The Galician Language and Its Revitalization

question 15

Multiple Choice

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.
Based on the information in the passage, how would you best describe the generic term "new speakers", in bold after the (1) in the first paragraph?

• A)People who were just born.
• B)People who grew up speaking a language, but didn't study it in school.
• C)People who speak a foreign language that they are learning in school for the first time.
• D)People who study/studied their heritage language in school, but didn't grow up speaking it.

---

Definitions:

Tax Treatment

The application of tax laws and regulations to various financial transactions, determining how they are taxed.

Executive and Company

This term refers to the relationship or contractual agreements between a company's management, particularly its executive officers, and the company itself.

Covenants Restricting

Clauses in loan agreements that impose limits on the actions of the borrower to protect the interests of the lender.

Dividend Payments

Distributions of a portion of a company's earnings, decided by the board of directors, to a class of its shareholders.