Nicaraguan Sign Language - Page 39

C2 Proficiency · Word Formation · Ready for C2 Proficiency Student's Book, Macmillan

For questions 1–8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line.

CONCEIVE

FALL

ROLL

EFFECT

MOMENT

CODE

CURIOUS

DEFINE

Humans possess an (0) ___ urge to communicate. What, then, would happen if we were to grow up in a community bereft of any established language system – would we develop a new one? For linguists, the idea of ever being able to conduct any research into this question was (1) ___ – until it suddenly wasn't. In the mid-1980s, the field of linguistics received an unexpected (2) ___ when the government of Nicaragua (3) ___ hundreds of deaf children into two newly built schools. Most started with no understanding of grammar or syntax — they only had rudimentary signs for basic needs, like 'eat' and 'drink.' However, once placed together, the children began to respond to and build on each other's signs, (4) ___ creating a new language out of thin air. The invention of Nicaraguan Sign Language is recognised as a (5) ___ feat within the field of linguistics. Over the years, scholars have patiently (6) ___ the language, finding it to be filled with (7) ___ and yet strikingly similar to many of the world's languages. Many see this as (8) ___ evidence of children's ability not only to passively learn languages, but to actively develop them.

Nicaraguan Sign Language

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