Search For My Tongue Flashcards
You ask me what I mean
Direct address
Challenging the reader from the start
I have lost my tongue
Something that is normally said to quiet/shy people - in this case she means it in a more literal way
I ask you, what would you do
Redirects the question back to the reader - appears defensive, also wants reader to understand how she feels
Tries to create empathy for those who are bilingual by encouraging the reader to put themself in her position
Two tongues in your mouth
Shocking idea to reader, creates an unpleasant image
Two physical tongues is impossible - creates the idea that one will win
The mother tongue
Suggests a deep personal connection to the language she was brought up knowing
Tongue - used as a metonym throughout for language
What is the word for a term used in place of a closely related term
Metonym
Could not really know the other, the foreign tongue
Lacks the familiarity of the “mother tongue”
Emphasises that she doesn’t feel like it belongs to her - that the language isn’t part of who she is
Your mother tongue would rot,
Rot and die in your mouth
Unpleasant, shocking image
Idea of decay - slow loss of her native language
You had to spit it out
Idea of rejecting something - speaker has to discard/reject her mother tongue to assimilate
Previous idea of decay - suggests a vital part of the speaker has died with her mother tongue
Phrase is also used to tell someone to just say something confidently/quickly
But overnight while I dream
“But” - indicates a shift in tone
“While I dream” - shows it is subconscious, she can’t control it, only place she can speak her mother tongue is in her dreams
This is a bittersweet idea - reassuring because she hasn’t forgotten her native language, sad because it is suppressed in her mind, she can only speak it subconsciously
Middle section in gujarati
Gujarati = her native tongue
Forces the reader to experience the difficulties of interacting with a foreign language
Pronunciation written - allows reader to experience the language even if they don’t know it
It grows back, a stump of a shoot
This sentence is a continuation of the one from before the gujarati section - suggests gujarati is happening on a separate plane of consciousness
“Stump of a shoot” - natural imagery - suggests this is completely natural
Grows longer, grows moist, grows strong veins
Contrasts with image of “rot” and decay from earlier
Repetition of “grow” - suggests the tongue is becoming stronger and healthier
Unpleasant imagery (“moist… strong veins”) - suggests the process is not easy and simple, but difficult to regain your native language
It ties the other tongue in knots
Although at the beginning it seemed like the foreign tongue would win, it is now clear the mother tongue will always defeat the foreign tongue
A stump of a shoot… the bud opens
Continued plant imagery - natural, positive connotations, suggestion of roots (symbolic)
“Bud” - tiny, fragile, but with great potential
It blossoms out of my mouth (ending)
Ends with realisation that the mother tongue is still a vital part of the speaker - added emphasis since it is at the end, shows it is the main message of the poem
“Blossoms” - connotations of beauty, shows regaining mother tongue is natural and beautiful
Structure
Gujarati in centre of poem - shows it is central to her life
Alternates between end-stopping and enjambment throughout - reflecting the tension between the two tongues
Free verse - like a stream of consciousness, allows the language to flow naturally and organically throughout the poem
