Where Does a Language Go If it Dies? Reading Answers

Jul 23, 2024

Where Does a Language Go If it Dies? Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Where Does a Language Go If it Dies? Reading Answers have a total of 12 IELTS questions in total. In the questions, you have to choose the correct statement from the given choices.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers, which feature topics such as Where Does a Language Go If it Dies? Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Where Does a Language Go If it Dies?

A. There are approximately 6,500 languages spoken throughout the world. However, the majority of these are spoken by only a few people each. Papua New Guinea alone, which has fewer than four million citizens, is home to the speakers of an estimated 832 languages, meaning that each language is spoken by an average of only 4,500 people. Around the world there are approximately 2,000 languages that are each spoken by fewer than 1,000 people. The danger of language extinction is, therefore, imminent and widespread. In fact, over the last one hundred years, about four hundred languages have gone extinct. Many more are endangered, and linguists estimate that by the end of the twenty-first century, over half of the existing languages will be no more. Many linguists and anthropologists, finding the situation dire, have worked to develop ways of preserving the languages at the greatest risk before they are lost to history.

B. The most well known example of a dead language is, perhaps, Latin. However, there is debate about whether Latin is truly dead, given that it evolved into several other languages, and, technically speaking, it is still learned and spoken by some, particularly scholars and clergy. The reasons Latin is still used are varied. Some Christian churches, for instance, still utilize Latin texts, with the Roman Catholic Church in particular having used Latin as a common language across multiple countries and cultures. Latin is also one of the languages of science and so is commonly used to christen new discoveries. But perhaps most importantly, Latin in its written form is studied so historians can read ancient texts to better understand Western cultural development from literary, scientific, and political perspectives. Thus, in a sense, Latin may be not a living language, but rather the best documented of those that have died. Currently endangered languages with fewer interested parties may not be so well understood after their demise.

C. Understanding culture and history are two of the most important aspects of language preservation. Each culture has a unique view of the world. When that view is learned by others, it expands humanity's understanding of ourselves. When the last living native speaker of a language dies, we lose "literally hundreds of generations of traditional knowledge encoded in these ancestral tongues" according to the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, one of the premiere organizations working on language preservation. For example, the Native American Cherokee have many concepts that are expressed in their language that have no equivalents in other languages. "Oo-kah-huh-sdee" is a word used for the excitement seeing a particularly cute human baby or baby animal. Likewise, they have no word similar to goodbye, only one conveying the meaning of seeing the other person later. And beyond cultural concepts and ways of being, stories, histories and scientific knowledge are all lost each time a language dies. An Amazonian tribe's language can contain centuries of passed-down knowledge about the plants and animals where they live. That information dies when the language does.

D. A number of organizations besides the Living Tongues Institute work to preserve endangered languages. The primary ones are the Endangered Languages Programme run by the United Nations' Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Google's Endangered Languages Project. These two organizations provide complementary services. UNESCO contributes tools to monitor and assess trends in language diversity and delivers training, policy advice, and technical assistance, while the Endangered Languages Project, which Google formed in collaboration with a number of organizations and language groups interested in preservation, supplies a technological platform to enable language recording, communication between far-flung speakers of an endangered language, and language instruction.

E. These efforts are not in vain. There have been several cases of languages that were on the brink of extinction that have been revitalised. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation had only four hundred speakers of their native language when Tom Belt, part of the Oklahoma Band of the nation, arrived on their land. A fluent speaker of Cherokee, he realized that this Cherokee. Eventually, a Cherokee language immersion program was implemented in the local schools, with core classes as science and maths taught in Cherokee. This practice continues today, and now Cherokee is even taught at the university level.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 27-31

Write down your answers on a piece of paper as you read. Complete each sentence with the correct ending A - J from the box below. Choose the correct letter A - J for questions 27-31.
You may use any letter more than once.

Latin

Answer: H
Supporting statement: “.......There is debate about whether Latin is truly dead, given that it evolved into several other languages, and, technically speaking, it is still learned and spoken by some, particularly scholars and clergy...........”
Keywords: debate, dead
Keyword Location: para B, line 1
Explanation: The para explains that Latin is used in academic and religious circles and is debated whether it is truly dead, as it evolved into other languages and is still learned and spoken by some.

An extinct language

Answer: I
Supporting statement: “.........When the last living native speaker of a language dies, we lose 'literally hundreds of generations of traditional knowledge encoded in these ancestral tongues..........”
Keywords: language, lose
Keyword Location: para C, line 3
Explanation: The paragraph discusses how the death of a language results in the loss of accumulated cultural history and traditional knowledge. Hence ‘I’ is the correct answer.

UNESCO

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “.......UNESCO contributes tools to monitor and assess trends in language diversity and delivers training, policy advice, and technical assistance............”
Keywords: UNESCO, monitor
Keyword Location: para D, line 2
Explanation: The paragraph details how UNESCO tracks language diversity trends and provides various supports for language preservation. Hence A is the correct answer.

