The following text is about linguistics.
Code-switching—alternating between languages within a single conversation—was once viewed as a sign of incomplete language learning or cognitive confusion. Linguists now recognize it as a sophisticated skill requiring deep competence in multiple languages. Code-switchers must understand the grammatical rules of each language to switch smoothly at appropriate points. Far from being random, code-switching typically serves communicative purposes: emphasizing a point, expressing cultural identity, or conveying meanings unavailable in a single language.
How has the understanding of code-switching changed?
From viewing it as a deficit to recognizing it as a sophisticated ability
From appreciating it to dismissing it as confusion
From studying it extensively to ignoring it
From being uncommon to becoming rare
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the correct answer. The text states code-switching was "once viewed as...incomplete language learning or cognitive confusion" but is "now recognize[d] as a sophisticated skill."
- Evidence: Old view (confusion) vs. new view (sophisticated skill).
- Reasoning: Understanding has shifted toward appreciation.
- Conclusion: Deficit view replaced by competence view.
Choice B is incorrect because the text reverses the actual trajectory. Choice C is incorrect because study has increased, not decreased. Choice D is incorrect because frequency isn't the topic.