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Attitudes To Language Reading Answers, IELTS Reading Passage

Attitudes To Language Reading Answers: Check the sample passage given in the article to practice for IELTS Reading passage section.
authorImagePorishmita Paul6 Mar, 2025
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Attitudes To Language Reading Answers, IELTS Reading Passage

Attitudes To Language Reading Answers: Achieving a high band score in the IELTS reading section can be challenging for non-native English speakers. Here, we tried to provide sample questions and their standard answer pattern for “Attitudes To Language Reading Answers”. This sample passage is among the most asked passages for the IELTS Reading test. The “Attitudes To Language Reading Answers” includes a total of 13 questions in two categories: Complete the sentences and YES, NO, or NOT GIVEN questions. Additionally, some sample answers are provided to help students in drafting their answers. Read the complete article to practice “Attitudes To Language Reading Answers” to achieve a high IELTS Reading band score.

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Attitudes To Language Reading Answers Passage

Attitudes To Language

Paragraph A: It is not easy to be systematic and objective about language study. Popular linguistic debate regularly deteriorates into invective and polemic. Language belongs to everyone, so most people feel they have a right to hold an opinion about it. And when opinions differ, emotions can run high. Arguments can start as easily over minor points of usage as over major policies of linguistic education.
Paragraph B:  Language, moreover, is a very public behaviour, so it is easy for different usages to be noted and criticised. No part of society or social behaviour is exempt: linguistic factors influence how we judge personality, intelligence, social status, educational standards, job aptitude, and many other areas of identity and social survival. As a result, it is easy to hurt, and to be hurt, when language use is unfeelingly attacked.
Paragraph C:  In its most general sense, prescriptivism is the view that one variety of language has an inherently higher value than others, and that this ought to be imposed on the whole of the speech community. The view is propounded especially in relation to grammar and vocabulary, and frequently with reference to pronunciation. The variety which is favoured, in this account, is usually a version of the 'standard' written language, especially as encountered in literature, or in the formal spoken language which most closely reflects this style. Adherents to this variety are said to speak or write 'correctly'; deviations from it are said to be 'incorrect!
Paragraph D:  All the main languages have been studied prescriptively, especially in the 18th century approach to the writing of grammars and dictionaries. The aims of these early grammarians were threefold: (a) they wanted to codify the principles of their languages, to show that there was a system beneath the apparent chaos of usage, (b) they wanted a means of settling disputes over usage, and (c) they wanted to point out what they felt to be common errors, in order to 'improve' the language. The authoritarian nature of the approach is best characterised by its reliance on ‘rules' of grammar. Some usages are 'prescribed,' to be learnt and followed accurately; others are 'proscribed,' to be avoided. In this early period, there were no half-measures: usage was either right or wrong, and it was the task of the grammarian not simply to record alternatives but to pronounce judgement upon them.
Paragraph E:  These attitudes are still with us, and they motivate a widespread concern that linguistic standards should be maintained. Nevertheless, there is an alternative point of view that is concerned less with standards than with the facts of linguistic usage. This approach is summarised in the statement that it is the task of the grammarian to describe, not prescribe to record the facts of linguistic diversity, and not to attempt the impossible tasks of evaluating language variation. In the second half of the 18th century, we already find advocates of this view, such as Joseph Priestiey, whose Rudiments of English Grammar (1761) insists that 'the custom of speaking is the original and only just standard of any language! Linguistic issues, it is argued, cannot be solved by logic and legislation. And this view has become the tenet of the modern linguistic approach to grammatical analysis.
Paragraph F:  In our own time, the opposition between 'descriptivists' and 'prescriptivists' has often become extreme, with both sides painting unreal pictures of the other. Descriptive grammarians have been presented as people who do not care about standards because they see all forms of usage as equally valid. Prescriptive grammarians have been presented as blind adherents to a historical tradition. The opposition has even been presented in quasi-political terms—radical liberalism vs. elitist conservatism.
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Attitudes To Language Reading Answers Sample Questions

Attitudes To Language Reading Answers Complete the sentences below (Questions 1-6):
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. 
1. People often feel justified in having ______ about language because it belongs to everyone.
2. Language use can impact how we judge someone's ______ and intelligence. 
3. Prescriptivists believe one type of language has ______ over others. 
4. In the 18th century, grammarians aimed to ______ the principles of language. 
5. Prescriptivists focus on ______ as a way to teach correct usage. 
6. Joseph Priestley believed that the standard for language should be based on ______. 
Attitudes To Language Reading Answers Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer (Questions 7-13):
Write YES, NO, or NOT GIVEN. 
7. People frequently argue over minor language issues.
8. Language use cannot influence job opportunities. 
9. All languages were studied prescriptively during the 18th century. 
10. Early grammarians encouraged flexible rules about correct and incorrect usage. 
11. Modern descriptivists believe linguistic diversity should be accepted and recorded. 
12. The opposition between prescriptivists and descriptivists is exaggerated in political terms. 
13. The writer supports the prescriptive approach to teaching grammar. 
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Attitudes To Language Reading Answers

1. opinions 

Explanation:  The passage states, "Language belongs to everyone, so most people feel they have a right to hold an opinion about it."

2. social status

Explanation:  The text mentions, "Linguistic factors influence how we judge personality, intelligence, social status, educational standards, job aptitude."

3. higher value

Explanation:  The passage defines prescriptivism as "one variety of language has an inherently higher value than others."

4. codify

Explanation:  The goals of early grammarians were to, "codify the principles of their languages, to show that there was a system beneath the apparent chaos of usage."

5. rules

Explanation:  The passage highlights, "The authoritarian nature of the approach is best characterised by its reliance on 'rules' of grammar."

6. custom of speaking

Explanation:  Joseph Priestley’s view is summarized by, "the custom of speaking is the original and only just standard of any language."

7. YES

Explanation:  The text states, "Arguments can start as easily over minor points of usage as over major policies of linguistic education."

8. NO

Explanation:  The passage contradicts this by saying, "Linguistic factors influence job aptitude."

9. YES

Explanation:  The passage mentions, "All the main languages have been studied prescriptively, especially in the 18th century."

10. NO

Explanation:  Early grammarians, "pronounce judgement... there were no half-measures: usage was either right or wrong."

11. YES

Explanation:  The passage says descriptivists focus on "recording the facts of linguistic diversity."

12. YES

Explanation:  The text notes, "The opposition has even been presented in quasi-political terms—radical liberalism vs. elitist conservatism."

13. NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The writer presents both sides but does not clearly express personal support for either approach.
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Attitudes To Language Reading Answers FAQs

Q. What is prescriptivism in language?

Ans. Prescriptivism is the belief that one form of language is superior and should be enforced across society. It emphasizes strict rules of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

Q. How does language influence social judgment?

Ans. Language affects how people perceive intelligence, social status, and job suitability. Different usages can lead to assumptions about someone's background or abilities.

Q. What was Joseph Priestley’s view on language standards?

Ans. Joseph Priestley believed that language standards should reflect common speech rather than rigid rules, arguing that the "custom of speaking" is the most accurate measure.

Q. Why do prescriptivists prefer rules in language?

Ans. Prescriptivists rely on rules to codify language, settle disputes, and correct errors. They see rules as a way to maintain linguistic order and clarity.
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