Linguist: Plosives and fricatives are two classes of consonants. A "voicing contrast" is a distinction between two consonants that are...
GMAT Two Part Analysis : (TPA) Questions
Source: Official Guide
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Linguist: Plosives and fricatives are two classes of consonants. A "voicing contrast" is a distinction between two consonants that are identical except that one is voiced and the other is unvoiced. In language family X, languages with voicing contrasts in their fricatives always have voicing contrasts in their plosives.
This means that in that family, any given language has a voicing contrast in its fricatives _______ it has a voicing contrast in its plosives. In other words, a given language in that family lacks any voicing contrasts in its plosives _______ it lacks any such contrasts in its fricatives. Select for First blank the word or phrase that most logically completes the statement with the first blank. And select for Second blank the word or phrase that most logically completes the statement with the second blank. Make only two selections, one in each column.
Solution
Phase 1: Owning the Dataset
Argument Analysis Table
| Passage Statement | Analysis & Implications |
|---|---|
| "Plosives and fricatives are two classes of consonants" |
|
| "A 'voicing contrast' is a distinction between two consonants that are identical except that one is voiced and the other is unvoiced" |
|
| "In language family X, languages with voicing contrasts in their fricatives always have voicing contrasts in their plosives" |
|
Key Patterns Identified
- Established fact: Fricative voicing contrasts → Plosive voicing contrasts (always)
- Logical dependency: Fricative voicing contrasts cannot exist without plosive voicing contrasts
- Contrapositive: No plosive voicing contrasts → No fricative voicing contrasts
- No reverse relationship stated: We don't know if plosive contrasts require fricative contrasts
Phase 2: Question Analysis & Prethinking
Understanding Each Part
- Part 1 Focus: Complete the statement about when a language has voicing contrasts in fricatives relative to plosives
- Part 2 Focus: Complete the statement about when a language lacks voicing contrasts in plosives relative to fricatives
- Relationship: These represent the original logical relationship and its contrapositive
Valid Inferences (Prethinking)
- For Part 1: A language can have fricative voicing contrasts ONLY IF it has plosive voicing contrasts (because the plosive contrasts are necessary)
- For Part 2: A language lacks plosive voicing contrasts ONLY IF it lacks fricative voicing contrasts (contrapositive logic)
Phase 3: Answer Choice Evaluation
Let's evaluate each option for both parts:
"and"
- What it claims: Both conditions occur together
- Fact Support: Doesn't capture the dependency relationship
- Logical Validity: Too weak; doesn't show necessity
- Part Suitability: Neither part
"if"
- What it claims: The first condition happens when the second happens
- Fact Support: Reverses the logical direction we need
- Logical Validity: Would create incorrect implications
- Part Suitability: Neither part
"only if"
- What it claims: The first condition requires the second condition
- Fact Support:
- Part 1: Fricative contrasts require plosive contrasts ✓
- Part 2: Lacking plosive contrasts requires lacking fricative contrasts ✓
- Logical Validity: Perfectly captures the necessary condition relationship
- Part Suitability: Both parts
"or"
- What it claims: At least one condition is true
- Fact Support: Doesn't capture the dependency
- Logical Validity: Too weak for our needs
- Part Suitability: Neither part
"unless"
- What it claims: The first happens except when the second doesn't
- Fact Support: Creates confusing double negatives
- Logical Validity: Doesn't match our logical structure
- Part Suitability: Neither part
Answer Selection
- Part 1 Selection: "only if" - A language has fricative voicing contrasts only if it has plosive voicing contrasts
- Part 2 Selection: "only if" - A language lacks plosive voicing contrasts only if it lacks fricative voicing contrasts
Verification
- Both answers correctly express the logical dependency
- Part 1 captures that fricative contrasts need plosive contrasts
- Part 2 properly applies contrapositive logic
- Together they form a complete logical picture
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