CU-SEM III-BA-ENGLISH LITERATURE-III

College in Mumbai. His mother started a school on her own and was the Principal of the same school. Nissim was well read and was particularly fond of reading the poetic works of T S Eliot and Ezra Pound. He attended Wilson College in Mumbai. In the year 1947, he gained a 1st class honours degree in Literature. Subsequent to completing his degree, he started working as teacher of English Literature. He was not bothered much about the verse in his own poetry. His writing always tend to attract controversy. He wrote like the old school colonial radicals. When he completed his college, India has just gained independence form the British colonial rule. The country was politically buzzing with activity, which made him keenly interested in politics some time. However, soon Nissim decided to travel to England by boat. He spent the next three years at the Birkbeck College in London studying philosophy. This experience of stay was captured in his 1st collection of poems titled “Time To Change”, which was published in the year 1952. After completing his studies, he returned to India. He was left with no money and could not even afford for his fare for return. He worked varied menial jobs in a vessel for his return. On his return, he regularly writing for the Illustrated Weekly of India and worked as a broadcaster on the All-India Radio (AIR). He wrote for a variety of other magazines and newspapers on a regular basis. He turned an art critic in the mid - 1960s for the Times of India. After this stint, he worked as professor at colleges in the United States of America. He experimented with the drug LSD during this time. He had 5 year working stint as an advertising copywriter and general manager of a picture frame company from the 1954 to 59. He co-founded the literary monthly ‘Jumpo’ in the year 1961. He even turned editor for ‘Poetry India’ for a short duration of 1 year. For almost a decade, he was the head of the English department of Mithibai College, Mumbai, Maharashtra. He also was a visiting professor at University of Leeds and University of Pondicherry for short intervals. Nissim enjoyed his travels but always returned to his roots in Mumbai. He felt isolated at other places and was gravitated to his origins. His poetic career started as dreamer, but developed into the poet who is always seeking the truth. With the changes in elected democratic governments, he witnessed corruption in India and a disheartened common public, who were let down by the elected ones. He attempted to

highlight the issues faced by public strongly with his writings, so that some action might be taken to improve the situation. By the 1970s, his motivation faded as he contemplated that he was not able make any difference about this disappointment being faced by public at large. He seemed to adapt the commonness of most events. Isn’t it strange that even today we see acts of corruption and disappointment with our elected government representatives? We have also accepted these disappointments as part of our daily routine. We do not raise our voice when we see some injustice being done. We all tend to accept the erroneous decisions of the government without taking any action. We as common public have tremendous power to bring about healthy change in the society. Giving up or not being hopeful about a better future cannot help our growth. It is time we realize that each and every voice matters. Once these voices together formulate an action plan, then it would not be impossible to achieve the goals of a corruption free India. We need to work together as a stronger community and bind ourselves with strong action plan and measurable milestones. The relevance of Nissim’s thoughts is not lost even in the present times. His 1st book was titled – The Bad Day and was published in the year 1952. He next volume of poems titled The deadly man was published in the year 1960. His 5th book of poetry titled The Exact Name was published in the year 1965. In the year 1969, at the Writers Workshop, Nissin published his 3 famous plays tilted – Nalini, Marriage Poem and The Sleep-walkers. After 1 year, he presented an art series of 10 episodes for Indian television. In the year 1976, he translated poetry of Sh. Jawaharlal Nehru from English to Marathi, in partnership with Vrinda Nabar. He also co-edited a fiction and poetry anthology. His famed poem “The Night of the Scorpion” is till date used as part of the academic curriculum in Indian (NCERT and ICSE English textbooks) and Colombian schools. Nissim also wrote poems in ‘Indian English’ or was called the Babu English in those days. His most recognized poem is titled 'Background, Casually', which is considered to be the most significant poem of his poetic and personal career.

Nissim was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in the year 1983 for his collection titles as Latter-Day Psalms. He was celebrated for his refined, subtle and well-crafted diction, through which he dealt with common and routine themes. He used these themes in a manner which was able to manifest both cognitive profundity as well as an unsentimental and realistic sensibility. He was extremely influential for success of Indian English poetry. He augmented and established the Indian English language poetry through his innovations and techniques. His works helped to enrich the Indian English literature. He helped to include diverse topics of concerns and interests, including, but not limited to – domestic events, individual anguish and skeptical societal introspection. He was honoured with the Padmashri awathe year rd by the President of India in 1988. It is sad that such a beautiful mind suffered with a prolonged struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Nissim Ezekiel died in Mumbai in the year 2004 when he was 79 years of age. His work is listed hereunder with the year of their publications:  Time To Change in the year 1952  Sixty poems in the year 1953  The Discovery of India in the year 1956  The Third in the year 1959  The Unfinished Man in the year 1960  The Exact Name in the year 1965  Snakeskin and Other Poems (which were translations of the renowned Marathi poet – Indira Sant in the year 1965  Hymns in Darkness in the year 1976  Latter-Day Psalms in the year 1982  Collected Poems in the year 1989  The Three Plays Kolkata in the Writers Workshop in the year 1969

 Do Not Call it Suicide Madras for Macmillan India in the year 1993 His famous poems included:  The Couple  Enterprise  A Time to Change  Philosophy  Island  For Elkana  The Professor  Soap  Marriage  In the country cott  How the English lessons ended  The Paradise Flycatcher  Night of The Scorpion  Goodbye party for Miss Pushpa T.S.  Entertainment  “Background, Casually”  Poet, Lover and Birdwatcher 4.2 GOODBYE PARTY FOR MISS PUSHPA T.S

