Linguistic anthropologists can answer important questions about the past by looking at language.Which of the following options represents a question that could be answered through historical linguistic analysis?
A) calculating how long the speakers of a given language have lived in a certain region
B) determining why languages began in one place and not in another
C) describing how modern speakers of a language are genetically related to one another
D) calculating exactly how many languages existed in the past

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Linguistic anthropologists can use historical linguistic analysis to track the movement of languages and the ways they change over time. By comparing language features across time and space, they can estimate how long speakers of a given language have lived in a certain region.

Answer: D
 Linguistic anthropologists can use historical linguistic analysis to study the number and distribution of languages in the past. By tracing the development and spread of different language families, they can estimate how many languages existed at particular points in history. However, "calculating exactly" how many languages existed in the past may be difficult due to limitations in data and linguistic variability.

Option B is vague and too general. Option C is better suited to the field of genetics rather than linguistics. Therefore, options A and D are the best choices.

Linguistic Anthropologists Can Answer Important Questions About the Past by Looking