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Craft and StructureHardFunction of a definition in a linguistics text

Craft and Structure practice question

A rule is 'productive' when speakers can apply it to forms they have never encountered before. The classic demonstration involves an invented word: shown a drawing of one 'wug' and then two of them, preschoolers reliably say there are two 'wugs' — proof that they are not merely repeating plurals they have heard, but wielding a productive rule.

Which choice best describes the function of the definition in the first sentence in the text as a whole?

  1. A. It establishes the technical sense of a term so the surprising claim that follows is understood precisely.Correct
  2. B. It concedes that the phenomenon being discussed may not exist.
  3. C. It provides an example of the kind of error the text analyzes.
  4. D. It summarizes the findings presented earlier in the text.

Answer: A. It establishes the technical sense of a term so the surprising claim that follows is understood precisely.

The definition pins down what 'productive' means technically, which the reader needs before the claim that children apply rules productively to words they have never heard.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. It concedes that the phenomenon being discussed may not exist.
Defining a term does not question the phenomenon's existence; the text goes on to assert it.
C. It provides an example of the kind of error the text analyzes.
The definition classifies no error — the 'wugs' answer is presented as evidence of a capacity, not a mistake.
D. It summarizes the findings presented earlier in the text.
The definition precedes the findings; it prepares for them rather than summarizing them.

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