This specific poem was part of the 6th volume of poems published by the poet titled – “Hymns in Darkness”. It was published in the year 1976. This poem is not in the usual writing style of the poet. He is usually known for writing serious poetry for adults. However, in this poem, the poet uses simple Indian English. Through this poem, he is making fun of people who cannot speak English properly. He has included common mistakes made by speakers whose mother tongue or native language is not English. These mistakes vary from being grammatical mistakes, strange arrangements of words and phrases and idioms that are direct translations of expressions in Indian languages, which eventually sound very odd in English. The poem is in the form of a speech made by one of Miss Pushpa's friends at the time of her farewell party. It is a satirical take on how Indians use the English Language. As English is the second language for majority of Indians, the impact of Indian languages is clear when individuals try to talk in English. Further, the cultural and traditional habits can also be understood from their dialect. This poem is narration of an incident when a woman (Miss Pushpa) is supposed to leave India and her colleagues are throwing a “Goodbye Party” for her. The poet uses the “Babu English” that was quite popular at those times in Maharashtra. It is an interesting read since Nissim uses the Hindustani dialect and mannerism in it. The Indianness is inherent even in the title of this work by usage of initials at the end of the name and not at the beginning, which is common writing style in India. The poet – Ezekiel has written many of his works, including this poem - \"Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.,” in the dialect of urban Indians known as “Babu English.” This refers to an Indian version of English. It is pertinent to note that the Britishers, who were ruling India then, used the word “BABU” in a derogatory manner when they reffered to the subordinate Indians who spoke English as their second language. “Babu” was referred as an expression to call out a person who attempted to impress his British senior by using stylish expressions of the language in a manner which appeared that message that was expressed was more important than the information that was relayed. Even the ‘goodbye party’ used in the title of this poem seems to be an imitation of the term ‘birthday party’ and not ‘farewell’. It is being used in a mocking manner. Let us break down and analyze this poem:

Stanza – 1 The poet addresses his colleagues and subordinates as friends in the speech at the party to bid goodbye to a subordinate. He states that their dear sister (friend), Miss Pushpa is travelling to a foreign country and they all have assembled to bid her good bye. Stanza – 2 In these lines, the poet praises Miss Pushpa’s sweetness, which he refers to both internal and external. He asserts that she is beautiful not only due to her charms, but, owing to her honesty. He wonders why does she keep smiling most of the time. The poet has referred to the amicable nature of Miss Pushpa and her ever smiling face. It is clear that the poet is making fun of the excess use of the continuous tense in many sentences of this poem, even though the same are not accurate grammatically. Further, the treatment of the word - ‘smiling’ in these lines is more like the Indianised usage of the English language. Stanza – 3 The poet continues his speech to the people gathered for the Goodbye Party of Miss Pushpa. He then informs the gathering that Miss Pushpa belongs to a well-reputed family. Her father was a well-known advocate either in Bulsar or at Surat, however, he is unable to recall the correct name of the place. Stanza – 4 In these lines, the poet attempts to make a mockery of the straying mind of the speaker who forgets the occasion of his speech and starts discussing about his days that he had spent in

Surat with the family of one of his uncle’s old friend. He even mentioned the food cooked by that uncle’s old friend’s wife. The speaker is reminded by audience that the place he was asking about was Surat. The tangential digression of the speaker about Miss Pushpa’s father and remembering his own connection to city of Surat and yapping about his uncle’s very old friend and his wife during his stay there — are typical characteristic of an unprepared and spontaneous speech. It is a common sight during meeting or get-togethers, exhibited by many Indians, who lack the appropriateness of giving speech in a formal setting, but do want to hog the limelight. Stanza – 5 In the lines 26 to 28, after diverting from the topic of his speech for the gathering, the speaker returns to the subject matter of his speech – Miss Pushpa. He claims that she is very well- liked by everyone – both men and women. Using these sentences, the poet is mocking the funny, yet ungrammatical speech of majority of Indians. It also is a clear reference to their emotional and extravagant way of conversing with the audience. Through the lines 29 to 34, the poet is praising his junior co-worker, Miss Pushpa for her amicable nature. He also stresses that she never refused any work assigned to her. This depicts that she has a great temperament and is always ready to do any work. She is a hard- working and diligent girl. Here, the unnecessary usage of words like ‘just’ and ‘only’ demonstrates the speaker’s lack of knowledge of the use of English words. The sole purpose is for creating laughter and fun. In the lines 35 to 42, the poet concludes that Miss Pushpa was always helpful to him and all of her other colleagues. Today, the speaker and other colleagues of Miss Pushpa have gathered to wish her well for a happy journey since she is travelling to another country for better career prospects. After this speech is over, the speaker urges other speakers to take the chance to speak about Miss Pushpa. He also expresses that Miss Pushpa will sum up after all the colleagues have given their speech. In this poem, the poet has used Babu English, which is commonly considered to be a mix of English and Indian English. He does excess use of –ing in the verbs. He uses funny phrases like, “two three days”, “what sweetness is Miss Pushpa”, “external and internal sweetness”, “smiling and smiling”, “simply because she is feeling” etc. The poet has attempted to

