• UNIT

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What Do You Think?

Answer the questions with you r best guess . Ci rcl e Yes or No.
Do you t hink . ..
1. languages die? Yes No
2. languages change) Yes No
3. a poem has the same form as an essay? Yes No
4. fables always have anima ls in them) Yes No
5. fab les don 't have any special meaning? Yes No

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Pre-Reading
Discuss the answers to th ese questions with your classmates.

1. What form s of language are in the picture?

2. Is th is language used today?
3. What are some other languages that have died)

Predicting
Tell in what way each of the following words can be compared to language.
Then compare your ideas w ith those in the reading.
Language is like ...
.
a hurrica ne a ri ver a mountain
an ocea n a volca no

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~~ "languages" by Carl Sandburg

Track 15

I There are no handles upon a language

Whereby men take hold of it
And mark it with signs for its remembrance.
It is a river, this language,
.I Once in a thousand years
Breaking a new course
Changing its way to the ocean.
It is mountain effluvia
Moving to volleys
10 And from nation to nation
Crossing borders and mixing.
Languages die like rivers.
Words wrapped round your tongue today
And broken to shape of thought
15 Between your teeth and lips speaking
Now and today
Shall be faded hieroglyphics
Ten thousand years from now.
Sing- and Singing-remember
20 Your song dies and changes
And is not here to-morrow
Any more than the wind
Blowing ten thousand years ago.

Nofe: In line 8, the word effluvia refe rs to streams flowing down from the rainfall or
melted snow.

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 Vocabulary
A . Vocabulary in Context

Complete each definit ion with one of the following words or phrases.

border hand le whereby

course hierog lyphics wrap around
fade valley

1. _ . __ __ means by wh ich or through which.

2. The direction of movement someone or something takes is its _ _ _ _ ___ .

3. The li ne t hat divides t wo countries is the _ _ __ __

4. Part of somethi ng by wh ich you ca n pick it up is its _ _ _ _ _ _ .

5. To lose color or to disappear gradually is to _ _ _ __ _

6. are a syste m of writing that uses picture-like sign s to

represent words.

7. A _ __ _ _ _ is the land between hills or mountains, usually with a

river runn ing through it.

8. To _ _ _____ is t o encircle somet hi ng .

Word Partnership use handle with:

n. han dle a job/problem/situation, handle press ure/
responsibility, ability to handle somet hing
adj. difficult/easy/hard to handle

B. Vocabulary Building

Complete the sentences with the correct form of th e bold words. You may use
your dictionary.

1. handle
a. Be ca ref ul I The _ _ _ _ _ _ is hot l
b. She the problem very well at the meeting yesterday.
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 2. die
a. I remember what I was doing when the of the president
was announced.
b. W hen t he fa mous leader , the w hole country was moved.

3. speak
a. The president's _ _ _ __ _ was very positive.
b. He with great emotion at the t rial yesterday.

C. Vocabulary in New Context

Write your own sentences using t he words f rom the list in Part A and the bold
words in Part B.

Reading Comprehension
A. Analyzing Images

Read the poem aga in, an d try to f ind the mean ing of each of the fo llowing
images. Circle t he letter of t he best answer.

1. "There are no handles upon a language"

a. Languages can be difficult to learn.
b. Languages can disappear.
c. You cannot describe language.
d. You cannot give la nguage a name.

2. "It is a ri ver, t his langu age,

Once in a thousand years
Breaki ng a new cou rse
C hanging its way to the ocean. "
a. Changes in language happen slowly but inevitably.
b. Once language has changed, t he cha nge can't be reversed.
c. Language changes are difficult to see.
d. Language changes are unpredictable.

Chapter 15 209
 3. "It is mountain effluvia
Moving to val leys
And from nation to nation
Crossing borders and mixin g."
a. Languages change as t hey cross borders.
b. Languages do not stay with in borders.
c. Lang uages move slowly like mountains.
d. La nguages do not need borde rs t o survive.

4. " Languages die like rivers."

a. Languages are easy to forget.
b. Languages are difficult to pronounce.
c. Languages can be broken int o pieces.
d. Languages can dry up and be forgotten .

5. "Sing and singing remember

Your song dies and cha nges
And is not here to-morrow"
a. A language can change completely or disappear.
b. You can forget your own language easily.
c. A language has many melodies.
d. You shou ld use yo ur language so that it w ill not change.

B. Understanding the Poem

Read the poem again and t hen explain each of the fo llowing images in your
own words.

