Read the passage. excerpt from cry, the beloved country by alan paton outside there is singing, singing round a fire. it is nkosi sikelel’ iafrika that they sing. god save africa. god save this piece of africa that is my own, delivered in travail from my body, fed from my breast, loved by my heart, because that is the nature of women. oh, lie quietly, little one. which statement best explains the effect of the language in this excerpt? the repetition of the word “singing” makes the excerpt melodic and rhythmic, transporting the reader into a mysterious place. the use of traditional african language to name the song, “nkosi sikelel’ iafrika," transports readers to the setting of the story and gives it a heightened authenticity. the description of “god save africa” as a song about a mother and a child suggests to readers that the conflict in the novel is really between people of different generations. the reference to a “little one” makes readers feel as though they are listening to a nursery rhyme and evokes the narrator’s childlike sense of wonder.

We can use process of elimination to work out what the correct answer to this question is. Looking at the first choice, repetition of singing, this is an unlikely answer. Singing is repeated only twice and does not add any rhythmical elements to the excerpt itself. We can cross it off the list. 

The second choice, the name of the song evoking setting, is a really good one. It adds authenticity to the narrative and allows the reader to more clearly picture the setting of the story. We'll come back to this one.

The third choice, the song showing a conflict between generations, seems unlikely since it is describing a mother raising a child which implies love, not conflict. This is not a good answer.

The fourth choice, makes the readers feel like they are listening to a nursery rhyme, is very unlikely as the little one comment they reference is at the very end. This excerpt does not have the cadence that a nursery rhyme does, so this is not a good answer.

Return to the second answer choice. This is the best answer here because, as I stated, it helps place the reader in the area or country in which the story takes place. This is important because it's going to add authenticity to the narrative itself.