exaggerate his love and respect for Miss Pushpa. Such kind of over-indulgence is a common occurrence in Indian English. In fact, adding a little drama can be considered a part of the regular conversation style in India. The tone of the poem is hilarious, however mocking is destitute. This poem is considered to be a soft attack on those speakers of English for whom English is not the mother tongue. The poem appears to be straightforward and talks about an authentic subject. The tradition of hyping the person, who is about to leave or retire is extremely common in India. Have you not notice the same in your work place? The person for whom the farewell is given is always spoken highly of and always praised for his work. If that was always true, then why would the management want to let go of such a praise-worthy person. The poet uncovers the confusion between Indian musings and English culture. This poem starts with the present continuous tense. It is a humorous attempt to ridicule the Indian Speakers. The speaker and people of audience present at the goodbye party do not realize that the English used for the speaker is linguistically incorrect. The poet ridicules the manner in which the semi-taught Indians converse or compose their dialogues. He mocks with the mistakes in sentence structure, linguistic structure and the expressions which numerous Indians use while communicating in English. The poem is an interesting take on the Indian method for communicating in English with such a large number of deficiencies. Hence, the poem is all about the usage of English language by Indians and the reflection of their culture in their expression. The principle theme in the “Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.” is not the loss of a companion, but it is the human foibles, or character faults. It is a prominent theme among the works of this poet – Ezekiel. The poet offers a satirical take on how few individuals in India speak Indianised English. He wrongly uses the present continuous tense and phrases and syntax in a way, which is transliterated from Indian language to English. An example of the same is this sentence: “Whatever I or anyone is asking / She is always saying yes.” The poet further suggests that neither the speaker nor the audience present at the goodbye party realize that the Indian English spoken by is grammatically incorrect. The 1st noticeable grammatical mistake is the use of present continuous tense in case of where the simple

present tense should be used. The poet – Ezekiel is observant of these distinctive features of the Indian English. He has used the same effortlessly in his poetry. This makes his poems humorous and fun to read. The poet – Nissim Ezekiel also mocks certain Indian customs, traditions and manners in this poem – “Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.” It is in the form of a dramatic monologue and like a free verse, which is typical of modern poetry. The speaker represents for every speaker in Indian context. He uses free and fragmented language to share the views and emotions. The poet makes fun of literal translations. For example “two three days” – is the literal translation of a regional expression. Similarly, another example of literal translation is “with men also and ladies also”. It is an unacceptable contrast used in literal translation of a regional expression. Another way of crafting parody is by not using indefinite articles. For example, “very high family”,” renowned advocate”, there is the absence of the indefinite article “a”. The correct phrase should be like “a very high family” and “a renowned advocate”. Another example is the reference that Miss Pushpa is laughed at and laughs at all the people. Further, in this poem, the poet – Nissim Ezekiel has not given a specific identity of the speaker. The reader is not made aware of the gender of the speaker – whether it is male or female. There is no mention of name or usage of a specific pronoun for the speaker. By using this ploy of hiding the identity of the speaker, the poet asserts that these grammatical mistakes can be made by any person talking in Indian English. The poet has not mentioned any particular person or groups of person in particular. This particular poem is considered to be one of Ezekiel's most famous poems. The reason for the same being that its subject matter as well as the manner in which it was written are unique. There are two sources of humor in this poem: the poet’s use of Indian English and the character of the speaker, who seems to be lacking public speaking skills, but is keen to give the farewell speech. The poet uses a type of register and style of speaking that many people in India use when speaking English, particularly when English is their second language. This style of English is a tangent of the standard English, but it is used by a large number of Indians. This poem was published almost 40 years back and till date, we see the usage of similar style of English

speaking around us. In fact, the number of Hin-glish (a blend of Hindi and English) is on the rise. Thanks to the increased popularity of social media and new breed of influencers! The poet’s usage of this English demonstrates his commitment to the daily life poetry. He conveys an ordinary bit of speech and the way he imagines someone would make it sound like on a routine day in real life. Additionally, this realism adds a distinctive humor to the overall message of the poem since the ability to speak English has always been a huge status symbol in India. It is clear that the characters in this poem struggle with the language without even seeming to realize the same. We all know one such person amongst us who wants to speak in English only to sound cool and not because the situation demands it. For those who are observant and want to show off to others, the ability to speak English indicates social status more effectively than other key markers like materialistic attributes, wealth or title. The speaker makes several mistakes which are clearly on the satirical side. The character of the speaker himself attempts to create humor in a grim farewell speech. From the short few stanzas, it is evident that he is a fun loving character who uplifts the poem into positive and humorous. Plus, his apparent lack of public speaking skills — his tangent thoughts about his stay in Surat in which he gets too involved in his own world and his note at the end of the speech of regarding who will talk next and that Miss Pushpa will sum up after everyone is finished — allows for humor as the reader can imagine what it would be like to be in attending that goodbye party. The speaker's narrative style is simple and representative of the normal and informal conversation. He is not an articulate person who uses difficult to comprehend words in English, rather he speaks like someone the reader might have heard in person and is acquainted with. Furthermore, this poem conveys that the language English has the power to communicate social superiority which the narrator is attempting to flaunt through his usage of the phrase \"bon voyage\" or his tangent about his travels or his mention of Miss Pushpa's social class. Thus, readers come to realize that the speaker is flaunting social superiority during his speech, which is conflicting with the way he speaks. The poet uses both of these elements — the use of Indian English and the speaker — to ironically comment on the fascination of Indians with going abroad for work or otherwise.

