In the 1980s, many musicians and journalists in the English-speaking world began to draw attention to music from around the globe—such as mbaqanga from South Africa and quan họ from Vietnam—that can’t be easily categorized according to British or North American popular music genres, typically referring to such music as “world music.” While some scholars have welcomed this development for bringing diverse musical forms to prominence in countries where they’d previously been overlooked, musicologist Su Zheng claims that the concept of world music homogenizes highly distinct traditions by reducing them all to a single category.

Question

In the 1980s, many musicians and journalists in the English-speaking world began to draw attention to music from around the globe—such as mbaqanga from South Africa and quan họ from Vietnam—that can’t be easily categorized according to British or North American popular music genres, typically referring to such music as “world music.” While some scholars have welcomed this development for bringing diverse musical forms to prominence in countries where they’d previously been overlooked, musicologist Su Zheng claims that the concept of world music homogenizes highly distinct traditions by reducing them all to a single category.
Which finding about mbaqanga and quan họ, if true, would most directly support Zheng’s claim?
Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:
(Choice A)   Mbaqanga is significantly more popular in the English-speaking world than quan họ is.
A
Mbaqanga is significantly more popular in the English-speaking world than quan họ is.
(Choice B)   Mbaqanga and quan họ developed independently of each other and have little in common musically.
B
Mbaqanga and quan họ developed independently of each other and have little in common musically.
(Choice C)   Mbaqanga and quan họ are now performed by a diverse array of musicians with no direct connections to South Africa or Vietnam.
C
Mbaqanga and quan họ are now performed by a diverse array of musicians with no direct connections to South Africa or Vietnam.
(Choice D)   Mbaqanga and quan họ are highly distinct from British and North American popular music genres but similar to each other.
D
Mbaqanga and quan họ are highly distinct from British and North American popular music genres but similar to each other.

GPT 3.5 · Answer

(Choice B) Mbaqanga and quan họ developed independently of each other and have little in common musically.
This finding would support Zheng's claim that world music homogenizes highly distinct traditions by reducing them to a single category, as it shows that even within the category of "world music," there can be significant diversity and differences between different musical traditions.