Old Tongue - Key Quotes Flashcards Preview

N5 English > Old Tongue - Key Quotes > Flashcards

Flashcards in Old Tongue - Key Quotes Deck (13)
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1
Q

“When i was eight, I was forced south”

A

word choice suggests she really didn’t want to go

2
Q

“Words fell of my tongue”

A

metaphor - she has no control in the situation

3
Q

“My own vowels started to stretch like my bones”

A

Similie - It has long vowel sounds saying that the english accent has long vowel sounds.

4
Q

“and I turned my back on Scotland”

A

Strong idea of some sort of betrayal to her native language.

5
Q

“Words disappeared in the dead of night,/ new words marched in”

A

Metaphor (personification) - some kind of stealthy/ sinister invasion taking over. Her old words are being taken away and replaced

6
Q

“ghastly, awful,/ quite dreadful”

A

Long vowel sounds - she is mocking the english accent.

7
Q

“scones said like stones”

A

repeat

8
Q

“Oh where did all my words go-/ my old words, my lost words?”

A

Very personal. Like a lament for her lost words.

9
Q

“Did you ever feel sad when you lost a word”

A

using direct address to bring the reader into the experience.

10
Q

“Our in the English soul, my old words/ buried themselves”

A

Metaphor - Giving the idea that they aren’t necessarily dead but dormant and to come back to life.

11
Q

“It made my mother’s blood boil,/ I cried one day with the wrong sound in my mouth”

A

the english words feel wrong

12
Q

“I wanted them back: I wanted my old accent back,/ my old tongue”

A

reflects a child’s emotions and impulses

13
Q

Main Themes?

A
  • Change
  • Displacement
  • Childhood
  • Loss is tradition/ language/ past
  • Nostalgia