Comparative Commentary- Search for My Tongue and Lost for tongue

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Isha Tiwari Comparative Commentary

Nov. 26, 11

English A2- Paper 1: Comparative Commentary

Text A is a poem Search for My Tongue by Sujata Bhatt whereas Text B is an extract from the novel Lost for Words by Elizabeth Lutzeier. Both texts are about losing their mother. Since both works are about losing their mother tongue, we can ay that both writers are bilingual. Both texts have a foreign language that seems to degrade their own language. In both works we can see that imagery is used to compare language. They both do not lose their tongue all of a sudden. Text A, is a first person speaker whereas, text B is a third person speaker.

The subject of both texts is about losing their mother tongue. In text A the themes of the poem might be about losing persona’s identity in foreign land, living between two different cultures, trying to keep mother tongue alive. Bhatt does not want to lose her Indian identity. She is proud of her language and we can see that when she uses Guajarati words as “” in her poem. I also think the theme of the poem might be about race. On the other hand the themes of text B might also be losing one’s identity and transformation to a new language. She was not allowed to speak her mother tongue in her school with any one so he has to learn English which was very difficult for her to do. “The Bengali words weren’t [Aysha’s] own words any longer (13) show the effect of that transformation on her own language. Aysha has to speak a language that she never spoke before in her life. She understands that it is difficult for her to make others realize what she means to say while communicating. Text A gives us an optimistic idea of losing language. Bhatt says whenever she thinks she has lost her mother tongue, “it blossoms out of my mouth” (38). She does not lose her Indian identity. In the first stanza the speaker seems to compare two languages as a battle where the foreign language is seemed to be winning. Since Bhatt uses foreign tongue continuously and unconsciously with every one in foreign land to communicate, therefore her own tongue look like “rot and die” (13). However she finishes reasserting her own language and identity. In text A, poem starts in English which tell us that English is taking over in persona’s life. But then the entire middle section is Gujarati, a declaration to say that she still remembers her own language i.e. Gujarati and is proud to have that language. In text B, we don’t see Aysha regaining her language; instead we see her making her own language.

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In both texts imagery is used which is used to describe their own language. In text A, image of plant is used to describe the growing back of her own mother tongue. The growing back of plant signifies that the persona does not loose her language. Her language and identity regenerates. “It grows back, a stump of a shoot” (31) suggests the meaning of regeneration. In text B, language is compared to a tape. The language is getting “fainter and fainter” (10) and speaker is not able to recall all words from her language. This suggests that language is degraded and is affected badly by not using it continuously. Both texts give us the idea that speaker wants to speak their mother tongue in foreign place but circumstances make them learn and speak another language. Both texts have an idea of language not degrading suddenly. In text A, plant rots gradually, which tell us that persona does not lose her language all of a sudden. Similarly in text B, fainting of tape also gives us the idea that Aysha does not lose her language all of sudden.

Both texts tell us about the situation that forced both persona and Aysha to start speaking foreign language. In text A, environment makes persona speak English because she is living in a country where she has to speak English to converse with others, “had to” (10) suggests that she was forced to speak another language while communicating. In text B, Aysha was forced by her teachers to speak English though she was not able to communicate properly in English. Aysha was “slapped gently” (2) on her hands by her teachers if she did not speak English. Both tell us that they were compelled by someone to speak different language that hence led to degradation of their own language.

In text A, repetition of words such as “rot, rot” (12-13) emphasis on the degradation of persona's language. On the other hand persona contrasts her own idea of degradation of language by using “bud opens” (34) and “blossoms” (38) that again gives us idea of regeneration. One of the images used is of her tongue rotting in her mouth and her “spit it out” (14) reflects the horror and disgust she felt at losing her tongue and Indian identity. In text A, the word “svupnama” (22) suggest us two meanings of dream, one when she speaks Guajarati in her dreams and another idea that it is her dream to speak Gujarati always. In text B, repetition of “slowly, slowly” (16) gives us the idea of something gradually. Here Aysha starts making her “own language out of two languages other people had thrown at her “(17-18). She was trying to “[remake] her own world” (18) so that she can communicate with every one else. But at the same time this suggests that she is on a verge to loose her own language because she is going to mix language that she dies not know properly.

Both works are about losing their language. Since both have to speak another language consciously both first are about to lose their language. In text A, where Bhatt regains her own language and identity on the other hand Aysha is on a verge to forget her own language make her own language out of two. In conclusion both works have more similarity than difference. Both give us the idea about one’s own language and trying to communicate with others.

Word Count- 1031