Cambridge International AS Level English General Paper
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away from them; uphill or downhill. It’s a much more precise way of dealing with the world than English. ‘There’s a misconception that these languages are simple just because many are unwritten,’ Turin says. ‘But most have an incredibly complex grammatical system that far exceeds that of English.’
Finally, languages are ways of interpreting the world; different languages provide unique ways to think and problem-solve. Because of this, they can provide insight into neurology, psychology and the linguistic capacities of our species. For instance, speakers of Cherokee can use different suffixes to indicate whether a noun is toward or
But as a Cherokee elder notes: ‘It’s all well and good that y’all want to do this, but remember, they didn’t take it away overnight, and you’re not going to get it back overnight.’
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zoology, mathematics, navigation, astronomy, pharmacology, botany, meteorology and more. In the case of Cherokee, that language was born of thousands of years spent inhabiting the southern Appalachia Mountains. Cherokee words exist for every last berry, stem, frond and toadstool in the region, and those names also convey what kind of properties that object might have – whether it’s edible, poisonous or has some medicinal value. ‘No culture has a monopoly on human genius, [so] we never know where the next brilliant idea may come from … we lose ancient knowledge if we lose languages.’
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For all of these reasons, linguists are scrambling to document and archive the diversity of quickly disappearing languages. Their efforts include making dictionaries, recording histories and traditions, and translating oral stories.
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Scramble to save
Abridged and adapted from an article by Rachel Nuwer, BBC, June 2014
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Consider the number of marks shown in brackets after each question below. This will help you decide how long each response should be.
Prose comprehension texts usually include line numbers in the margin, and questions may direct you to specific parts of the text using these line numbers.
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EXAM-STYLE QUESTIONS 1
This activity will introduce you to the types of comprehension questions you will meet in this course. Answer questions 1–5. 1 From the text, give two reasons why languages are lost. [2]
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2 In no more than 50 of your own words, summarise Rachel Nuwer’s arguments for wanting to preserve dying languages. [5] 3
Why do you think parents decide not to teach their children their heritage language? In your own words, explain why families are likely to perceive it as a hindrance (line 34). [4]
4 In your own opinion, what do you think is the most important reason why we should save dying
languages? Using evidence from the text and your knowledge of the present day, justify your answer. [8] 5 (i) Explain the meanings of the following words as they are used in the text. You can write your answer as a single word or a short phrase. [3] imperiled (line 11) degrade (line 23) teeter (line 81) (ii) Use the words in three separate sentences to illustrate their meanings as used in the text. Your sentence content should stand apart from the subject matter of the text. [3]
Original material © Cambridge University Press 2018
Total marks: 25
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