The Endangered Languages Project

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “.........The Endangered Languages Project... supplies a technological platform to enable language recording, communication between far-flung speakers of an endangered language, and language instruction.........”
Keywords: Project, technological
Keyword Location: para D, line 3
Explanation: The paragraph details how the Endangered Languages Project provides a technological platform that facilitates language recording, communication, and instruction for endangered languages.

Tom Belt ANSWER CHOICES

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “.........A fluent speaker of Cherokee, he realized that this Cherokee... eventually, a Cherokee language immersion program was implemented in the local schools.........”
Keywords: Belt, teaching
Keyword Location: para E, lines 2-3
Explanation: The para discusses how Tom Belt, a fluent Cherokee speaker, took action to teach the Cherokee language to the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. His efforts led to the implementation of a language immersion program in local schools, which helped revitalize the Cherokee language.

tracks language diversity trends.
is widely used in academic and religious circles, so all agree it is not dead.
began teaching his native language to part of his own tribe.
facilitates communication and language recording.
may not be as effective in preserving dying languages as once hoped.
feared that the Eastern Band of the Cherokee tribe would disperse.
is completely lost to history and can no longer be studied.
cannot be classified neatly as either living or dead.
can lose its accumulated culture history.
taught the Cherokee language since all Cherokee speakers had died.

Questions 32-40

Write down your answers on a piece of paper as you read. The Reading passage has five sections, A-E. Which section contains the following information? Choose the correct letter, A-E
You may use any letter more than once.

Modern use of an ancient language for academic and religious purposes

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “........Latin is still learned and spoken by some, particularly scholars and clergy..........”
Keywords: academic, religious
Keyword Location: para B, lines 1-2
Explanation: This para explains that Latin is used in academic and religious contexts, highlighting its use by scholars and clergy, and showing that it retains relevance in these fields despite being considered a dead language.

A language that nearly perished, but was revived

Answer: E
Supporting statement: “.........The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation had only four hundred speakers... a Cherokee language immersion program was implemented in the local schools.........”
Keywords: perished, revived
Keyword Location: para E, lines 1-3
Explanation: This para provides an example of the Cherokee language, which was on the verge of extinction but was revitalized through educational programs and immersion schools, significantly increasing the number of speakers.

Words and phrases that lack an exact translation in some languages

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “.........The Native American Cherokee have many concepts that are expressed in their language that have no equivalents in other languages.........”
Keywords: exact, translation
Keyword Location: para C, lines 4-5
Explanation: This para says how the Cherokee language includes unique words and phrases that do not have direct translations in other languages, illustrating the richness and uniqueness of linguistic and cultural expression.

A technology that facilitates language preservation

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “........supplies a technological platform to enable language recording, communication between far-flung speakers of an endangered language, and language instruction..........”
Keywords: technology, language
Keyword Location: para D, lines 3-4
Explanation: This para explains how the Endangered Languages Project uses technology to support language preservation by enabling recording, communication, and instruction for endangered languages, helping to maintain and revitalize them.

The expected number of languages in the year 2100

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “..........Linguists estimate that by the end of the twenty-first century, over half of the existing languages will be no more........”
Keywords: number, 2100
Keyword Location: para A, lines 6-7
Explanation: This paragraph contains a prediction by linguists that more than half of the current languages will have gone extinct by the end of the 21st century, highlighting the urgent need for language preservation efforts. Hence A is the correct answer.

A small country with a lot of language diversity

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “..........Papua New Guinea alone... is home to the speakers of an estimated 832 languages.........”
Keywords: country, language
Keyword Location: para A, lines 2-3
Explanation: This paragraph mentions Papua New Guinea as a small country with a high number of languages, demonstrating the extreme linguistic diversity found in some regions of the world. Hence A is the correct answer.

The intimate connection between language and history

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “.........Stories, histories and scientific knowledge are all lost each time a language dies.........”
Keywords: connection, language
Keyword Location: para C, lines 8-9
Explanation: This para focuses the connection between language and history by explaining how the loss of a language results in the loss of cultural, historical, and scientific knowledge embedded in that language.

Two organizations with distinct services that work together

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “.......These two organizations provide complementary services. UNESCO... delivers training, policy advice, and technical assistance, while the Endangered Languages Project... supplies a
technological platform...........”
Keywords: organizations, distinct
Keyword Location: para D, lines 2-3
Explanation: This para describes how UNESCO and the Endangered Languages Project offer complementary services for language preservation, with UNESCO providing training and policy advice, and the Endangered Languages Project offering technological solutions.

A prediction about endangered languages after they go extinct.

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “........Currently endangered languages with fewer interested parties may not be so well understood after their demise..........”
Keywords: prediction, after
Keyword Location: para B, lines 7-8
Explanation: This para predicts that languages with fewer people interested in them may not be well documented or understood after they go extinct, underscoring the importance of preservation efforts before it is too late.

Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples