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Search For Tongue Break Down

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‘Search for My Tongue’ by Sujata

Bhatt
Culture & Identity
• What is culture?
• What makes up your identity?

• Is culture part of your identity?

• Make a list of things which make you who you


are –how important are these things to you –
why?
Context to aid meaning

Sujata Bhatt was born in 1956 in


Ahmedabad, the largest city in the
Indian state of Gujarat, where her
mother tongue was Gujarati. Later,
her family lived for some years in
the United States, where she
learned English. She now lives in
Germany
Now you have some background:
Brainstorm what you think the
following title is about:
‘Search For My Tongue’
Listen to the following...
I will be asking questions to check your
understanding...
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=433MF2g
3U8E

• How do you feel?


You ask me what I mean
by saying I have lost my tongue.

• Illustrate each part of the poem


I ask you, what would you do
if 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.

• Illustrate each part of the poem


You could not use them both together
even if you thought that way.

• Illustrate each part of the poem


And if you lived in a place you had to
speak a foreign tongue,
your mother tongue would rot,
rot and die in your mouth
until you had to spit it out.

• Illustrate each part of the poem


I thought I spit it out
but overnight while I dream,

• Illustrate each part of the poem


You ask me what I mean
by saying I have lost my tongue.
I ask you, what would you do
if 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 together
even if you thought that way.
And if you lived in a place you had to Section 1: This tells
us about the
speak a foreign tongue, problem of having
your mother tongue would rot, two languages. The
rot and die in your mouth poet uses the image
until you had to spit it out. of 2 tongues in your
mouth to show you
I thought I spit it out
what it’s like.
but overnight while I dream,
મને હુત ંુ કે આબ્બી જીભ આબ્બી ભાષા
(munay hutoo kay aakhee jeebh aakhee bhasha)

ં ૂ ી નાબી છે
મેં થક
(may thoonky nakhi chay)

પરં ત ુ રાત્રે સ્વપ્નાંમાં મારી ભાષા પાછી આવે છે


(parantoo rattray svupnama mari bhasha pachi aavay chay)

ફુલની જેમ મારી ભાષા મારી જીભ


(foolnee jaim mari bhasha nmari jeebh)

મોઢામાં બીલે છે
(modhama kheelay chay)

ફુલની જેમ મારી ભાષા મારી જીભ


(fullnee jaim mari bhasha mari jeebh)

મોઢામાં પાકે છે How does this make you feel?


(modhama pakay chay)
ુ ંુ કે આબ્બી જીભ આબ્બી ભાષા
મને હત
(munay hutoo kay aakhee jeebh aakhee bhasha)

ં ૂ ી નાબી છે
મેં થક
(may thoonky nakhi chay)

પરં ત ુ રાત્રે સ્વપ્નાંમાં મારી ભાષા પાછી આવે છે


(parantoo rattray svupnama mari bhasha pachi aavay chay)

ફુલની જેમ મારી ભાષા મારી જીભ


(foolnee jaim mari bhasha nmari jeebh) Section 2:
The use of “Gujarati”
મોઢામાં બીલે છે
language allows us to
(modhama kheelay chay)
see the language
visually, in our minds. It
ફુલની જેમ મારી ભાષા મારી જીભ shows its very different
(fullnee jaim mari bhasha mari jeebh) to English. It also
confuses us, which is
મોઢામાં પાકે છે how the poet feels.
(modhama pakay chay)
it grows back, a stump of a shoot
grows 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.

• Illustrate each part of the poem


Every time I think I've forgotten,
I think I've lost the mother tongue,
it blossoms out of my mouth.

• Illustrate each part of the poem


it grows back, a stump of a shoot
grows 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.
Every time I think I've forgotten,
I think I've lost the mother tongue,
it blossoms out of my mouth.
Section 3:
The poet talks about her mother tongue as
a plant (This is a metaphor). She does this
to show that the ‘tongue’ (her language) is
alive and it is blossoming, becoming
strong.
Keyword: Tone / Mood
• What is the tone / mood of the poem?

• What words tell you this?

• Does this change? = TURNING POINT

• What words show the turning point?


Fill in the blanks /choose the correct word….
1. At the beginning of ‘Search for my Tongue’ the poet feels….

2. I can tell this from the words…..

3. I think the poet has chosen ….this word to show she feels….

4. There is a turning point in the poem shown when the poet….

5. After the turning point the tone changes to……. This is shown by the words......

6. The poet changes the tone of the poem to help us understand the meaning. I think Bhatt
is suggesting that….

7. She uses the simile / metaphor of her tongue as a plant to help us relate /realate to the
poem and her situation.
Gujarati
• The Gujarati script is written phonetically (the
lines in brackets) so even if you do not
understand, you can still have a go...
• Lines 31 – 38 roughly translate the Gujarati
• If the poem says more or less the same thing
twice, might it just as well be written in one
language only?
• Why do you think it has been used?
• What would be lost if the Gujarati disappeared?
Plenary
• How important is language to our cultural
identity?

• Why do you think Bhatt uses Gujarati in her


poem?

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