GVN THE GLOBAL SCHOOL

ENGLISH PROJECT WORK

NAME – SIDDHARTH SHARMA
CLASS — 12th A
ROLL NO. -
TOPIC – THE LAST LESSON
 Action plan
DURING FIRST TERM WE WERE INFORMED ABOUT THE

PROJECT AND OUTLINE WAS PROVIDED ALTHOUGH DETAILED

INFORMATION REGARDING THE FORMAT WAS PROVIDED

AFTER THE TERM 1 EXAMINATION WHICH GAVE AMPLE TIME

TO PLAN ABOUT HOW TO PROCEED WITH THE PROJECT AFTER

THAT DIFFERENT TOPIC BASED ON WHICH THE PROJECT CAN

BE PREPARED WERE PROVIDE AND FINALISE FURTHER

RESEARCH REGARDING THE TOPIC WAS DONE A

QUESTIONNAIRE WAS MADE AND RESPONSES WERE RECEIVED

ALL THE INFO COLLECTED EITHER FROM INTERNET OR

RESPONSES RECEIVED WAS COMBINED AND A DRAFT WAS

PREPARED AND SUBMITTED AFTER MAKING SOME

ADJUSTMENTS APPROVAL FROM THE TEACHER WAS

REVIEWED THIS PROJECT WAS COMPLETED.

Elaborate the theme of Linguistic Chauvinism and
Procrastination and importance of Time Management

1. Our language is our identity. It binds the nation or draws a line of

demarcation between them. It is a convenient way of communicating with
one another. Now-days people do not show due respect to their mother
tongue, especially due to the influence of western nations. Rightly it is
said, when something is close to, we take it for granted but when it is
snatched away, we realize its worth, and are left with nothing but
repentance.

2. The story "The Last Lesson" draws significance to the idea of

patriotism by forcing their culture and in this case, their language over
them.

3. The story throws light upon the pride of one's own mother tongue
and considering other languages not equally worthy. People of Lorraine
and Alsace were victims of linguistic chauvinism. They were forced to
learn German.

4. The theme of the story "The Last Lesson" is linguistic chauvinism of

the proud conquerors and the pain that is inflicted on the people of a
territory by them by taking away the right to study or speak their own
language and thus make them aliens in their own land of birth. Linguistic
chauvinism is a term applied to the concept of preference for one language
over another.

5. In the story when the young student who is the narrator Franz wakes
up, the worst thing in the world to him is having to face his teacher's lesson
on participles that he neglected to study for. All he can think all morning
until he arrives at school is his anxiety over failing to study and the
trouble, he's going to get in because of it. By the end of that very same day,
the lesson no longer matters because of the French language is no longer
going to be a subject taught in the school. Overnight, the requirement to
learn to French has disappeared, but ironically Franz's desire to learn it has
exploded. This tells us the importance of Time management that is don't
put off learning or doing things until tomorrow because the opportunity
may be taken from you by then.
6. Linguistic chauvinism typically manifests in the form of a person
feeling superior to those that speak another language, or that do not speak
any language at all. This can occur in both developed and developing
countries, and is especially prevalent in countries that have a dominant
culture that is based on a particular language. There are a number of ways
to measure linguistic chauvinism, and research has shown that it is a
common phenomenon in both developed and developing countries.

7. Linguistic chauvinism is a pervasive issue that affects individuals,

communities and societies on multiple levels. It takes various forms, from
subtle biases to overt discrimination, and its consequences are far-
reaching. To address linguistic chauvinism, we must recognize its
existence and work toward creating inclusive linguistic environments
where all language

8. Chauvinism is a devotion for or against something, just based on

what you feel (not necessarily what you may know). Linguistic
chauvinism is the inordinate love for one's language. This love is so much
strong that one considers one's language superior to all language of the
world and imposes one language on others. This theme is effectively
brought out by the writer Alphonse Daudet who teaches people to hold on
fast and guard the key to their freedom. This happens generally when the
language imposed is that of the ruling class. But it could be something as
simple as Tamil speakers who start taking in Tamil soon as they soon Non-
Tamilians around on Japanese colonies in the early 20th century who
banned the Koreans wing their language.
 Importance of one's mother tongue in refrence to the chapter

1. Mother tongue can often be referred to as our first language or native

language. It is the language that we most commonly speak. A person's
mother tongue is of great value and importance. It is the common factor
which unites the countrymen.

