Praxis I Reading Practice Test

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The Galician Language and Its Revitalization

Ever since the implementation of Galician as the primary language in the public school of Galicia in the early 1980’s, there has been an increase in number of speakers of this language. Observers have seen (1) “new speakers” use Galician, their (2) heritage language, during protests, theatrical skits, and other public events. However, more anthropological research needs to be done on how else the Galician language is being used by these so-called “new speakers”.

Galician-or galego(gah-lay-goh)-is the autochthonous, or native, language of the northwestern region of Spain known as Galicia. It is a language closely related to both Spanish and Portuguese-although it has closer linguistic ties to Portuguese when it is observed under the microscope of some linguists-and is spoken mainly by people who live in rural areas of the region. Although Galician is the co-official language of Galicia, Spanish is spoken by a higher number of (3) inhabitants since it is the language of the Spanish nation and the majority language in the (4) urban areas of Galicia, such as Vigo, Ourense, and A Coruña.

Although Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in Galicia (due to a larger urban rather than rural population), there is a new movement for urban youth toward adopting the language, and in some cases employing it in their every-day conversations (5) instead of Spanish. Because these urban youth typically have spoken mainly Spanish but have come to rely more and more on the use of Galician, they have been termed “new speakers”. It is thanks to these “new speakers” that Galician has recently enjoyed a growth in the number of people who choose to employ it in their daily lives rather than Spanish.

In paragraph 1, why does the author include the information that “new speakers” have been observed using Galician?

  1. To explain why “new speakers” use Galician.
  2. To support the claim that Galician is the native language of Galicia.
  3. To show that there is little to no research done on “new speakers”.
  4. To provide evidence that Galician is being spoken more and more.
Explanation

Answer: D - To provide evidence that Galician is being spoken more and more instead of Spanish, thus it’s experiencing an increase in number of speakers. Answers A and B are true, but are not the reason why the author includes the information. Answer C is untrue, however, because the essay does NOT mention the lack of research that has been done on “new speakers”.

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