Ebonics Reading Answers

Sayantani Barman

Dec 13, 2022

Ebonics Reading Answers contain paragraphs and 14 different types of questions. Candidates will be shown various question types with clear instructions in this IELTS Section. Ebonics Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching heading, sentence completion, and Choose the correct option. For the Matching heading, candidates need to thoroughly go through each passage. For sentence completion, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS Reading passage and understand the statement provided.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Ebonics Reading Answers

  1. Ebonics - also known by a host of other names such as African American Vemocular English, Black English, Black Vernacular, and so on - is an African-American language that has its roots in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, as African captives devised the means to communicate with each other and with their captors. In the South of the United States, these Pan-African languages co-mingled with Standard English and the Southern dialect. Many uniquely African American components have arisen over the last two centuries, and all of these influences have forged what is now known as Ebonics.
  2. In 1996, debates around the nature of "Ebonics" in the United States came to ahead. That year, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) in California enacted Resolution 597-003, which officially recognized that African-American students "as part of their culture and history as African people possess and utilize a language". Alternatively referred to as Ebonics (literally "black sounds"), African Communication Behaviours, and African Language Systems, this language was declared to be "genetically-based" rather than a dialect of Standard English.
  3. Within the profession of language research and pedagogy, a strong consensus formed behind the OUSD's decision to recognise Ebonics. Linguistics professor John Rickford noted that Ebonics was not simply characterised by erroneous grammar and large slang vocabulary, but that underlying this language was a structured form and process of grammar and phonology that made English learning for Ebonics speakers far more complex a task than simply dropping bad habits. English teachers, Rickford counselled, must, therefore, accept and embrace these complexities.
  4. The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) concurred with Rickford, adding that whether or not Ebonics should be defined as a dialect or a language does not matter in terms of its "validity". While linguists studying Ebonics typically restrain from prescribing edicts in favour of tracking changes in form and style, the LSA did point to the fact that speakers of Swedish and Norwegian can typically understand each other while conversing in different "languages", whereas Mandarin and Cantonese speakers cannot understand each other's "dialects" to conclude that spatial and social tensions, rather than strict linguistic criteria, were the crucial factors in defining these terms.
  5. For many others, however, the OUSD's decision was tantamount to endorsing lazy, vulgar, and "broken" English - the equivalent, perhaps, of acknowledging "text-speak" or Internet slang as a valid form of expression. Recognizing and fostering the use of informal, culturally-specific spoken language, say those detractors, traps users in a kind of linguistic ghetto in which they can interact with other disenfranchised and excluded citizens, but cannot engage within the public sphere in a meaningful way.Because of the dominance of Standard English in the United States, Ebonics-only speakers are essentially unable to go to university and work in high-valued professions, and they are unlikely to be electable to any kind of public office (even in areas with a high density of black residents, those who lose their Ebonics-tinged speech patterns fend to be more trusted).
  6. Psychology professor Ladonna Lewis Rush has noted, however, that the OUSD's resolution did not promote Ebonics instruction as an alternative to Standard English in an either-or approach but was intended to provide a better springboard for black achievement in English education. The systematic devaluation of Ebonics in American society parallels. Rush has argued, the devaluation of African-Americans in general. a demeaning attitude can lead to social exclusion, teachers are suggested to think inductively and encourage Ebonics speakers to use and collaborate their way of speaking while understanding that the language of the workplace, and of academics, is Standard English. Nobel Prize-winning journalist Toni Morrison has also found a reciprocal, mutually enriching use for both Ebonics and Standard English. "There are certain ideas and ways of thinking I cannot say without recourse to my [Ebonics, language... I know Standard English. I want to use it to restore the other language, the lingua Franca."
  7. In the media, the Ebonics controversy has mostly been portrayed as a revival of black-versus-white confrontation - this time over linguistic differences - but journalist Joan Walsh thinks there are bask elements inherent in the dispute that people do not want to openly discuss. She considers that there is increasing resentment by black parents and teachers who see enormous amounts of federal and state support going into Asian and Latino bilingual programmes. As immigration continues to increase, a greater proportion of the school budget is going into these programmes. The question has to be raised: why should immigrant children get English-language assistance as well as reinforcement of their own language and culture while native-born African-Americans get no such resources? Walsh maintains ilaner-city black children are more isolated than in the past and have less social interaction with those fluent in Standard English. For this reason, they need help by trained teachers to translate the native tongue they hear at home into the English of the classroom.
  8. Ebonics should be treated as a black contribution to culture in the way that jazz and rock-and-roll have been welcomed - the new vocabulary and imagery has added to the American language rather than devalued it. In Walsh's eyes, there has always been "white mistrust of how black people handle their business" but "in the public realm, white disdain yields block intransigence more reliably than 'P comes before e"

Section 2

Solution with Explanation
Questions 27—30:
Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in blank spaces next to 27—30 on your answer sheet.

Ebonics originated from the 27 ………………… The prisoners found a way to talk to other enslaved Africans as well as to 28 ………………….. In the southern USA, several African languages mixed with English and the local 29 ………………….. Over time, many distinctive 30 ………………….. have been added to produce the Ebonics language of today.

Question 27:

Answer: (trans-Atlantic) slave trade
Supporting Statement: Ebonics – also known by a host of other names such as African American Vemocular English, Black English, Black Vernacular. And so on — is an African-American language that has its roots in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As African captives devised the means to communicate with each other and with their captors.
Keywords: Ebonics, Atlantic slave trade, African captives.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, line 2
Explanation: These lines suggest that Ebonics was also known by many other names, many of which had their origins in the transatlantic slave trade. Therefore, it is obvious that the transatlantic slave trade is where Ebonics came from. So, the transatlantic slave trade is the cause.

Question 28:

Answer: their captors
Supporting Statement: African-American language has its roots in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As African captives devised the means to communicate with each other and with their captors.
Keywords: African-American language, communication, captors.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, line 3
Explanation: These lines show that the detainees managed to get in touch with both their captors and other African slaves. Captors are the solution, so.

Question 29:

Answer: (Southern) dialect
Supporting Statement: In the South of the United States, these Pan-African languages co-mingled with Standard English and the Southern dialect.
Keywords: United States, Pan-African languages, southern dialect
Keyword location: Paragraph A, line 4
Explanation: These lines show that English and the regional southern dialect were combined with many African languages in the southern USA. Thus, Southern dialect is the answer.

Question 30:

Answer: (African – American) components
Supporting Statement: Many uniquely African American components have arisen over the last two centuries, and all of these influences have forged what is now known as Ebonics.
Keywords: African American components, two centuries, Ebonics.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, line 5
Explanation: We can comprehend how the current Ebonics language was created over. The course of the last two centuries by a number of various African American Components. African American Components are the solution, so.

Questions 31-37:
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-K. below.

Write the correct letter, A-K, in boxes 31 —37 on your answer sheet.

  1. to use Ebonies in order to express specific concepts
  2. to recognise the genetic differences between African-American students and others
  3. to acknowledge the systematic differences that Ebonies speakers must learn to overcome
  4. to consider Ebonies as lazy English rather than a unique form of expression
  5. to admit Ebonies users to university to gain more knowledge
  6. to make a statement about particular geo-social relationships
  7. to compare Scandinavian languages and Chinese dialects
  8. to declare Ebonies an independent language, not a variation on English
  9. to honor positive aspects of Ebonies, while emphasizing the necessity of Standard English for formal use
  10. to approve the language of text messaging as a legitimate mode of communication
  11. to describe how Ebonies has developed without dictating rules for proper usage
  1. In 1996, the Oakland Unified School District passed a measure

Answer: H
Supporting Statement: in 1996, where the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) in California enacted Resolution 597-003, which officially recognized that African-American students “as part of their culture and history as African people possess and utilize a language”. Alternatively referred to as Ebonics (literally “black sounds”).
Keywords: OUSD, California, African, Ebonics.
Keyword location: Paragraph B
Explanation: These words unmistakably show that the OUSD issued a resolution in 1996 stating that the Ebonies' culture. And history as African people include the possession and use of an Ebonics-based language. The solution is therefore H.

  1. According to John Rickford, it is a good idea when teaching Standard English

Answer: C
Supporting Statement: Linguistics professor John Rickford noted that Ebonics was not simply characterized by erroneous grammar and large slang vocabulary, but that underlying this language was a structured form and process of grammar and phonology that made English learning for Ebonics speakers far more complex a task than simply dropping bad habits. English teachers, Rickford counseled, must, therefore, accept and embrace these complexities.
Keywords: linguistics, John Rickford, phonology.
Keyword location: Paragraph C, line 2
Explanation: These comments demonstrate that John Rickford thought it was a good idea. To teach conventional English to the Ebonies, who perceived it as a difficult undertaking. Rickford advises the Ebonies to accept and embrace these difficulties. The solution is therefore C.

  1. Linguists studying Black speech patterns are only able

Answer: K
Supporting Statement: The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) concurred with Rickford, adding that whether or not Ebonics should be defined as a dialect or a language does not matter in terms of its “validity”. While linguists studying Ebonics typically restrain from prescribing edicts in favor of tracking changes in form and style.
Keywords: LSA, Ebonics, validity, form and style.
Keyword location: Paragraph D
Explanation: We infer from these words that LSA and Rickford agreed on whether to classify Ebonics as a dialect or a language. Which is irrelevant to the validity of the definition. While linguists who are researching Ebonics refrain from establishing rules for observing form and style changes. So, K is the answer.

  1. The LSA nailed that definitions of “dialect” and “language” are generally away

Answer: F
Supporting Statement: Linguists studying Ebonics typically restrain from prescribing edicts in favor of tracking changes in form and style, the LSA did point to the fact that speakers of Swedish and Norwegian can typically understand each other while conversing in different “languages”, whereas Mandarin and Cantonese speakers cannot understand each other’s “dialects” to conclude that spatial and social tensions, rather than strict linguistic criteria, were the crucial factors in defining these terms.
Keywords: Swedish, Norwegian, Mandarin, Cantonese.
Keyword location: Paragraph D, line 2
Explanation: These lines show that LSA emphasized the difference between Mandarin. And Cantonese speakers' inability to understand each other's dialects. While conversing, resulting in social and geographic conflicts (go-social relationship). Instead of the strict linguistic requirements that were essential to define these terms. The solution is therefore F.

  1. Critics of vernacular alternatives to Standard English tend

Answer: D
Supporting Statement: the OUSD’s decision was tantamount to endorsing lazy, vulgar, and “broken” English — the equivalent, perhaps, of acknowledging “text-speak” or Internet slang as a valid form of expression.
Keywords: OUSD, Text-speak, expression.
Keyword location: Paragraph E, line 1
Explanation: These quotes show that a large number of people saw OUSD's decision as being comparable to encouraging sloppy, vulgar, and broken English, or even the equivalent of accepting internet slang or text-speak as acceptable forms of speech. The solution is hence D.

  1. Ladonna Lewis Rush argues that it is important for educators

Answer: I
Supporting Statement: A demeaning attitude can lead to social exclusion, teachers are suggested to think inductively and encourage Ebonics speakers to use and collaborate their way of speaking while understanding that the language of the workplace, and of academics, is Standard English.
Keywords: demeaning attitude, collaboration, academics.
Keyword location: Paragraph F, line 5
Explanation: We get Ladonna's position that it is critical for educators (teachers). To engage in inductive thinking, promote Ebonics speakers to utilize. And cooperate in their dialect, and emphasize the need for normal English in formal settings. The solution is I, so.

  1. Toni Morrison finds it necessary

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: Nobel Prize-winning journalist Toni Morrison has found a reciprocal, mutually enriching use for both Ebonics and Standard English. “There are certain ideas and ways of thinking I cannot say without recourse to my [Ebonics, language … I know Standard English. I want to use it to restore the other language, the lingua Franca.”
Keywords: Toni Morrison, standard English, lingua Franca.
Keyword location: Paragraph F, line 8
Explanation: These lines reveal Toni Morrison's preference for the usage of Ebonies as a means of expressing particular ideas. So, the response is A.

Questions 38-40:
Choose THREE letters, A- G

Write the correct letters in boxes 38 – 40 on your answer sheet.
Which THREE statements below represent the views of Joan Walsh?

  1. Linguistic issues are impeding black academic success rather than social issues.
  2. Ebonics deserves to be considered as nothing less than a gift to American society.
  3. Children of non-English speaking immigrants should be denied access to limited educational resources.
  4. Ebonics is a debate that reflects rising multi-minority tensions and frustrations over funding issues.
  5. Ebonics is just another hostile encounter between black and white opponents
  6. Many urban African-American children do not have the same exposure to accepted norms of English that they used to.
  7. Blacks need more flexibility in their dealings with the white public.

Question 38:

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: Ebonics should be treated as a black contribution to culture in the way that jazz and rock-and-roll have been welcomed — the new vocabulary and imagery has added to the American language rather than devalued it.
Keywords: culture, jazz, rock and roll.
Keyword location: Paragraph H
Explanation: These sentences suggest that Ebonics should be regarded as a black cultural contribution and that, as such, it should be acknowledged as a gift to American civilization. So, B is the correct response.

Question 39:

Answer: D
Supporting Statement
: journalist Joan Walsh thinks there are bask elements inherent in the dispute that people do not want to openly discuss. She considers that there is increasing resentment by black parents and teachers who see enormous amounts of federal and state support going into Asian and Latino bilingual programmes.
Keywords: Joan Walsh, Bask elements, Asian, Latino.
Keyword location: Paragraph G, line 2
Explanation: These lines reveal that there was a debate about the use of Ebonics. Therefore, it is clear that the argument over Ebonics is a reflection of the growing frustrations and tensions among minorities around financial difficulties. The solution is hence D.

Question 40:

Answer: F
Supporting Statement
: why should immigrant children get English-language assistance as well as reinforcement of their own language and culture while native-born African-Americans get no such resources?.
Keywords: immigrant children, African-Americans, resources, culture.
Keyword location: Paragraph G, line 6
Explanation: We recognize that the concern expressed suggests that several urban African-American children are excluded from receiving the same English language instruction and support for their own culture as immigrant children. The solution is therefore F..

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