Which of the following can be inferred from

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage regarding present-day research relating to Nahuatl? Whether the languages of the ancient American peoples were used for expressing abstract universal concepts can be clearly answered in the case of Nahuatl. Nahuatl, like Greek and German, is a language that allows the formation of extensive compounds. By the combination of radicals or semantic elements, single compound words can express complex conceptual relations, often of an abstract universal character. The tlamatinime (those who know) were able to use this rich stock of abstract terms to express the nuances of their thought. They also availed themselves of other forms of expression with metaphorical meaning, some probably original, some derived from Toltec coinages. Of these forms, the most characteristic in Nahuatl is the juxtaposition of two words that, because they are synonyms, associated terms, or even contraries, complement each other to evoke one single idea. Used metaphorically, the juxtaposed terms connote specific or essential traits of the being they refer to, introducing a mode of poetry as an almost habitual form of expression. Some record or evidence of the thought of the tlamatinime is available., For at least some Nahuatl expressions, researchers are able to trace their derivation from another ancient American language., Researchers believe that in Nahuatl, abstract universal concepts are always expressed metaphorically.

3 Explanations

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Sai Pawankumar Chevuru

where are the questions?

Apr 10, 2018 • Comment

Sam Kinsman

Hi Sai,

The question is at the very top of the page ("Which of the following .... relating to Nahuatl?"). And the answer choices are below the passage. They are separated by commas - so answer choice A is "some record... is available," and B is for at least.... Nahuatl expressions." I hope this clarifies! :)

Apr 11, 2018 • Reply

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balu suresh

for the answer choice B , how could you conclude that toltec is an ancient American language?

Nov 29, 2012 • Comment

Rachel Wisuri

The reason we can infer that Toltec is an ancient American language is because the passage as a whole is discussing the "languages of ancient American peoples" in general (line 1). It starts by discussing Nahuatl, and then we are told that some Nahuatl expressions are derived from Toltec coinages. Since the passage is talking ONLY about American languages, we can infer that Toltec, like Nahuatl, is an ancient American language.

Nov 30, 2012 • Reply

Hemdeep Dulthummon

It also talks about German and Greek, which are not ancient American languages..

Mar 19, 2017 • Reply

Adam

Hi Hemdeep,

This is true, but the passage is clearly concerned with Nahuatl and ancient American languages. German and Greek are referenced as being similar in one specific way to Nahuatl, but there's no information that would lead us to believe that Nahuatl comes from any non-American language.

Mar 20, 2017 • Reply

Abhinav Mishra

Hi Adam,

I'm still a bit confused on this one. Yes the passage is concerned with ancient American languages, but how can we definitely conclude from the information available in the passage that Toltec is an American language? I believe for these kind of inference questions the answers have to be line with the evidence presented in the passage right?

Jun 2, 2019 • Reply

Adam

Hey Abhinav,
The passage implies, but does not state directly, that Toltec is an American language. The context is discussing an ancient American language. The key is that Toltec is given no other descriptor. If it were, say, a modern Asian language, that would need to be specified in the passage. But because nothing is specified, we are to assume that it aligns with the context, that is, American languages. It's the same logic we use to conclude that the tlamatinime were ancient Americans, and not later scholars. This isn't stated, just implied by the context.
Hope that helps!

Jun 4, 2019 • Reply

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Chris Lele