Buzz
Among all the various creations of humanity, language stands as the foremost achievement. While other innovations like the wheel, agriculture, and sliced bread have revolutionized our material existence, it is language that truly defines our humanity. Compared to language, all other inventions pale in significance because everything we have ever achieved depends on and originates from language. Without language, we could never have attained the unparalleled dominance over other animals and nature itself.
B
However, language is not just significant because it came first. It is a tool of extraordinary sophistication, based on the ingenious simplicity of 'this remarkable invention that allows us to create an infinite variety of expressions from twenty-five or thirty sounds, revealing our innermost secrets to others and conveying all that we imagine and feel.' This concept was distilled by the renowned French grammarians of the Port-Royal abbey near Versailles in 1660, celebrating the magnitude of language's achievement. Yet, amidst this praise lies a critical incongruity: language, mankind's greatest invention, was never actually invented. This paradox lies at the core of our fascination with language, holding many of its secrets.
C
Language often seems so skillfully drafted that one can hardly imagine it as anything other than the perfected handiwork of a master craftsman. How else could this instrument make so much out of barely three dozen measly morsels of sound? In themselves, these configurations of mouth p,f,b,v,t,d,k,g,sh,a,e and so on – amount to nothing more than a few haphazard spits and splutters, random noises with no meaning, no ability to express, no power to explain. But run them through the cogs and wheels of the language machine, let it arrange them in some very special orders, and there is nothing that these meaningless streams of air cannot do: from sighing the interminable boredom of existence to unravelling the fundamental order of the universe.
D
But perhaps the most remarkable aspect of language is its accessibility. From pre-modern foragers in subtropical savannahs to post-modern philosophers in urban sprawls, almost everyone can effortlessly weave these apparently meaningless sounds into an infinite tapestry of nuanced meanings. Yet, it is this deceptive ease that makes language a victim of its own success. In everyday life, its triumphs are often taken for granted, with its intricate artistry and the expertise required for its creation seldom pondered upon. Language conceals its art.
E
Often, it is only the estrangement of foreign tongues, with their many exotic and outlandish features, that brings home the wonder of languages design. One of the showiest stunts that some languages can pull off is an ability to build up words of breath-breaking length, and thus express in one word what English takes a whole sentence to say. The Turkish word çehirliliçtiremediklerimizdensiniz, to take one example, means nothing less than ‘you are one of those whom we can’t turn into a town-dweller’. (In case you were wondering, this monstrosity really is one word, not merely many different words squashed together – most ol its components cannot even stand up on their own.)
F
And if that sounds like some one-off freak, then consider Sumerian, the language spoken on the banks of the Euphrates some 5,000 years ago by the people who invented writing and thus enabled the documentation of history. A Sumerian word like munintuma’a (‘when he had made it suitable for her’) might seem rather trim compared to the Turkish colossus above. What is so impressive about it, however, is not its lengthiness but rather the reverse – the thrifty compactness of its construction. The word is made up of different slots, each corresponding to a particular portion of meaning. This sleek design allows single sounds to convey useful information, and in fact even the absence of a sound has been enlisted to express something specific. If you were to ask which bit in the Sumerian word corresponds to the pronoun ‘it’ in the English translation ‘when he had made it suitable for her’, then the answer would have to be nothing. Mind you, a very particular kind of nothing: the nothing that stands in the empty slot in the middle. The technology is so fine-tuned then that even a non-sound, when carefully placed in a particular position, has been invested with a specific function. Who could possibly have come up with such a nifty contraption?
Questions 27-32
Reading Passage 3 has six paragraphs, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-F from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i Differences between languages highlight their impressiveness
ii The way in which a few sounds are organised to convey a huge range of meaning
iii Why the sounds used in different languages are not identical
iv Apparently incompatible characteristics of language
v Even silence can be meaningful
vi Why language is the most important invention of all
vii The universal ability to use language
27 Paragraph A
28 Paragraph B
29 Paragraph C
30 Paragraph D
31 Paragraph E
32 Paragraph F
Questions 33-36
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-G, below.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet.
The significance of language
The wheel is one invention that has had a major impact on 33……………… aspects of life, but no impact has been as 34………………. as that of language. Language is very 35…………………, yet composed of just a small number of sounds.
Language appears to be 36………………… to use. However, its sophistication is often overlooked.
A difficult B complex C original
D admired E material F easy
G fundamental
Questions 37-40
Do the statements below agree with the opinions expressed by the author in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
37 Human beings might have achieved their present position without language.
38 The Port-Royal grammarians did justice to the nature of language.
39 A complex idea can be explained more clearly in a sentence than in a single word.
40 The Sumerians were responsible for starting the recording of events.
Responses
27. vi (Đoạn A, “Of all mankind’s manifold…Compared to language, all other inventions pale in significance, since everything we have ever achieved depends on language and originates from it.” → Ngôn ngữ là sáng chế vĩ quan trọng và vĩ đại nhất”)
28. iv (Đoạn B, “Language is mankind s greatest invention – except, of course, that it was never invented. … and it holds many of its secrets.” → Những tính chất không tương hợp của Ngôn ngữ.)
29. ii (Đoạn C, “How else could this instrument … no power to explain.” → Âm trong ngôn ngữ)
30. vii (Đoạn D, “The language machine allows just about everybody from pre-modern foragers … and all apparently without the slightest exertion.” → tính toàn cầu của ngôn ngữ)
31. i (Đoạn E, “Often, it is only the estrangement of foreign tongues, with their many exotic and outlandish features, that brings home the wonder of languages design.” → sự khác biệt giữa các ngôn ngữ)
32. v (Đoạn F, “and in fact even the absence of a sound has been enlisted to express something specific.” → Nhiều khi không nói gì cũng mang một ý nghĩa cụ thể)
33. E
34. G
35. B
36. F
37. NO (Đoạn 1, Without language, we could never have embarked on our ascent to unparalleled power over all other animals, and even over nature itself.” → Không có ngôn ngữ thì con người không thể phát triển như ngày nay).
38. YES (Đoạn B, “This was how, in 1660, … celebrated more eloquently the magnitude of its achievement. → Những nhà ngữ pháp học đã miêu tả vẻ đẹp của sự tự nhiên trong ngôn ngữ)
39. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin về việc diễn đạt một ý tưởng phức tạp bằng câu hay bằng từ sẽ dễ hơn.)
40. YES (Đoạn F, “And if that seems like an isolated incident,… by the people who introduced writing and thereby enabled the recording of history.” → The Sumerians are responsible for documenting historical events).IELTS preparation