1. Why is lang uage like a river?

2. Why is language like mountain effluvia?

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 3. Why do languages die like rivers)

4. Why is language like the wind?

C. Recognizing Style

Work w ith a partner to answer t hese questions in complete sentences.

1. What tells you that th is is a poem)

2. What do you notice about t he writer's use of lines and punctuation)

3. What kinds of patterns can you see in this poem?

4. Read the poem aloud. Mark the places where you would pause. Mark the
words that you wou ld say loudly or softly. Compare your answers w ith your
partner's. Decide which read ing sounds best to you.

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 Discussion Questions
Discuss the answers to t hese questions with you r classmates.

1. Why do languages die?

2. What are some languages t hat change from nation to nation?
3. What are so me languages t hat have mixed with others )
4. How has your language changed? Give examples.
5. Did you enjoy readi ng th is poem? W hy or why not?

Critical Thinking Questions

Discuss the answers to t hese questions wit h your classmates.

1. Extinct languages no longer have any speakers. Some of the languages spoken
t oday are in danger of ext inct ion, and linguists are trying desperately to save
them. Why and how do lang uages die) Do you think it's important to preserve
dyin g langua ges? W hy or why not?
2. Robert Frost said, "A poem beg ins in delight and ends in wisdom." What does
this mean? Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
3. Poetry is a written expression of thoughts, emotions, and ideas in a language
that conta ins verse, meter, and rhyme. In w hat ways is poetry like music?
4. Do you think poet ry is appreciated in the modern world ? Does it have a place in
the modern world) Why or why not?

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Writing Skills
A. Organizing: Imagery

When writers try to create a pict ure of something to make it seem real to us,
they use imagery. To make an image or picture, t hey may use colorful words
and expressions to make comparisons. Two kinds of imagery are the simile and
the metaphor

Simile

A simile compares one thing w ith another to show sim ilarity. A simile uses
like or as. There are many id iomatic expressions w ith similes, such as "as busy as
a bee" and" as good as gold." Try t o create your own, more interesting similes.

Example:

Languages die like rivers.

Metaphor

A metaphor co mpares one thing with another w ithout using like or as.

Examples:

It is a river, t his language (Language is compared to a river)

It is moun tain effluvia (Language is compared to mountain

Moving to va lleys streams flowing down to valleys.)

B. Exercises

1. Work alon e, with a partner, or in a group . Comp lete the similes in the following
sentences.

1. Engl ish spe lli ng rules are as unreliable as _ _ _ _ __

2. No one speaks Latin today. Lati n is as dead as _______ .

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 3. Idioms in a lan guage are like _ _ _ __ _

4. The gramma r or rules of a language are as strong as _ _ __ __ .

5. Througho ut history, language wil l change like _ _ _ __ _

2. Work with a partner or in a group . Write metaphors to complete these se nten ces.

1. Language is _ _ __ __

2. Learnin g a language is _ _ __ _ _ .

3. Poems are t he _ __ __ _ of language.

Writing Practice
A. Write an Analysis of a Poem

Read t he poem aga in . Look back at your answers to the questions under
"Understanding the Poem" on pages 210-211. Use your answers t o write a
paragraph explaining the metaphors and similes used in the poem in your own
words. Use the sentence sta rters below

The poem is about .. .

The first image is abo ut la nguage as a ...
The next fo ur lines describe how ...
The next image describes language as ...
Fina lly, language is compared to ...

B. Write a Rough Draft

Using the sentence sta rters f rom Part A, w rite a rough draft of your paragraph .

C. Revise Your Rough Draft

Exchange pa ragraphs with a cl assmate and ask him or her to give you
comments and suggestions . Use t he fo ll owing questions:

1. Are the ideas clea rly expressed?

2. Wh ich ideas did you fi nd most inte resting, and why?
3. Give one suggestion for improvin g th e paragraph.

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D. Edit Your Paragraph

Work with a partner or teacher to edit your paragraph. Correct spelling,

punctuation, vocabulary, and grammar. Use the checklist below.

Editing Checklist
o Subject and verb in every sentence?
o Correct tense!
o Words in correct order?
o Correct pronoun reference!
o Subject and verb agreement!
o Commas in correct place?
o Wrong words!
o Missing words!
o Spelling!

Look at page 226 for symbols to use when editing.

Example:

Error: I li ke this poem about the lang uage. art

Correct: I like t his poem about language.

When you fi nd a mistake of th is type, you can mark it w ith the symbol
"art" (incorrect or missing article).

E. Write Your Final Copy

When your paragraph has been ed ited, you can write the final copy.

Chapter 15 215