Why Can We Not Use the Languages of Nonliterate Societies

question 55

Multiple Choice

Why can we not use the languages of nonliterate societies to learn about the origins of language?

• A) Their languages are not simpler or less developed than our own.
• B) Their written histories do not go far enough back in time.
• C) They were often developed more recently than written languages.
• D) Languages of nonliterate societies change too quickly to be any use for study.

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Definitions:

Income

The financial gain that an individual or business receives, typically through employment, investment, or business ventures.

Utility Function

A mathematical representation in economics that ranks preferences or satisfaction levels consumers receive from consuming goods and services.

Demand Function

A mathematical representation of the relationship between the quantity demanded of a good and its influencing factors, like price.

Cobb-Douglas

A type of production function used in economics to represent the relationship of an output to inputs, specifically capital and labor, with constants denoting the output elasticity of each input.