#10 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Subject Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (C).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[ToddVanV]

I chose B and got this question wrong, obviously. I see why C is correct, but I also see why B could be correct. Can you explain why when you have to close answers to chose from in this type of question, what the best approach to use to select the correct one between the two?

[Jeremy Press]

Hi Todd,

This is what we at PowerScore call a Subject Perspective question, because it asks you about what a group or individual in the passage thinks. In this case, it's asking us what the prescriptivists think. So I need to look back at the places in the passage where prescriptivists' views are described. The trick to this question is to recognize that the prescriptivists' views of things are only really described at the very beginning of the passage, in the first two sentences, and the very end of the passage, in the last two sentences. The remainder of the passage discusses descriptivists' views, and the author's responses to those views (in the last paragraph).

So, let's limit ourselves to the first and last two sentences:

First two sentences: "Grammarians of the prescriptive school take it as part of their task to distinguish correct from incorrect usage in language and thereby to encourage the former. They believe that in so doing they play an essential role in preventing a constantly changing language from falling into disarray."

Last two sentences: "In response to the egalitarian objection, prescriptivists point to the importance of standard language usage for the free exchange of ideas. Those to whom preservation of the standard is entrusted inevitably possess some of the attributes of an elite, but their aim is one of inclusion rather than exclusion."

I see a few things there: (1) prescriptivists want to encourage "correct" grammar usage in language; (2) they do this because they want to "prevent[] a constantly changing language from falling into disarray." In other words, they want to stop the language from changing too much: they want to keep it the same/consistent; (3) Prescriptivists think correct grammar is important because it aids the free exchange of ideas, thus making correct grammar inclusive of everyone who wants to participate in this exchange.

The reason answer choice B is incorrect is those sentences don't give us any real basis for inferring how prescriptivists view "the study of language" itself. Is studying language scientific? I can't tell what the prescriptivists think, because those sentences don't really say anything about the meta-question of how to classify the study of language. Indeed, they don't really say anything about "science" at all in those sentences.

But answer choice C is correct because it has support in the text, particularly in the sentence that says prescriptivists believe they "play an essential role in preventing a constantly changing language from falling into disarray." This means the prescriptivists don't like too much change, which suggests they would agree with answer choice C: a word's origins matter to its meaning, because we want to keep our language usage consistent over time (not letting it change too much).

[lounalola]

I understand that C is correct and why. However, I chose E and I don't see why it wouldn't be correct? I got my answer mainly from the final sentence of the 2nd paragraph.

[Adam Tyson]

The second paragraph tells us what the descriptivists think about the prescriptivists, lounalola, but it doesn't actually tell us what the prescriptivists think or believe. There's no indication that the prescriptivists don't think there is a moral issue in the study of language. In fact, just the opposite, since at the end of the passage the author tells us that the prescriptivists are concerned with inclusion and the free exchange of ideas. Sounds like they think there IS a moral component to their approach!