Question

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DIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES
(1) The problem I propose to discuss is rather a hard nut to crack. (2) Why does homo sapiens, whose digestive track functions in precisely the same complicated ways the world over, whose biochemical fabric and genetic potential are essentially common in all peoples and at every stage of social evolution — why does this unified mammalian species not use one common language? (3) It inhales, for its life processes, one chemical element and dies if deprived of it. (4) It makes do with the same number of teeth and vertebrae. (5) In the light of anatomical and neurophysiological universals, a unitary language solution would be readily understandable. (6) But there is also another "natural" model. (7) A deaf, non-literate observer approaching the planet from outside and reporting on crucial aspects of human appearance and behaviour, would conclude with some confidence that men speak a small number of different, though probably related, tongues. (8) He would guess at a figure of the order of half a dozen with 26 perhaps a cluster of dialects or pidgins. (9) This number would be persuasively concordant with other major parameters of human diversity. (10) Why, then, this mystery of Babel?
Text Analysis
(1) What is the meaning of the verb "to propose" when followed by an infinitive? What is the figurative meaning of the idiom "a hard nut to crack"?
(2) What is "homo sapiens"? What is the meaning of "fabric" in this context? Who is the author of the "Origin of species"? What is a mammalian? In what sense is man referred to here as "unified"?
(3) Is there any difference in meaning between "to breathe" and "to inhale"? What chemical element is meant here? What does the elliptical phrase "if deprived" stand for?
(4) What is "to make do with smth."? Is the form 'Vertebrae" plural or singular? Is there anything in common between the spine and vertebrae?
(5) What is a "universal"? How can the phrase "a unitary language solution" be paraphrased to make its sense more explicit? Does "understandable" here mean "something that can be understood" or "something that seems quite natural"?
(6) Why is the word "natural" written within inverted commas? How can the sentence be paraphrased to make the sense of "natural" in the sentence more explicit?
(7) Why should the observer be deaf and non-literate to make a wrong conclusion about the number of languages on the earth? What does "outside" mean here? What is the meaning of "crucial"? Is there any difference between "a language" and "a tongue" as used in this text?
(8) Does the phrase "of the order of imply an exact or an approximate number? What is a "pidgin"? In what way does a pidgin differ from a dialect?
(9) What is the origin of "persuasive"? Does "to be concordant" mean "to coincide" or "to correspond"? What is a "parameter"? How can the phrase "human diversity" be paraphrased?
(10) What is the Tour of Babel? What is the figurative sense of "Babel"? Why is Babel spoken of here as a kind of mystery?