THINK AS YOU READ PAGE
7
1. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Answer: Franz was expected to learn participles for school that day. His teacher M. Hamel had asked him to study because he would ask questions on the same.
2. What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?
Answer: When school started, there was always a lot of commotion that could be heard from the street. That day, though, everything was rather quiet. It was as peaceful as a Sunday morning. There were no desks that opened or closed. His students were already seated in their assigned seats. Instead of banging on the table, the teacher's large ruler was under M. Hamel's arm.
3. What had been put up on the bulletin board?
Answer: The bulletin board had been the source of all negative news for the last two years. Berlin had issued a decree for Alsace and Lorraine schools to teach only German. This notification had been posted on the bulletin board by the Germans.
THINK AS YOU READ PAGE
8
Answer: M. Hamel was dressed to the nines, wearing his embroidered green coat, frilled shirt, and small black silk cap. The atmosphere in the school was odd and gloomy. The elderly village folks sat calmly like the children on the rear benches, which were always empty.
2. How did Franz’s feelings about M. Hamel and school change?
Answer: M. Hamel's last French lesson, Franz learned, would be the last one he would get. They will only be taught German starting the next day. Then he felt bad for not paying attention in class. His books, which had previously looked inconvenient and burdensome, had become old companions. His sentiments for M. Hamel shifted as well. He had completely forgotten about his ruler and how irritable he was.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT PAGE 9
Answer: M. Hamel assured the pupils and locals that only German will be taught in Alsace and Lorraine schools from now on. Those who claimed to be Frenchmen would be unable to speak or write the language. He regarded French as the world's most beautiful, clearest, most rational language. He claimed that the enslaved's language was the key to their captivity. The people realised how valuable their language was to them at that point. This demonstrates people's pride in their own culture, customs, and homeland. Pride in one's motherland is reflected in one's language.
2. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons What could this mean? (There could be more than one answer.)
Answer: Franz's remark typifies a typical French attitude to the imposition of learning German, the conquerors' language. Being denied the opportunity to learn one's mother tongue would entail severing all ties with one's homeland. Teaching the pigeons to sing in German demonstrates the extent to which the Germans would go in their linguistic chauvinism.
TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT PAGE 9
1. “When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison.”
Can you think of examples in history where a conquered people had their language taken away from them or had a language imposed on them?
Answer: A person's mother tongue allows him to convey his feelings and thoughts in the clearest and most intimate way possible. Conquerors utilise a variety of methods to conquer and rule the people of the enslaved land, including the use of force to suppress dissent and the imposition of their own language.
Victorious
nations have forced their own language on conquered peoples and taken away
their own language from them since the dawn of time. Many portions of Europe
were conquered by the Romans, who supplanted indigenous languages with their
own language, Latin. Later, Latin gave rise to Spanish, Portuguese, Italian,
and French. The Muslim invaders imposed Arabic and Persian on the Asian
kingdoms they conquered. Local religion and language have vanished in many Arab
countries. Urdu, a new language derived from a blend of Persian and Hindi, has
emerged in India.
2. What happens to a linguistic minority in a state? How do you think they can keep their language alive? For example:
Punjabis
in Bangalore
Tamilians
in Mumbai
Kannadigas
in Delhi
Gujaratis
in Kolkata
Answer: In each state, the linguistic minority is plainly identifiable and is subjected to the same prejudice as religious, social, or ethnic minorities. However, there is a significant variation in the treatment given and the level of acceptance shown by the majority of the population in that region/city. The outlook of some cities, such as Delhi and Mumbai, is cosmopolitan.
The
linguistic minority attempts to maintain its identity through maintaining close
contact, interaction, and preservation of its language during social
gatherings, family activities, and regional festivals. In family
gatherings/group meetings of women, adherence to social rituals and traditions
promotes cohesiveness among members of the language minority. In summary, they
turn Bangalore into a mini-Punjab, Mumbai into a mini-Chennai, Delhi into a
mini-Bangalore, and Kolkata into a mini-Surat.
3. Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far? Do you know what “linguistic chauvinism” means?
Answer: Linguistic chauvinism refers to the aggressive and irrational notion that one's own language is superior to all others. This demonstrates a zealous or prejudiced devotion to one's own language. The linguistic enthusiasts can be clearly recognised by their great fervour for the preservation and spread of their language, as pride in one's own language can sometimes go too far. They tend to overlook that other languages have their own advantages, as well as a vast history of art, culture, and literature behind them, in their excitement, love, and support for their own language. Excessive pride in one's own language, rather than bringing unity and earning others as friends, generates ill will and disintegration. The southern Indian states' adamant opposition to the adoption of Hindi as the national language is a direct result of their fear of being dominated by Hindi supporters. As a result, 'One India' is now only a catchphrase.
