Search for my Tongue

Search for my Tongue Learning Objectives Consider the importance of culture and language Understand Sujata Bhatt’s view of language and culture Discuss the way these views are presented Slide 7 contains link to video on BBC Bitesize

What are your views on the following statements?Discuss with a partner. • I don’t like it when I hear people living in Britain speaking a foreign language. When they’re in Britain they should speak English. • It must be a real advantage to slip between different languages • It must be really confusing to have to use two different languages • If you live in Britain and you speak English but your first language is something else, then you should do all you can to keep your first language rather than forgetting about it.

Sujata Bhatt • Sujata Bhatt was born in 1956 in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat, where her mother tongue was Gujarati • She is intrigued by two languages interacting in her mind and how this affects her identity [My mother tongue] That's the deepest layer of my identity." "I have always thought of myself as an Indian who is outside India."

Themes • Language is used to symbolise cultural identity • The poet suggests that cultural identity never dies regardless of where you live • She suggests that two cultures mixed together enhance one another

Search for My Tongue This has a double meaning: the physical device needed for speech and the language you speak The language you speak is seen as inextricably linked to your culture

Conversational style, who is she talking to? Lost voice could mean isolation in a new culture You ask me what I meanby saying I have lost my tongue.I ask you, what would you doif you had two tongues in your mouth,and lost the first one, the mother tongue,and could not really know the other,the foreign tongue.You could not use them both togethereven if you thought that way.And if you lived in a place you had tospeak a foreign tongue,your mother tongue would rot,rot and die in your mouthuntil you had to spit it out.I thought I spit it outbut overnight while I dream, Tongue as a metaphor for language is used throughout the poem: extended metaphor One must be excluded no matter what you want. Could this suggest a desire to maintain both cultures? Negative language gives this first section sickening and sombre view of the loss Tone changes at the end of this section How should this be read? Sadly, angrily, hopefully towards the end. Mark a quotation to back up each possible interpretation

The Gujarati script, on the right, is repeated in English at the end of the poem. (munay hutoo kay aakhee jeebh aakhee bhasha) (may thoonky nakhi chay) Why is the same thing said twice in two languages? (parantoo rattray svupnama mari bhasha pachi aavay chay) (foolnee jaim mari bhasha nmari jeebh) What is the purpose of the phonetic transliteration below the script? modhama kheelay chay) Is this a poem more effective when read out loud or seen on the page? (fullnee jaim mari bhasha mari jeebh) (modhama pakay chay)

Takes place in a dream; as such, is it real or just something she hopes for? Strong positive natural imagery. What might this suggest? it grows back, a stump of a shootgrows longer, grows moist, grows strong veins,it ties the other tongue in knots,the bud opens, the bud opens in my mouth,it pushes the other tongue aside.Everytime I think I've forgotten,I think I've lost the mother tongue,it blossoms out of my mouth. Is it necessary for one to overpower the other? Positive image could imply that the language is beautiful and exotic

Think about… • How does the poem present the argument that our speech and ourselves are intimately connected? Do people not have to search for their own tongue - or authentic voice - even if they have not had to move from one language to another? • What does the last sentence of the poem mean?

Writing responses to the poems What is it worth and why? Second sentence: personal response, but needs developing First sentence: pointless The poem contains lots of similes and metaphors (imagery), similes is when you use like and metaphors is when you don't use like. I liked the line about spitting it out (tongue) it reminded me of a horror film. Treatment of how the poem is written is poor - suggests G/F grade

Writing responses to the poems What is it worth and why? Gets hold of the importance of this image in the poem Understands what the poet is saying The whole poem is about tongues really, there are lots of images of tongues. Sujata describes her mother tongue as if it was something growing in her mouth, which gets bigger or smaller. She thinks that if she doesn't speak Indian from day to day it will die away. It's like, use it or lose it. But it never actually disappears because at night the tongue 'blossoms out of my mouth', so it's come to life again. Suggests a C/B grade answer

Writing responses to the poems What is it worth and why? Clear explanation of a complicated image Short quotations to illustrate what is said Connects images to argument of poem Personal responses to the imagery In English, we use the word 'tongue' to mean 'language' as well as your actual 'tongue'. The poet compares knowing two languages to having two tongues in your mouth, which she calls 'the mother tongue' and 'the foreign tongue'. She is afraid that the mother tongue might shrivel away ('rot and die') like a plant with no roots. But in the last part of the poem, the mother tongue seems to grow back during the night, and 'push the other tongue aside'. It's like when she dreams, she dreams in Gujarati, and this keeps the language alive for her. It connects her to her memories. The image of two tongues growing in your mouth is weird, and a bit disturbing. You can imagine how it would feel. But then it 'blossoms' which also suggests something beautiful. I thought this was a memorable image. Suggests A grade answer

Write a response to the following • How Does Sujata Bhatt feel about her mother tongue. Support your answer with quotations • Aim to write half a page of a detailed response to the poem.

Search for my Tongue