Irshad Gulam Ahmed has expanded on this idea in his book titled \"Nissim Ezekiel's Critical Nationalism and the Question of Indian English\". He remarks that the Indian thinking is yet- to-be decolonized, which the poet seeks to bring to the center of attention. Thus, the poet’s critical patriotic beliefs manifests in the expression of a new kind of viewpoint. He opines that the thought of colonialism does not only include the use of the English language in its unaltered or undistorted form, but in the continuation of a colonized psyche, such a deep- rooted mindset is still functioning. In other words, the poet has asserted through this poem the parody of the Indian fixation on going abroad to improve their prospects. Almost 4 decades, after this poem, don’t we recognize this juxtaposition today also where people are fixated with going abroad? Do you think you have come across any of these conversations or perceptions around you – Where did you go for your vacation this year? Within India, it refers to you being poor and no social standing. If you had a vacation in Europe means you are rich and good social standing. Where is your kid studying for his post- graduate degree? In an Indian university means that you have no money and your kid does not have a great future. On the other hand, if your kid is studying in US or UK, then of course, you have a good social standing and that your kid is going to succeed in life and be the next Warren Buffet. The poet’s commitment to the routine and the ordinary is a bit precarious in the poetic sense. For example, the speaker's digression about Surat carries the risk of being considered boring for the reader. However, the poet carefully modulates the speaker's voice preventing it from becoming either extremely boring or overly parodic. The poet skillfully conveys a complex and ultimately sympathetic portrait of the character of the speaker. 4.3 NIGHT OF THE SCORPION This poem begins in a house at night time, when it is raining. A scorpion, in order to take shelter from the rain, enters this house. This poem is about how the scorpion stinging the mother of the poet and the mother's pure love for her children. The poem is a reflection of the night which the speaker remembers as the night when his mother was stung by a scorpion. This scorpion had bit his mother because of its predatory impulse, while it was hiding beneath a bag of rice to escape from the incandescent rains. The

speaker remembers this night specifically due to this event – his mother getting bitten by a scorpion. Night of the Scorpion is a free verse poem comprising of 8 stanzas and 47 lines. It does not follow any set rhyme scheme. It has a mixed metre, which reflects the unique subject matter and strange nature of the incident. The way in which his mother is bitten is depicted 'flash of diabolic tail'. The poet suggests that the scorpion is demonic with its devious tail. He emphasises on the speed of the scorpion with the word – flash. After having bitten his mother, the scorpion flees the scene and risks the rain again. A picture of a religious village is painted by the actions taken by the neighbors to paralyse the scorpion. Their reason for doing the same is that they believe that as the scorpion moves, so does his poison travels in the blood of the poet’s mother. This helpful stance of neighbours also depicts that they live in a caring and close-knit village. It is clear from the fact that the neighbours feel welcome at their house. However, the poet is displeased by their arrival. He compares the number of neighbors with unwanted flies as they kept on sitting and talking around his mother. The neighbors tried to provide reasons for the event – biting by scorpion and many relied on superstition grounds to guess what the issue was. The villagers tried their best to find the scorpion after it had stung his. However, they were unable to locate the scorpion. The poet imagined that the evil continued to haunt the house, even after the scorpion had left the house, which was evident from – giant scorpion shadows he noticed on the sun baked walls of the house. The poet does not eventually mention if the shadows belonged to the numerous house hold utensils and other miscellaneous items, which the fearful brain perceived as the shadow of a scorpion. Many available options were tried by neighbor. They helped to relieve the pain of poet’s mother pain. However, none of the pain relieving plans seemed to work. The poet, who is a young boy when that incident occurred, watches helplessly. He was unable to do anything. The poet’s father, who did not believe in any of those actions which their neighbors insisted on taking, tried to save his wife by using available powders and mixture of herbs. He even tried to reduce the sting by pouring a little warm paraffin on the toe which was bitten and

light it with a match stick to burn away the poison. On seeing this, one of the village peasant commented that with this burning of poison may your sins of previous births burn away tonight. The poet wonders on this comment as he realizes that his father is only trying to burn away the poison released by the sting of scorpion, which has entered his mother’s body and causing her hurt. This is not related to burning her sins of previous life. The poet then witnesses a holy man performing his deceptive invocations to reduce the pain his mother is going through, however, his prayers do not do anything to stop the pain. The farmers later give a different version to the whole situation and assert that the family must accept the fate of the mother. They claim that even if his mother died, she would have lesser pain in her next life, which is an Indian spiritual belief, as she has already compensated for her future sins by undergoing this severe pain. After almost twenty hours of the bite of scorpion, the poison loses its sting and his mother starts to feel better. Eventually, once his mother starts to feel better, she thanks God that she was stung by the scorpion and not her children. This shows the purity of her love and affection towards her children. In this poem, Nissim has presented the real image of a rural Indian village and its inhabitants by shedding light on their superstitions and perception on life, which the poet himself witnessed on the fateful night when a scorpion bit his mother. This poem does not depict the village life in a negative manner, but shows the concern the villagers have for each other and the strength of their unity. This poem also highlights the unadulterated love of a mother for her children. The first thought his mother has after her pain was reduced to thank God that her children were saved from this ordeal. How beautifully has the poet expressed with one simple thought, the purity of love a mother carries in hear heart! His mother has suffered such excruciating pain and that she does even imagine her children to ever go through the same pain. The safety of her children is paramount to a mother. This poem gives an impression of anger stemming in the poet due to the incident which occurred that night. It hints towards a religious background of our lives along with a hint of culture and superstition.

