English project

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my deep sense of
gratitude to my English teacher Ms. Kaushiki
Banerjee for alotting me this intriguing and
engaging project on the topic “The Last Lesson”.
I am thankful to our principal Dr.Ram
Singh,whogranted me the golden opportunity to
complete this wonderful project which helpled
me in conducting a lot of research and I learnt a
whole lot of new things.I am really thankful to my
parents and friends who helped and inspired me
in completing the project succsessfully.

3. CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Aditya Raj, class XII-’G’ ,roll
number 06 has completed the Practical project of
English(301) under my guidance during the
academic session 2022-2023.I wish all the
success in his life.
Guide: External
Examiner:
Ms.Kaushiki Banerjee
English Teacher
Delhi Public School
Sail Township,Ranchi,834004

4. DECLARATION BY
CANDIDATE
I hereby declare that the project work entitled
“The Last Lesson”, submitted by me to Delhi
Public School,Ranchi in partial fulfilment is a
CBSE bonafide project under the guidance of my
English teacher Ms.Kaushiki Banerjee. I further
declare that the work reported in this project has
not been submitted to any other school.
NAME: Aditya Raj
CLASS/SEC: XII ‘G’
ROLL NO. : 06
DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL,RANCHI

5. INDEX
SL.NO TOPIC PAGE NO.
1. INTRODUCTION 1-2
2. CONCEPT OF
LINGUISTIC
CHAUVINISM
3-5
3. IMPORTANCE OF
LANGUAGE
6-8
4. RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN
LANGUAGE AND
CULTURE
9-11
5. HISTORICAL
EVENTS
12-19
6. CHARACTERS 20-23
7. CONCLUSION 24-25
8. BIBLOGRAPHY 26

6. INTRODUCTION
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the
freedom of an individual or a community to articulate
their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation,
censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of
expression has been recognised as a human right in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
international human rights law by the United Nations.
Many countries have constitutional law that protects
free speech. The freedom of expression includes any
activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting
information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.
Linguistic chauvinism is a direct threat to freedom of
speech and expression as it restricts a particular
group/community

7. from communicating in their language and
forcefully imposing a foreign language on
them. Incidents of linguistic chauvinism have
been witnessed many a time in history in
different areas of the world which will be
discussed in a later part of this project.

8. CONCEPT OF LINGUISTIC
CHAUVINISM
“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 the other
languages 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 their

9. which is the key to their freedom and symbolizes
their identity. 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 talking in Tamil as soon as
they see non-Tamilians around or Japanese
colonizers in the early 20th century who banned
the Koreans from using their language and even
forced them to use Japanese names. Also,
sometimes it can lead to partition as in the case
of Pakistan and Bangladesh which lead to the
BENGALI LANGUAGE MOVEMENT which
resulted in the partition.

11. IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE
Language matters a great deal as this is what
helps to distinguish the sayings of one individual
from the other. If used efficiently it is a powerful
and strong weapon that will leave memorable
impressions on the listener. The importance of
language in our society is clear as it has helped
to smooth social contacts, preserve our culture
and convey our thoughts to individuals and
people in groups effectively. Language is
considered an important tool that helps to create
cultural ties, friendships, and relationships. It is a
medium used to offer

12. shape to the thoughts, ideas and emotions
depending upon the perception of reality and portray
it to others in a manner that the people listening can
understand and relate to them. A common language
is a symbol of social solidarity and gives the
impression of cultural kinship. There are different
cultures in the world and it themselves the language
that primarily distinguishes the differences between
the cultures and celebrates its unique features. The
importance of language is that it shapes the thought
process and perception of how an individual views
the world. It also helps to define the concept of
culture in society because culture and language are
closely connected. It is the language that helps
others to understand the culture of a place. It
conserves our culture and helps to spread it as a
culture carrier. When you know the language, it
signifies that you are aware of the culture and can

14. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Learning about different cultures helps us
approach languages with new insight. It allows
us to delve deeper into the meaning of words
and expressions and helps us feel more
connected to each other. To fully appreciate a
language, one needs to understand the culture of
the people who speak it as they’re intrinsically
connected. One won’t fully master a language
unless they understand the culture, just like they
will never fully understand a culture until they
have immersed themself in a study of that

15. and largely dependent on the ever-evolving
views, values and customs of its speakers. The
differences between the two cultures are
reflected perfectly in their languages. Mastering
the nuances of a language means being able to
understand people who grew up with an entirely
different set of values and beliefs. Language
affects the way we perceive the world and
therefore, it affects how we choose to interact
with it.

17. HISTORICAL EVENTS
WHEN LINGUISTIC
IDENTITY WAS
THREATENED
• FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR (1870)
AFTER THE DEFEAT IN THE WAR PRUSSIA GAINED
THE CONTROL OF FRENCH DISTRICTS ALSACE AND
LORRAINE WHICH SERVED AS THE CENTRES FOR
THE PRUSSIAN ARMY DURING THE WAR. DUE TO THE
LARGE PRESENCE OF PRUSSIAN SOLDIERS AND
GAINING CONTROL OF THESE DISTRICTS PRUSSIAN
EMPIRE STARTED IMPOSING ITS CULTURE AND
GERMAN LANGUAGE ON THE PEOPLE LIVING HERE.
ORDERS REGARDING TEACHING OF ONLY THE
GERMAN LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS WERE PASSED
AND THOSE WHO KNEW HOW TO READ

18. AND WRITE FRENCH WERE FORCED TO
FLEE. THIS WAS DONE TO DEMEAN THE
FRENCH LANGUAGE AND TO CRUSH THE
SPIRITS OF THE NATIVE PEOPLE SO
THEY CAN’T REVOLT IN FUTURE
AGAINST THE PRUSSIAN HEGEMONY
BECAUSE WHEN THE PEOPLE ARE
ENSLAVED, AS LONG AS THEY HOLD
FAST TO THEIR LANGUAGE IT IS AS IF
THEY HAD THE KEY TO THEIR PRISON.

20. JAPANESE INVASION OF
KOREA (1910-1945)
AFTER THE ANNEXATION OF KOREA MANY
CHANGES WERE SEEN IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
OF KOREA.
By 1939 Japan’s focus had shifted towards cultural
assimilation of the Korean people Imperial Decree 19 and
20 on Korean Civil Affairs went into effect, whereby ethnic
Koreans were forced to surrender their traditional use of
the clan-based Korean family name system and many
Koreans received a Japanese surname. Integration of
Korean students in Japanese language schools steadily
increased over time. While before this schools in Korea
had used mostly Hanja script, during this time Korean
came to be written in a script introduced by the Japanese.
In 1928, Hangul Day (9 October) was inaugurated, which
was meant to celebrate the accelerating Japanization of

21. The Japanese administrative policy shifted more
aggressively towards cultural assimilation after
1939. This left less room for Korean language
studies and by 1943 all Korean language
courses had been phased out. As a result of
which teaching and speaking Korean was
prohibited and whomsoever disobeyed these
orders were forced to migrate to China.

23. • ANNEXATION OF TIBET
BY PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC
OF CHINA (1951)
AFTER THE ANNEXATION OF TIBET BY
CHINA(PRC) A LOT OF EFFORTS ARE MADE TO
SUPPRESS TIBETAN CULTURE AND LANGUAGE.
China initially implemented a policy of dual-language
education in Tibetan areas but soon phased it out
and started imposing Mandarin Chinese. Nowadays
Tibetans’ devastating lack of economic opportunity is
inextricably related to language. Tibetans who do not
speak Chinese have no access to well-paying jobs
and on opposing these policies the Tibetans are sent
to concentration camps located in the Xinjiang
region.

24. The loss of the Tibetan language can be linked
to the loss of Tibetan Buddhism, a treasure of
Tibetan culture. People had previously
remembered Tibetan by reciting religious chants,
but once the chants were banned, they inevitably
lost the language. The loss of language ability
has led to the loss of cultural and social ties
within Tibetan villages.

26. CHARACTERS
M.Hamel :
He is presented in the mould of a traditional school-
master. He always kept his ‘terrible’ ruler under his arm.
Mr Hamel was a hard task- master. We see the other side
of M. Hamel’s character after the order from Berlin came.
He was a transformed person now. He became extra soft
and gentle ‘towards his students. He didn’t scold Franz for
coming late. Nor did he use his ruler when Franz got
mixed up and confused. He declared that it was his last
lesson in French. M. Hamel was highly respected both by
his students and the village elders. He had completed 40
years in the same school. The village elders came to pay
their respect to such a grand teacher. M. Hamel loved
France and French from the core of his heart. He
considered French as the most beautiful language in the
world. He asked the people to guard it among themselves
and never to forget it.

28. Franz :
Little Franz was a student of a school in Alsace. M.
Hamel was his schoolmaster. Franz was not a
brilliant student. He didn’t prepare his lesson on
participles. When he was asked to recite, he got
mixed up and confused. He was always in dread of
the great ruler that M. Hamel kept under his arm.
Franz knew how ‘cranky’ M. Hamel was. However,
Franz had to change his opinion about M. Hamel. An
order had come from Berlin. German language was
imposed on the people in Alsace. When he came to
know that it was the last lesson of Mr. Hamel, his
views about him changed. He began to respect him.
He had spent 40 years in the same school. He felt
sorry that he had neglected learning French. He
shared M. Hamel’s views about French. It was the
most beautiful language in the world. He listened to
M. Hamel’s last lesson with rapt attention and
respect.

30. CONCLUSION
FROM THE FEW EXAMPLES MENTIONED
PREVIOUSLY IT IS CLEAR THAT WHENEVER A
NEW TERRITORY IS CONQUERED BY A NATION,
THE LEADERS OF THAT NATION TRY TO
SUPPRESS ANY FUTURE UPRISING BY
SEPARATING THE PEOPLE FROM THEIR
CULTURE AND LANGUAGE AS THEY BOTH PLAY
A VITAL ROLE IN CREATING A FEELING OF
NATIONALISM. BY IMPOSING A FOREIGN
LANGUAGE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, AN
INFERIORITY COMPLEX CAN BE CREATED
AMONG THE PEOPLE REGARDING THEIR
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE WHICH CAN BE

31. LIBERATED AND FREED. THIS CAN BE SEEN IN CASE
OF INDIA AS EVEN AFTER 74 YEARS OF
INDEPENDENCE, ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS SEEN AS A
STATUS SYMBOL AMONG INDIAN CITIZENS AND
GIVEN A SUPERIOR STATUS IN COMPARISON TO
OTHER INDIAN LANGUAGES SUCH AS SANSKRIT,
TAMIL, TELEGU, MALAYALAM, HINDI etc. WHICH HAS
RESULTED IN INDIAN YOUTH NOT FEELING
CONNECTED TO THEIR ROOTS AND CULTURE. THIS
SAME PATTERN CAN BE SEEN IN OTHER BRITISH
AND AMERICAN COLONIES SUCH AS SOUTH KOREA,
JAPAN, AFRICA AND VIETNAM. THUS, IT IS VERY
IMPORTANT FOR A COLONISED/ENSLAVED
COUNTRY TO PRESERVE ITS CULTURE BECAUSE AS
QUOTED BY ALPHONSE DAUDET – “When the people
are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it
is as if they had the key to their prison”.

32. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Wikipedia
• Fluentu.com
• Mycbseguide.com
• CLASS 12 ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FLAMINGO
• UCLA ASIA PACIFIC CENTRE