What has happened to the number of fluent speakers?
Linguist Dr Sian Roberts has spent twenty years recording the last fluent speakers of a small language in the mountains of northern Peru. When she began, there were around forty; today there are fewer than ten. The decline, she explains, was not caused by a ban but by choices: parents wanted their children to succeed in Spanish-speaking schools and jobs. Recently, however, some young people have begun learning the language from recordings, proud of a heritage their parents set aside. 'It is too late for it to be everyday speech again,' Roberts says, 'but it may survive as a language of songs and ceremonies.'
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. It has dropped to fewer than ten
- Step 1: Find the part of the text that deals with this. Step 2. Second sentence. Answer: It has dropped to fewer than ten. Why not the others: From about forty to fewer than ten.
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