Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

... it was the most beautiful language in the world - the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it among us and never forget it, because 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.

1. Which language is being referred to here? What is the occasion of this observation? (Understanding)
2. What does the speaker think of the language being referred to? (Analysis)
3. What is his advice to the listeners? (Understanding)
4. Why should the enslaved people not forget their language? (Evaluate)
5. What, according to the speaker, had been the attitude of the people towards their own language? Why should they need to change it? (Understanding and Analysis)

Answer 1

1. The language referred to is French. M. Hamel makes this observation during his last French lesson, after the order from Berlin has made German the official language in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.
2. M. Hamel considers French to be the most beautiful, clearest and most logical language in the world. He feels proud of it and deeply values it.
3. He advises the people to guard, preserve and never forget their French language. He wants them to continue valuing it even under foreign rule.
4. Language helps people preserve their cultural identity, unity and sense of belonging. Even when a people lose their political freedom, their language keeps their identity alive and gives them hope of freedom.
5. The people had neglected French and kept postponing learning it. They should change this attitude because their language is an important part of their identity and cultural heritage, especially when it is threatened by foreign rule.