WORKING WITH WOEDS PAGE
9
1. English is a language that contains words from many other languages. This inclusiveness is one of the reasons it is now a “world language”. For example:
petite – French
kindergarten – German
capital –
Latin
democracy – Greek
bazaar –
Hindi
Find out the origins of the following words:
tycoon barbecue
zero
tulip veranda ski
logo robot trek
bandicoot
Answer: Tycoon -
Japanese
Veranda - Portuguese
Tulip - Persian
Robot - Czech
Logo - Greek
Zero - Arabic
Bandicoot - Telugu
Ski - Norwegian
Barbecue - Spanish
Trek - South African Dutch
2. Notice the underlined words in these sentences and tick the option that best explains their meaning:
(a) “What a thunderclap these words were to me!”
The
words were
(i) loud and clear.
(ii) startling and unexpected.
(iii) pleasant and welcome.
Answer: (ii) startling and
unexpected.
(b) “When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison.”
It is
as if they have the key to the prison as long as they
(i) do not lose their language.
(ii) are attached to their language.
(iii) quickly learn the conqueror’s language.
Answer: (ii) are attached to their language.
(c) Don’t
go so fast, you will get to your school in plenty of time.
You
will get to your school.
(i) very late.
(ii) too early.
(iii) early enough.
Answer: (iii) early enough.
(d) I never saw him look so tall.
M. Hamel (i) had grown physically taller.
(ii) seemed very confident.
(iii) stood on the chair.
Answer: (ii) seemed very confident.
NOTICING FORM PAGE
10
Read this sentence:
M.
Hamel had said that he would question us on participles.
In the
sentence above, the verb form “had said” in the first part is used to indicate
an “earlier past”. The whole story is narrated in the past. M. Hamel’s “saying”
happened earlier than the events in this story. This form of the verb is called
the past perfect.
Pick
out five sentences from the story with this form of the verb and say why this
form has been used.
Answer: (i) For the last two years all our bad news had come from there.
Reason: The ‘coming’ of bad news happened earlier than the bulletin in the story.
(ii) Hauser
had brought an old primer.
Reason:
The event of ‘bringing’ happened earlier than Franz noticed it.
(iii)
That was what they had put up at the town hall!
Reason: The ‘putting up’ of the bulletin happened earlier. Now it is recalled.
(iv) They
had not gone to school more.
Reason: The action of ‘not going’ happened much earlier.
(v) The
hop vine that he had planted himself twined about the windows to the roof.
Reason: The ‘planting’ of hop vine happened earlier than its twining about the windows.
WRITING PAGE 11
1.
Write a notice for your school bulletin board. Your notice could be an
announcement of a forthcoming event, a requirement to be fulfilled, or a rule
to be followed.
Answer:
2. Write a paragraph of about 100 words arguing for or against having to study three languages at school.
Answer: In most Indian states, kids are required to study three languages in school. The mother tongue is one, Hindi (the national language) is another, and English is the third (the international or link language). A South or East Indian language is taught in the Hindi-speaking region, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam or Bangla, Oriya, Assamese, and so on. The three-language formula aids national integration by educating young children about the diverse components of the country's social conventions, rituals, culture, and traditions. It also emphasises the idea of unity in variety. The sole disadvantage of this approach is that it places undue weight on the young learner's mind. Courses of study in the three languages could be tailored appropriately to help them solve their challenge.
3. Have you ever changed your opinion about someone or something that you had earlier liked or disliked? Narrate what led you to change your mind.
Answer: Facts can sometimes be more
powerful than fantasy. Many events in life serve as eye-openers. The previous
day, I had such an encounter that I changed my mind about our hostel warden,
Miss Roman Pyne. Overnight, the terrifying behemoth was converted into a caring
and adoring elder sister, full of human kindness's milk. I'm embarrassed by
myself now that I remember how much I despised her and made up nicknames and
pranks to tease her. I had a horrible nightmare the other night, and I screamed
and cried. My roommate was unable to calm me and informed the warden of the
situation. I'm not sure how long I was unconscious! When I regained
consciousness, I found myself in Miss Roman Pyne’ slap. She had tears in her
ears, sShe had saved me.
10. An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Question Answer | |
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