Congo was named by Europeans. Congo's dictator Mobutu later changed the name of the country and the river to Zaire with the objective of Africanising names of persons and spaces. However, the name Zaire was a Portuguese alteration of Nzadi o Nzere, a local African term meaning 'River that swallows Rivers'. Zaire was the Portuguese name for the Congo river in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Which one of the following statements can be inferred from the paragraph above?
A. Mobutu was not aware of the Portuguese alteration of the local African term
B. The term Nzadi o Nzere was of Portuguese origin
C. Mobutu's desire to Africanise names was undermined by the Portuguese
D. As a dictator Mobutu ordered the Portuguese to alter the name of the river to Zaire
GATE 2019 · General Aptitude · Passage Reading · medium
Answer: Option A can be inferred: Mobutu was not aware that the name Zaire he chose for Africanisation was itself a Portuguese alteration of a local African term.
Evaluate Option B: The passage says Nzadi o Nzere is a local African term. Option B claims it is of Portuguese origin. This directly contradicts the passage.
Evaluate Option C: The passage does not say the Portuguese undermined Mobutu; the Portuguese alteration happened centuries before Mobutu in the 16th-17th century. There is no active undermining.
Evaluate Option D: The Portuguese alteration occurred in the 16th-17th century; Mobutu ruled in the 20th century. He could not have ordered them to alter the name. This is factually impossible.
Evaluate Option A: Mobutu's stated goal was Africanisation. If he had known that Zaire was itself a Portuguese alteration of an African name (not a native African name), he likely would not have chosen it to Africanise. His choice implies he was unaware of this Portuguese alteration.