The last sentences of the poem show the irony of a human pain. The gratitude expressed by the poet’s mother towards God for saving her children from such a torture is heartfelt. All the efforts of villagers and the poet’s father seem superficial against the heartfelt message of his mother. It is an imperative truth that a mother can never tolerate the pain and suffering of her children. To be honest, it is not exceptional for a mother to pray for her children’s safety. This poem reaffirms this underlying gesture of unconditional motherly love. \"Night of the Scorpion\" was published as a part of book titled – The Exact Name. It established a different approach in Nissim Ezekiel's poetry. Usually, his poems followed a strict rhythm and rhyme, however, in this poem and also his other later poems, a natural and informal rhythm and rhyme were followed. He tried a free-verse structure for his narrative. He also did not use any capital letters at the start of each new line for an easier flow. The poet did not follow the formal poetic convention for this poem. He made thoughtful choices about line breaks, enjambment, voice, chronology and the tone in this poem. Further, it must be noted that there is only one line break in this poem. It occurs right after the poet’s mother is feeling relieved from her pain and suffering after almost 20 hours. The first sentence which his mother utters after the ordeal is her gratitude to God that the scorpion had stung her and not her children. This signifies the unadulterated love that a mother has for her children This line break seems to be the real break from the sufferings and tensions detailed in the poem. It gives the conclusion with a depth in emotions. The tension depicted in the poem till this line break stems from two paths: firstly, the suffering of the poet’s mother and secondly, the superstitious observations being followed in the society. In this poem, the poet has used a blend of simple and complex sentences with direct as well as indirect narrative, enjambment and repetition. He also created a chaotic atmosphere using the elements of search for the scorpion, their varying opinions, the incessant rain and the continuous pain of his mother. The literary devices used in this poem are as follows:

 Alliteration – getting stung by a scorpion, the reference to poison, the devious tail of the scorpion in the dark, pouring of a little hot paraffin.  Antonyms – previous/next, evil/good, sceptic/rationalist, curse/blessing.  Assonance - candle/lantern, buzzed/hundred.  Metaphor - scorpion is the Evil One.  Simile - like swarms of flies. 4.4 SUMMARY Night of the Scorpion is a simple narrative of an incident, which had a deep impact on the life of the poet. This poem captures the Indianness very well. It details the helpful, yet superstitious behavior of the villagers – neighbors of the poet, the sense of belongingness and superstitious beliefs followed in a village. The poet stages an interesting interplay of conflicting ideas on the night of the incident – scorpion biting his mother. He draws the tussles between good and evil; between darkness and light; between rationalism and blind faith. However, at the end, it is the mother’s pure love which is the real winner. The poem starts with the memory of the poet of his childhood experience of a rainy night. On that particular night his mother was stung by a scorpion. Due to hours of rainfall, a scorpion entered their house and hid beneath a sack of rice. It then bit his mother and was scared to run back towards the rain. This stinging by the tail of scorpion occurred within a flash. Their neighbors and other villagers thronged their place as soon as the news broke. They came to expressed their sympathy and help in all possible manner. They were of the belief that with the movement of scorpion, the poison of scorpion will move further in his mother’s

blood. So, in the dark of night, with the help of candles and lanterns, they started searching for the scorpion, but could not find it. They tried to console the poet’s mother, but actually, burdened her with their superstitions of past life and also, the next one. His mother suffered with excruciating pain. The poet`s father, her husband, tried his hand at all possible permutation and combination of herbs. As a last resort, he even tried paraffin therapy on the stung part and tried to lit the poison of the scorpion. Even a holy man came for a visit. The poet did not believe him and his incantations. Gradually, after approximately twenty hours, the poison lost its sting. The ironic twist in the poem flows from the emotions of his mother, who thanks God for the fact that scorpion did not bite her children and that they did not suffer any pain. 4.5 KEYWORDS  Bon voyage: Used to express farewell and good wishes to a departing traveller  External: Relating to, existing on, or connected with the outside or an outer part  Internal: Of, relating to, or located within the limits or surface  Superstition: excessively credulous belief in and reverence for the supernatural. 4.6 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Imagine your best friend is moving to a different town. Write a farewell note for your friend in Indian English. 2. Imagine you are poet’s father. List down your feelings of that specific night when the scorpion had bit your wife.

4.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. What had the people gathered for? Who do you think the speaker is? 2. What does the speaker think of Miss Pushpa T.S? 3. Why does the poem begin with the poet’s remembering the night? 4. Why did it appear to the neighbors that they should get the scorpion? 5. What do you mean by Sum of evil? Long Questions 1. Who is the speaker of the poem – Goodbye Party of Miss Pushpa TA? What does the speaker refer to – external and internal sweetness? What characteristics of Miss Pushpa are described by the speaker? 2. What does the speaker recall about Surat? Which cities are mentioned in the address? Why? What is the significance of deviation from the subject matter in the speech? What are the characteristics of the speaker? 3. What qualities of Miss Pushpa T.S. are evident from the speaker’s address? 4. Compare the actions and thoughts of villagers and the poet’s father. 5. Give the central idea of the poem – Night of the Scorpion. B. Multiple choice Questions 1. What had stung the poet’s mother? a. wasp b. black ant c. scorpion d. crab

2. Which body part was the mother stung at? a. hands b. feet c. toe d. calf 3. Where did the scorpion hide on their house? a. behind the door b. under the trunk c. beneath the trunk d. beneath the sack 4. What is the meaning of the word “diabolic tail”? a. scary b. double sided c. devilish d. none of these 5. Why did the peasants buzzed the name of God? a. to catch the evil one b. to drive away the evil scorpion c. to kill that scorpion d. to paralyze the scorpion 6. What were candles and lanterns used for?

