The writer uses the word ‘we’ every time he is telling the readers about his experience.

This
may imply that the writer has travelled to the war ravaged Stalingrad in a group. He starts
the piece by giving a brief insight on the place he is going to stay at with his group which
gives a rather broken and dingy vibe altogether. The writer then explains his fascination with
the place which is in complete ruins, yet inhabited. He expresses a sense of awe seeing the
lifestyle of the simple people living there. Through this piece we can interpret that the
writer is a good observer and observes the little things that sets these people apart from
others. The writer makes use of simple words but uses very apt adjectives to describe the
aura of that place like the words ‘heroic travesty’. In the second paragraph, the author
suddenly shifts the reader’s attention from the harmonious co-existence to a small girl who
lives in conditions which are unexplainably terrifying. In the latter part of the passage he
explains, how that little girl who was breathtakingly beautiful fascinated him. He then dives
into the more intricate details of her lifestyle which was all in all sympathetic. At the end,
the writer explains how the girl reacts when she is offered a loaf of bread and the look of
suspicion and self-preservation which had clouded her face. He concludes the passage by
beautiful words which force us to think and wonder how, so many things leave a mark on
people’s minds making them behave in a certain way, and how some people decide to
succumb to the pain they have gone through.

Seeing the small girl living in her completely terrifying situations made my heart melt. As I
called her towards me to offer her a loaf of bread, the look of suspicion and wariness that
she gave me made my heart skip a beat, more out of empathy than fear. She was a beautiful
young girl, nothing to be feared of. As I saw her hogging on to the bread, for the first time I
realised how hungry the poor soul must be. For us ordinary citizens in Stalingrad, life was
monotonous. The same old routine every single day and the constant struggle to make both
ends meet. All of us were only afraid of one thing, losing our loved ones and being
unfortunate enough to return into those torturous times of the war. Every time a woman
left her house, she would be as simply dressed as she could afford in a sense of self
preservation and protection.

ACTIVITY 5.4
The celebration that I have chosen is the school’s annual event. Initially when the list of the
guests and parents is made, a broadcasted message will be sent to them through the
students about the occurring of the event at the future date. This will be a completely
informal form of communication which may include the sentence, “The school’s annual
event will be held on 17th and all participants to reach by 4:30. Formal invitations will be
sent out shortly”.
The next stage would be to finalize the invitations and send them out officially addressing
the parents mainly. This will be done through mail or printed pamphlets to make it look
more legitimate. This language style will be completely formal and may include the words,
“We, the family of Anisha Global School cordially invite you to the 7 th Annual day event.
Followed by an exhibition by our students. Hence, we request you to oblige us by marking
your presence on 17th August at 5:00 pm”.
Then the particular celebration will include a display of dance, singing, theatre, etc. but it
will also include use of formal language by making announcements about important
upcoming events or for speeches by the chief guests. These may include, “I would now
request honourable chief guest to coming forth and enlighten us with his words”.
Then will come the social interactions which will differ group to group. Amongst the parents,
the social interaction and the language style will be more informal and friendly just as the
interaction between the students. This will differ greatly from the language which will be
formal amongst parents and teachers, etc.
After the event has been successfully conducted, the school may send out thank you notes
to the parents for helping in making the event a success. This may be informal.

Linguistics are a major part of life. The way you speak, is a major aspect in which people
perceive you. Since times unknown, people have been compared by their accent and the
usage of their words even though they speak the same language. For example, in the USA
during the time of the black upliftment, many immigrants from Africa learned English to
survive in the USA but the accent they used were completely different from the ones of the
native residents. In fact, the way you speak and also the language you speak helps people to
distinguish which part of the world your origin comes from. In India, the quality of the
language spoken helps us to distinguish between the various classes as well. Like the less
educated section of the society will have a definite way in which they speak, their English
may be grammatically incorrect or may display certain pronunciation errors. Whereas, the
elite class or even people coming from the background where they have grown up in an
environment surrounded by English speakers tend to be more conscious about their choice
of words and language. Hence, all in all language plays an important part in group identity.