Given below are two statements:

Statement I: Linguists, being primarily interested in the scientific study of language, approach language dispassionately.
Statement II: Linguists are necessarily polyglots who bring their own biases to language study.

In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

Correct option is C

Explanation:

1. Statement I is correct: Linguists are primarily focused on the scientific and systematic study of language, often using objective and dispassionate approaches to analyze phonetics, grammar, syntax, and semantics. Their goal is to understand the structure and function of language without subjective biases.
2. Statement II is incorrect: Linguists are not necessarily polyglots. While some linguists may know multiple languages, their profession does not require fluency in many languages. Furthermore, linguistics as a field encourages minimizing personal biases in favor of scientific observation and description.

Information Booster:

• Linguistics:

  • A scientific discipline focusing on understanding language structure, usage, and evolution.
  • Subfields include sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and computational linguistics.

• Polyglots vs. Linguists:

  • Polyglots: People fluent in multiple languages.
  • Linguists: Researchers who study languages scientifically, which does not necessitate fluency in multiple languages.

• Linguists use tools such as corpus analysis, phonetic transcription, and theoretical frameworks to study languages systematically.

  Key figures in Linguistics:

  • Noam Chomsky: Known for the theory of generative grammar.
  • Ferdinand de Saussure: Founder of modern structural linguistics.
  • Roman Jakobson: Contributed to phonology and semiotics.