a. to burn the hut b. to search for the evil scorpion c. to burn the scorpion d. to stop the scorpion from stinging again 7. What did the peasants believe that the movement of the scorpion will cause to poet’s mother? a. bad b. good c. freedom d. relief 8. What did the peasants called this world? a. real b. unreal c. permanent d. temporary 9. What did the villagers believe that the poison of the evil scorpion will purify the mother’s flesh from? a. sufferings b. desire and ambition c. hatred and anger d. love and bonding

10. Which character traits describe the poet’s father? a. devoted and loving b. caring and rationalist c. skeptic and irrationalist d. skeptic and rationalist Answers 1 – c; 2 – c; 3 – d; 4 –c; 5 – d; 6 – b; 7 – a; 8 – b; 9 – b and 10 – d. 4.8 SUGGESTED READINGS Reference Books:  Bharvani, S., n.d. Nissim Ezekiel.  Rahman, A., 1981. Form and value in the poetry of Nissim Ezekiel. New Delhi: Abhinav.  R. Raj Rao, Nissim Ezekiel: The Authorized Biography (Viking, 2000)  Sanjit Mishra, The Poetic Art of Nissim Ezekiel (Atlantic, 2001)  Taranath, R. and Belliappa, M., 1966. The poetry of Nissim Ezekiel. Calcutta: P. Lal. Journals  Dulai, Surjit S. (2000). \"NISSIM EZEKIEL and the Evolution of Modern Indian English Poetry : A Chronology\". Journal of South Asian Literature. jstor.org. 35 (1/2): 178–191. JSTOR 40873767.  Dwivedi, A. N. (1992). \"Modernity in Nissim Ezekiel's Poetry\". World Literature Today. jstor.org. 66 (3): 432–434. doi:10.2307/40148360. JSTOR 40148360.  BISHNOI, M., 2012. Nissim Ezekiel, S Poetry as A Means of Self Expression. Paripex - Indian Journal Of Research, 3(7), pp.215-217.

 Kumar, D., 2018. Theme of Nissim Ezekiel Poetry. Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education, 15(6), pp.109-111.  Mohanty, N., 1995. Irony in the Poetry of Nissim Ezekiel. World Literature Today, 69(1), p.51.  Verghese, C. Paul (1972). \"The Poetry of Nissim Ezekiel\". Indian Literature. jstor.org. 15 (1): 63–75. JSTOR 23329802. Websites  Allpoetry.com. 2021. Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel. [online] Available at: <https://a llpoetry. co m/N ight-o f-the-Scorp io n>.  English Summary. 2021. Night Of The Scorpion Summary By Nissim Ezekiel • English Summary. [online] Available at: <https://englishsummary.com/night- scorpion-nissim-ezekiel/>.  Internet Archive. 2021. Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S., Nissim Ezekiel : Falstaff : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. [online] Available at: <https://archive.org/details/audio_poetry_253_2007>.  Lit Priest. 2021. Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T. S. by Nissim Ezekiel Summary. [online] Available at: <https://litpriest.com/poems/goodbye-party-for-miss-pushpa-t- s-summary/>.  Poem Analysis. 2021. The Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel | Poem Analysis. [online] Available at: <https://poemanalysis.com/nissim-ezekiel/the-night-of-the- scorpion/>.  Poem Hunter. 2021. Goodbye Party For Miss Pushpa T.S. Poem by Nissim Ezekiel - Poem Hunter. [online] Available at: <https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/goodbye- party-for-miss-pushpa-t-s/>.  Seeker, T., 2021. Night Of The Scorpion Summary- An Easy Explanation Literary Yog. [online] Literary Yog. Available at: <https://literaryyog.com/night-scorpion- nissim-ezekiel/>.  Smart English Notes. 2021. Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S. by Nissim Ezekiel : Summary and Questions With Answers - Smart English Notes. [online] Available at:

<https://smartenglishnotes.com/2020/03/12/goodbye-party-for-miss-pushpa-t-s- bynissim-ezekiel-summary-and-questions-with-answers/>.

UNIT - 5: COMPOSITION PART 1 Structure 5.0 Learning Objectives 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Sounds of English 5.2.1 Consonants 5.2.2 Vowels 5.2.3 Diphthongs 5.2.4 Stress 5.2.5 Intonation 5.3 Summary 5.4 Keywords 5.5 Learning Activity 5.6 Unit End Questions 5.7 Suggested Readings 5.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After this Unit, the student will have knowledge of:  Explain the sounds of English  Learn about Consonants and their sounds  Explain about Vowels and their sounds  Learn the meaning of Diphthongs  Appreciate the meaning and usage of Stress  Learn the concept of Intonation 5.1 INTRODUCTION What is a composition?

It is derived from the Latin word meaning ‘to put together’. In the literary meaning, a composition is the manner in which a writer connects the words and sentences to create a comprehensible and meaningful work. It is basically how the author structures his writing. A composition can take unique forms from simple prose to meaningful poetry to descriptive essays, narrations – fictional or non-fictional or research paper. The author may use any emotion and is free to express his opinion on the subject matter. Composition also refers to the activity of writing, the nature of subject of writing and the piece of writing. It is pertinent to note that a good writing may comprise of different modes of composition, which are namely: description, narration, exposition, and argumentation. These modes were codified in the late 19th century and have been followed since. 5.2 SOUNDS OF ENGLISH Like various other languages, the English language uses a wide variation in pronunciation in different dialects. Usually, the regional dialects of the English language share a very similar phonological system with the English language only. The difference in the dialects may come in the form of vowel reduction in stressed or unstressed syllables and an intricate set of phonological features that differentiate between the consonants (stops, affricates and fricatives). The phonological analysis of English uses standard accents, as a reference point. These standard accents are namely, Received Pronunciation for England, General American for the United States, and General Australian for Australia. There are other dialects of English which are also spoken and have developed independently from these standardized accents. To standardize all such elements the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) was designed by the International Phonetic Association. It was founded in the year 1886 in Paris, with the mission to help children pronounce words in foreign languages and assist in the teaching of reading. They have now altered their mission to promote scientific study of phonetics. Here, two distinctive words – phonology and phonetics have been mentioned. Are these two same? Are these two different? Let us look at their meanings:

