What is ‘linguistic chauvinism’? Analyse the order from Berlin in this light. How do you justify M. Hamel’s views about French and the newfound love of the people towards their language?

Question: What is ‘linguistic chauvinism’? Analyse the order from Berlin in this light. How do you justify M. Hamel’s views about French and the newfound love of the people towards their language?

Answer: Carrying pride in one’s language too far leads to ‘linguistic chauvinism’. We can analyse the order from Berlin in this light. It is nothing but a pure example of linguistic chauvinism. The imposition of the German language over the French-speaking population can’t be justified at all. It is the worst kind of colonialism. M. Hamel’s love for French is genuine. The shocking order from Berlin arouses patriotic feelings in him. He loves French and feels it to be the most beautiful language in the world. He calls it the clearest and most logical language too. He regrets that the people of Alsace did not pay much heed to the learning of this great language. He asks the people to safeguard it among themselves. It is the key to their unity and freedom. The people of Alsace, particularly the village elders, suddenly realise how precious their language is to them. Students like Franz to are not immune to patriotic feelings. Franz feels sorry for neglecting the learning of French. He hates the idea of the German language being imposed on them. He remarks sarcastically, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” The last lesson was so impactful that it helped to revive the love for the language among the people of Alsace.

More Question-

1. What is the source of the endless fountain and what is its effect? [CBSE (F) 2010, 2011]
2. “… but after the airport’s security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan, pale as a late winter’s moon…”
3. “Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open-mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain that she was as old as she looked but soon put that thought far away,...”
4. How can suspension of activities help? [CBSE (AI) 2012]
5. What were Kamala Das’ fears as a child? Why do the fears surface when she is going to the airport? [CBSE (AI) 2011]
6. ‘It was a perfect place, she had always thought so.’ Which is the place described and what made it so perfect?
7. What did Sophie tell Jansie about her meeting with Danny Casey?
8. What was the weekly pilgrimage in the story ‘Going places’?
9. Write Sophie’s description of her first meeting with Danny Casey
10. What did Sophie imagine about her meeting with Danny Casey?
11. Why did Sophie like Danny Casey?
12. What did Sophie tell Geoff about Danny Casey?
13. What were Sophie’s views about the vast world around her?
14. What was the special fascination of the teenager, Sophie?
15. “And she was jealous of his silence.” Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff’s silence?
16. What was Geoff doing and how did he go to his work?
17. Why did Sophie wish to become an actress?
18. What does the reference to chappals in ‘Lost Spring’ tell us about the economic condition of the rag pickers? [CBSE (AI) 2016]
19. Describe the irony in Saheb’s name. [CBSE (AI) 2015]
20. How is the bangle industry of Firozabad a curse for the bangle makers?
21. “It is his karam, his destiny”. What is Mukesh’s family’s attitude towards their situation? [CBSE (AI) 2015]
22. What does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps? [CBSE (AI) 2015]
23. What did garbage mean to the children of Seemapuri and to their parents? [CBSE (AI) 2015]
24. Why don’t the younger ones of the bangle makers do anything else?
25. What is the condition of the children working in the glass furnaces of Firozabad?