'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?
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
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 - Frenchkindergarten - Germancapital - Latindemocracy - Greekbazaar - HindiFind out the origins of the following words: tycoonbarbecuezerotulip veranda skilogo robot trekbandicoot
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.
(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 had 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 conquerors language.
(c) Dont 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.
(d) I never saw him look so tall.
M. Hamel
(i) had grown physically taller.
(ii) seemed very confident.
(iii) stood on the chair.
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.
Write a notice for your school bulletin board. Your notice could be an announcement of a forthcoming event, or a requirement to be fulfilled, or a rule to be followed.
