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Listen to an Academic Talk Test #025
Listen to an Academic Talk
1. What is the main subject of the talk?
A) The grammar of the English language
B) How languages can decline and disappear
C) The development of new languages
D) Difficulties in learning a second language
2. According to the professor, what is a key difference between a pidgin and a creole?
A) A creole is spoken by more people than a pidgin.
B) A creole has native speakers, but a pidgin does not.
C) A pidgin uses vocabulary from only one language.
D) A pidgin is more difficult for adults to learn.
3. What can be inferred about the grammar of a pidgin?
A) It is inconsistent and not fully developed.
B) It is more complex than a creole's grammar.
C) It follows the rules of its main source language.
D) It cannot be analyzed by linguists.
4. Why does the professor mention the Caribbean?
A) To name a region where no pidgins developed
B) To show how geography affects language
C) To give an example of where creoles were formed
D) To discuss the dominant languages in that area
Professor: Today we'll explore how new languages are born, specifically by looking at pidgins and creoles. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops when people who don't share a common language need to communicate.
A pidgin has a limited vocabulary, often drawn from the dominant language, and a simplified grammar. Crucially, a pidgin is no one's native language; it's a second language for everyone who uses it.
So what happens next? If that pidgin is learned by a new generation of children as their first language, it becomes a creole. These children expand the vocabulary and develop more complex, systematic grammatical rules, transforming the simple pidgin into a full, stable language. This process often occurred in colonial settings, such as in the Caribbean, where people from diverse African and European backgrounds were brought together. The study of creoles gives us a unique window into the fundamental processes of language creation.
A pidgin has a limited vocabulary, often drawn from the dominant language, and a simplified grammar. Crucially, a pidgin is no one's native language; it's a second language for everyone who uses it.
So what happens next? If that pidgin is learned by a new generation of children as their first language, it becomes a creole. These children expand the vocabulary and develop more complex, systematic grammatical rules, transforming the simple pidgin into a full, stable language. This process often occurred in colonial settings, such as in the Caribbean, where people from diverse African and European backgrounds were brought together. The study of creoles gives us a unique window into the fundamental processes of language creation.
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