Question: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Language is an autapomorphy found only in our lineage, and not shared with other branches of our group such as primates. We also have no definitive evidence that any species other than Homo sapiens ever had language. However, it must be noted straightaway that ‘language’ is not a monolithic entity, but rather a complex bundle of traits that must have evolved over a significant time frame…. Moreover, language crucially draws on aspects of cognition that are long established in the primate lineage, such as memory: the language faculty as a whole comprises more than just the uniquely linguistic features.
The passage mentions that language is a human trait and not a derived trait, hence Option 2 can be eliminated. Option 1 misses on the part of language drawing on aspects of cognition as memory, hence cannot be correct. Option 3 does not include the part of language evolving with time, and hence is not the right choice. Option 4 covers all the aspects and hence is the correct answer.