Table of Contents
Passage
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.
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.
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’.
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 ‘rules7 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.
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 or halting language change. In the second half of the 18th century, we already find advocates of this view, such as Joseph Priestley, 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. 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 of the way 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-of radical liberalism elitist conservatism.
Questions
Questions 1-8 Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1 There are understandable reasons why arguments occur about language.
2 People feel more strongly about policy of language education than about small differences in language usage.
3 Our assessment of a person’s intelligence is affected by the way he or she uses language.
4 Prescriptive grammar books cost a lot of money to buy in the 18th century.
5 Prescriptivism still exists today.
6 According to descriptivists it is pointless to try to stop language change.
7 Descriptivism only appeared after the 18th century.
8 Both descriptivists and prescriptivists have been misrepresented.
Questions 9-12 Complete the summary using the list of words, A-I, below. Write the correct letter,A-I, in boxes 9-12 on your answer sheet
The language controversy
According to 9 ………………. , there is only one correct form of language. Linguists who take this approach to language place great importance on grammatical 10 ………………. Conversely, the view of 11 ………………. , such as Joseph Priestley, is that grammar should be based on 12 ……………….
A descriptivists
B evaluation
C rules
D formal language
E change
F modern linguists
G language experts
H prescriptivists
I popular speech
Question 13 Choose the correct letter,A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter in box 13 on your answer sheet.
What is the writer’s purpose in Reading Passage 1?
A to argue in favour of a particular approach to writing dictionaries and grammar books
B to present a historical account of differing views of language
C to describe the differences between spoken and written language
D to show how a certain view of language has been discredited
Answers
Below are the answers, key words, synonyms and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage We Hold an Opinion on Language (Attitudes to Language) (Passage 1, Questions 1–13).
Questions 1–8: True / False / Not Given
1. There are understandable reasons why arguments occur about language.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: language belongs to everyone, right to hold an opinion
Synonyms: understandable reasons = “Language belongs to everyone, so most people feel they have a right to hold an opinion … when opinions differ, emotions can run high”
Explanation: The writer explains why language disputes naturally arise.
2. People feel more strongly about language education than about small differences in language usage.
Answer: FALSE
Key words: as easily over minor points as over major policies
Synonyms: equally, not more = “Arguments can start as easily over minor points of usage as over major policies of linguistic education”
Explanation: Arguments arise equally easily over both, so “more strongly” is contradicted.
3. Our assessment of a person’s intelligence is affected by the way he or she uses language.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: linguistic factors influence how we judge intelligence
Synonyms: assessment affected = “linguistic factors influence how we judge personality, intelligence, social status …”
Explanation: Language use shapes our judgement of intelligence.
4. Prescriptive grammar books cost a lot of money to buy in the 18th century.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: 18th century grammars and dictionaries
Synonyms: no price mentioned = the passage discusses 18th-century grammar books but never their cost.
Explanation: No information about the price of the books → NOT GIVEN.
5. Prescriptivism still exists today.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: these attitudes are still with us
Synonyms: still exists = “These attitudes are still with us, and they motivate a widespread concern that linguistic standards should be maintained”
Explanation: The prescriptivist attitude persists in the present.
6. According to descriptivists it is pointless to try to stop language change.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: impossible tasks, halting language change
Synonyms: pointless to stop change = the grammarian should “not attempt the impossible tasks of evaluating language variation or halting language change”
Explanation: Descriptivists see stopping change as impossible/pointless.
7. Descriptivism only appeared after the 18th century.
Answer: FALSE
Key words: second half of the 18th century, already find advocates
Synonyms: appeared during, not after = “In the second half of the 18th century, we already find advocates of this view, such as Joseph Priestley”
Explanation: Descriptivism existed within the 18th century, contradicting “only after”.
8. Both descriptivists and prescriptivists have been misrepresented.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: both sides painting unreal pictures of the other
Synonyms: misrepresented = “the opposition … has often become extreme, with both sides painting unreal pictures of the other”
Explanation: Each side portrays the other unrealistically.
Questions 9–12: Summary Completion (word list A–I)
A descriptivists · B evaluation · C rules · D formal language · E change · F modern linguists · G language experts · H prescriptivists · I popular speech
9. There is only one correct form of language, according to ………
Answer: H — prescriptivists
Key words: one variety, inherently higher value, ‘correctly’
Synonyms: only one correct form = “prescriptivism is the view that one variety of language has an inherently higher value … Adherents … said to speak or write ‘correctly'”
Explanation: Prescriptivists believe in a single correct form.
10. Linguists of this approach place great importance on grammatical ………
Answer: C — rules
Key words: reliance on ‘rules’ of grammar
Synonyms: importance on rules = “The authoritarian nature of the approach is best characterised by its reliance on ‘rules’ of grammar”
Explanation: Prescriptivism is built on grammatical rules.
11. Conversely, the view of ………, such as Joseph Priestley,
Answer: A — descriptivists
Key words: describe not prescribe, Joseph Priestley
Synonyms: the opposing view = the descriptivist task is “to describe, not prescribe … such as Joseph Priestley”
Explanation: Priestley represents the descriptivist camp.
12. … is that grammar should be based on ………
Answer: I — popular speech
Key words: custom of speaking, only just standard
Synonyms: based on popular speech = “the custom of speaking is the original and only just standard of any language”
Explanation: Descriptivists base grammar on how people actually speak.
Question 13: Multiple Choice
13. What is the writer’s purpose in Reading Passage 1?
Answer: B — to present a historical account of differing views of language
Key words: 18th century, prescriptivism vs descriptivism, in our own time
Synonyms: historical account = the passage traces the debate from “the 18th century” through to “our own time”, presenting both sides evenly.
Explanation: The writer neutrally recounts the history of the two opposing views.
Answer Key (Quick Reference)
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TRUE | 8 | TRUE |
| 2 | FALSE | 9 | H — prescriptivists |
| 3 | TRUE | 10 | C — rules |
| 4 | NOT GIVEN | 11 | A — descriptivists |
| 5 | TRUE | 12 | I — popular speech |
| 6 | TRUE | 13 | B |
| 7 | FALSE |