2. The story explores a theme often found in literature that questions

what constitutes a national identity. What is about a nationality that creates
a collective feeling of belonging among a constituency that differs so
substantially among other characteristics associated with culture
distinction. What unifies Swedish people as Swedes: blond hair, light
complexion, a hardy resistance to frigid climate? Or is that the Swedish
language? Not all Swedes are blond hair nor lightly complexioned nor
inherently capable of withstanding freezing winter, but a commonality of
language binds them all to their culture heritage through facilitation of
communication. This conception of language as key of national identity is
even more pronounced in countries like France where physical distinctions
are much more diverse than in Sweden or Kenya or Japan, for instance.

3. M. Hamel made the villagers realize the importance of the mother

tongue. He spoke about the beauty of his mother tongue - the French
language. According to M. Hamel, even if people are enslaved, their
mother tongue can act like a key to a prison.

4. Later in the story he expressed his dismay that the whole population
of Alsace was responsible for neglecting their mother tongue. He called
upon them to guard it among themselves and never forget it. Their
language was the key to their unity and liberation.
Collect data about countries where people
have these tendencies

For over centuries outsiders have tried to invade the other

countries and in doing so they have found that the best way of
manipulating native people's minds against their own country is to take
away their strongest weapon "their mother tongue". Be it the Germans
imposting German language on the French after Prussian war or Indian's
Hindi language being chained in shackles by the British, it has always
been "language" bearing the bitter repercussions. In the 1960s, when New
Delhi tried to impose Hindi as the sole official language of the Indian
union, non-Hindi speaking areas vehemently opposed this. Anti-Hindi
sentiment was particularly strong in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu,
where Tamil is spoken. The most chauvinistic attitudes towards culture
were recorded across Eastern Europe with Romania (66 percent), Bulgaria
(69 percent) and Russia (also 69 percent) on top. The highest score of any
country across Europe was actually recorded in Greece where 89 percent
of people agreed with the statement. Papua New Guinea is the most
linguistically diverse country in the world, with approximately 840
languages used..

India’s language policy was built on the principle of “unity in

diversity.” India has adopted this policy because it has learned from the
lessons of the past. Past attempts by India to impose linguistic uniformity
had stirred regional passions and destabilized several states. In the 1960s,
when New Delhi tried to impose Hindi as the sole official language of the
Indian union, non-Hindi speaking areas vehemently opposed this. Anti-
Hindi sentiment was particularly strong in the Southern state of Tamil
Nadu, where Tamil is spoken. Protests against the imposition of Hindi lead
to the loss of over 50 lives in Tamil Nadu, as a result of the Indian
government’s attempt to mandate that all communication between state
governments and the central government be in Hindi. The situation was
diffused when the Indian government relented and allowed the indefinite
use of English as well as Hindi as official languages of the central
government.

In the 1950s, Pakistan believed that promoting a single language,

chosen by the dominant group, would create a strong, unified republic. It
believed that diversity is a weakness and not a strength of a pluralistic
society. Unfortunately, this idea led to the breakup of Pakistan. On the
other hand, India promoted and preserved pluralism and multiculturalism
and flourished. If India forgets this, it may have negative consequences for
the country.

However, there is some evidence to suggest that language is no

longer the big issue it used to be. After decades of resistance against Hindi,
even Hindi speakers realized the futility of this linguistic chauvinism and
understood the importance of English as the language of opportunity in a
globalized world. Conversely, some of the South Indian aversion towards
Hindi has lessened. The opening up of the Indian economy two decades
ago created many new job opportunities and career options which led to
the movement of people all over India, and many people from North India
have moved to South India. This has habituated inhabitants of states such
as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to the Hindi language and Hindi speakers. It
was rare a decade ago to find Hindi speakers in Tamil cities such as
Chennai, but today it is fairly common. The national popularity of
Bollywood, India’s Hindi film industry, has also made Hindi more
acceptable to younger non-Hindi speakers. As a result, resistance to Hindi
is much less than it was before.
 STUDENT REFLECTION
This topic has been chosen for he project as the effects
of Linguistic Chauvinism can be seen in many parts of the
world which developed a curiosity to explore more about
this topic. Although it was very difficult to find any
information related to the incidents of Linguistic
Chauvinism in the past and present because no nation wants
to admit the atrocities, they had committed towards the
residents of different territories they had annexed in the
past. This project provided a whole new experience because
while working on this project, I came to know about the
relationship between the Language and the Culture of a
Region. The various impacts on the culture of a region if a
foreign language us imposed there. It also helped me to
understand the importance of language and the right to
communicate in that language for the people of a particular
region.
 Bibliography

1. Wikipedia
2. My CBSE Guide
3. Class 12 English Textbook Flamingo