Fifteenth-century records from several European ports show that spelling in commercial documents became increasingly uniform. Some historians have interpreted this pattern as evidence that regional differences in speech declined as trade brought communities into closer contact. Linguist Celia Moreau disputes that interpretation. Moreau argues that professional clerks circulating among ports could have spread a shared written register without changing how people spoke: individuals may use standardized spelling in documents intended for distant readers while retaining regional forms in less formal writing and speech.
Which finding, if true, would most strongly support Moreau’s account rather than the historians’ interpretation?
For a command-of-evidence question involving competing explanations, state precisely what each explanation predicts. Then choose the finding that most clearly separates those predictions rather than merely supporting a point both explanations could accommodate. Give preference to evidence that controls for alternative explanations, such as a comparison of the same individuals across different contexts.
Hints
Separate writing from speech
Look for evidence that distinguishes spelling practices in documents from the way language was spoken.
Consider the comparison
Evidence involving the same writers in different contexts is stronger than a comparison involving different groups of writers.
Check both parts of the account
The best finding should address both the spread of standardized writing and the continued existence of regional language forms.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the competing explanations
The historians attribute uniform spelling to declining regional differences in speech. Moreau instead attributes it to clerks using a shared written register while regional speech continued.
Determine what evidence would distinguish them
The strongest evidence would show that standardized spelling and regional language forms coexisted, ideally among the same individuals. That would make differences between groups a less likely explanation.
Select the most direct evidence
The first choice provides both an audience-based change in the same clerks’ spelling and independent records preserving regional speech forms. It therefore supports Moreau’s account more completely than the other choices do.