 Phonetics is simply the study of human sounds. It covers the creation of speech sounds by humans, wherein the knowledge of language is immaterial. Phonetics is classified into 3 types based on the production of sound (known as the articulatory phonetics), the transmission of sound (known as the acoustic phonetics) and the perception of sound (known as the auditive phonetics).  Phonology is basically the grouping of the sounds within a particular language. It encompasses the patterns of sounds, which may vary within a language and in relation to another language and also, in case of different positions of words. Now, you must be wondering what is even the need for such an agency? But, think about this – How can one pronounce a word in English charge that you have never read before? Now, imagine you are reading a foreign language, how can you k ow the pronunciation of that new word? Now, if you were told that 1 set of symbols can help you read any and every possible language. Well that is exactly what IPA helps do. At present, the IPA comprises of 107 sound symbols, 52 diacritics (accents) and 4 prosodic marks (intonations), which covers every possible phoneme used in each and every language on the earth. What is a phoneme? A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound or a speech sound, which helps to that differentiate between two words. It is a representative of a sound. It is pertinent to note that sounds cannot be defined in words. We cannot clearly articulate sounds. Therefore, we use symbols or signs to represent those sounds. A grapheme is the representation of one sound in the form of 1 or more letters. The IPA aims to describe all the possible sounds of all the languages of the world. The key phonetic classes created are as under: i) Acoustic phonetics: It focuses on the physical aspects of the sounds of language

ii) Auditory phonetics: It focuses on how the listeners may perceive the sounds of language iii) Articulatory phonetics: It focuses on how the vocal tract makes the sounds of language There are approximately 44 accepted sounds in the English language. Few variations are present based on accent and articulation. These 44 English phonemes are represented by the 26 letters of the Roman alphabets individually and in combination. Using these combination of the 44 English phonemes, hundreds of spelling alternatives can be generated. The 44 English sounds are divided into two key classes – consonants and vowels. Out of the 44 sounds, 25 are consonant sounds and 19 are vowel sounds, comprising of 5 short vowels, 6 long vowels, 3 diphthongs, 2 'oo' sounds and 3 r-controlled vowel sounds. With so many different variations of sounds, it is understandable that probability of pronunciation mistakes is higher, when speaking English, regardless of the level of proficiency. These pronunciation mistakes are a common part of the learning process of English language. 3 levels of these mistakes are listed here under: Level 1 pronunciation mistakes are the unnoticeable mistakes, which do not make a lot of change to the sound and meaning of the word. These mistakes are discreet and do not obstruct the overall comprehension of the meaning you wish to convey. The most common Level 1 pronunciation mistakes are:  Word stress: Unless the point of stress changes the meaning of the word, this mistake can easily go unnoticed. It does not make any difference to the conversation as it does not change its essence. It is very common with two-syllable English verbs and nouns that are homographs. Homographs refer to the words with same set of spellings but having different meanings. If the homographs are pronounced in the same manner, they are termed as homonyms. In case, they are pronounced differently, they are termed as

heteronyms or heterophones. Usually the difference in pronunciation is only by a shift in the accented syllable. Let us understand the same with examples: i) Axes a. the plural of axe b. the plural of axis ii) bass a. deep voice b. a variety of fish iii) bat a. sporting equipment b. a winged animal iv) bow a. to bend at the waist for courtesy b. front of a boat c. tied loops v) fine a. very good b. sharp c. delicate d. penalty vi) frequent a. happening regularly

b. visiting a place regularity vii) minute a. 60 seconds b. extremely small viii) moped a. acted sad b. bicycle with a motor ix) tear a. rip apart b. drop of water from the eye x) wind a. turn b. moving air xi) wound a. turned b. an injury  Mixing up letters: Though there are many tongue twisters in English, but for some people even the letters – L and R together in a word or a sequence of words become tongue twisters, and cannot be pronounced without a mistake. An example for the same is: Rita likes to read about Rolls Royce luxury cars. Many camera colors are rather of lower liveliness in the real world.

Level 2 pronunciation mistakes are noticeable. These mistakes do not change the meaning of the conversation, but are obvious to the other person. Usually, these mistakes are linked with misidentified sounds or sound clusters, especially in the case of multiple consonants. Let us understand the same with examples.  Misidentifying sounds ‘CH’: Usually \"ch\" is pronounced as – CH in \"beach\". However, there are also other pronunciations of CH. In the word “chef” – CH is pronounced with a \"sh\" sound, while in the word “cheque” CH is pronounced with a normal \"ch\". On the other hand, in the word “chemistry” CH is pronounced with a \"k\" sound. Another example of such misidentified sound is – TH: The fricative sounds are very often mistaken for either the sounds of \"t\" and \"s\" or \"d\" and \"z\". In phonetics, fricatives refer to those consonant sounds which are produced by bringing the mouth into position to block the passage of the airstream, but not making complete closure, so that air moving through the mouth generates audible friction. These mistakes may change the overall meaning of a word or sentence. Try reading the following sentence as quickly as you can: The thirty-three trees were thick to thrill all the requirements which teacher thought on a Thursday.  Confusing consonants – V and W: Since these two letters and their consonant sounds are very close, at the outset, the English learners may treat them as one word or sound, which is absolutely wrong. This would result in a completely different meaning of the word, specifically in those words which comprise of both these alphabets – e.g. “vow”, “wave”. Level 3 pronunciation mistakes change the whole meaning of the conversation if the individual letters are misused or mispronounced. Let us look at a few examples:

