakers, not sheer numbers, drives endangerment.

A large number of native speakers fail to guarantee the survival of a language.

“Navajo is considered endangered despite having 150,000 speakers. What makes a language endangered is not just the number of speakers, but how old they are”

Despite 150,000 speakers Navajo is endangered because endangerment depends on speakers' age, so numbers alone do not guarantee survival.

National governments could do more to protect endangered languages.

“Quite often, governments try to kill off a minority language by banning its use in public or discouraging its use in schools, all to promote national unity”

Governments are said to ban or discourage minority languages, but the passage never discusses whether they could do more to protect them.

The loss of linguistic diversity is inevitable.

“So despite linguists' best efforts, many languages will disappear over the next century”

'Despite linguists' best efforts, many languages will disappear over the next century', supporting the inevitability of language loss.