Question

colonized by spain in the 1600s, new mexico is home to a dialect of spanish that differs significantly from dialects spoken in spains other former colonies in the americas. most notably, the new mexican dialect retains older features of the language that other dialects lost in later centuries. but why would it have done so? new mexico was so distant from population centers in spains other colonies that it attracted few colonists after its initial colonization. geographical isolation in turn would have limited the exposure of new mexican colonists to changes occurring to spanish grammar and vocabulary elsewhere in the empire. thus, the present-day uniqueness of the new mexican dialect suggests the extent to which
14 mark for review
which choice most logically completes the text?
a a language can protect itself from being influenced by o languages.
b the grammar and vocabulary of any given language cha from one generation to the next.
c geographical isolation can influence how a language develops.
d speakers of one dialect of a language can understand speakers of another dialect of that language.

Explanation:

The text discusses New Mexico's geographical isolation (being distant from population centers in other colonies) and how this led to the New Mexican dialect retaining older language features. The blank is preceded by "Thus, the present - day uniqueness of the New Mexican dialect suggests the extent to which...", which implies a conclusion based on the isolation - related reasoning. Option C directly ties geographical isolation (the cause mentioned in the text) to language development (the effect of the dialect's uniqueness), which is in line with the text's logic. Option A is too general about a language protecting itself (not related to the text's isolation - based explanation). Option B talks about language change over generations but not in the context of isolation. Option D is about dialect understanding, which is not relevant to the isolation - dialect uniqueness relationship.

Answer:

C. geographical isolation can influence how a language develops.