 Vowel length: When the consonants of two words are similar but have different set of vowels, then it gives to rise to a vowel length situation. e.g. In \"rich\" and \"reach\", only vowels are different, but these vowel sounds completely change the pronunciation as well as meaning of the words. If you use one word instead of another, it would completely jumble up the meaning of the sentence. Few similar vowel length examples are: i) peach and pitch ii) read and red iii) leak and lick iv) peak and pick v) seek and sick  Interchanging the sounds of A and E: These similar sounds are generally mispronounced when they become the \"middle vowel sound\" /æ/. The swapping of these vowels completely change the meaning of the word. It is not possible for the other person to comprehend the meaning of the sentence with these mistakes. Let us look at few examples of these sounds: i) bat and bet ii) past and pest iii) tan and ten iv) slept and slapped

v) mat and met Therefore, it is important to understand the sounds in the English language. It becomes the basics of learning the language and using it correctly in conversation or comprehension. 5.2.1 CONSONANTS The word ‘Consonant’ is derived from the Latin language, wherein CON means “with” and SONARE means “to sound”. Thus, the word ‘Consonant’ literally means “with sound”. A consonant is a speech sound, which is made by partially or completely blocking the flow of air through the mouth. This air may be blocked by using the lips, teeth, tongue and palate. In the English language, all the letters that represent consonants comprise of all those letters which are not vowels. The articulatory phonetics uses this explanation for a consonant. Therefore, a consonant is a speech sound that is produced with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Let us understand the same using examples:  The sound of consonant P is pronounced with the lips.  The sound of consonant T is pronounced with the front of the tongue.  The sound of consonant K is pronounced with the back of the tongue.  The sound of consonant H is pronounced in the throat.  The sounds of consonants F and S are pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel, which is also called fricatives.  The sounds of consonants M and N are produced by air flowing through the nose or nasals. In the English language, there are a total of 26 alphabets, which are divided into 5 vowels and 21 consonants. These are:

Vowels A E I O U Consonants B C D F G H J K L M N P Q R S

T V W X Y Z In view of the fact that the number of possible sounds in any language is much greater than the number of letters in any one alphabet, as we have understood in the afore-mentioned topic, the linguists follow the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to allocate a unique and unambiguous symbol to each consonant. Let us look at some examples of consonant sounds:  /p/ pair, cup  /b/ bad, crab  /t/ tall, hit  /d/ dark, head  /k/ cab, lack  /g/ good, tag  /f/ fine, wife  /v/ very, above  /θ/ thing, both  /ð/ this, father  /s/ saw, house

 /z/ zap, goes  /ʃ/ shape, push   /h/ her, ahead  /x/ loch  /tʃ/ cherry, match   /m/ man, team  /n/ nail, tan  /ŋ/ ring, singer  /l/ let, tall  /r/ right, scary  /w/ wet, away  /j/ you, soya The English alphabets have fewer consonant letters as compared to the number of consonant sounds in the English language. Therefore, digraphs like \"ch\", \"sh\", \"th\", and \"zh\" are used to extend the alphabets and represent sound clusters of consonants. A single consonant letter may represent varying consonant sounds. e.g. The letter Y stands for the consonant /j/ in yoke, the vowel /ɪ/ in myth, the vowel /i(ː)/ in funny, the diphthong /aɪ/ in my, the r-colored vowel /ɜr/ [d] in myrrh, the last part of many diphthongs and/or digraphs (e.g. gu\"y\", sa\"y\", bo\"y\", ke\"y\", etc.) and numerous other phonemes. Similarly, W represents a consonant except when it is used together with a vowel letter, for example: in the words – “growth”, “raw” and “how”.

Thus, the critical aspect of pronunciation is to link the sound to the consonant and not the letter. Let us understand it better with a few more examples of sounds: i) the word \"pay\" ends with the consonant letter \"y\", but the vowel sound \"a\" ii) the word “uniform” begins with the consonant letter ‘u”, but the vowel sound “y” iii) the word “honest” begins with the consonant letter “h”, the vowel sound “o” iv) the word “though” ends with the consonant letter “h”, the vowel sound “o” v) the word “know” ends with the consonant letter “w”, the vowel sound “o” 5.2.2 VOWELS The term “vowel” is derived from the Latin word ‘vox’, which means “voice.” Thus, vowel refers to the source of voice, also known as vocal or vociferate. A vowel is the specific speech sound produced when the shape of the upper vocal tract changes, which is the area in the mouth above the tongue. In English, like the difference between consonant letter and consonant sound, vowel sound is different from the vowel letter or alphabet. As specified earlier, in English language, there are five vowel letters in the alphabet: i) A ii) E iii) I iv) O v) U It is interesting to note that the letter ‘Y’ is \"sometimes\" treated as a vowel, because of the reason that the letter Y represents both vowel and consonant sounds. eg. in the words like – “cry”, “sky”, “fly” and “my”, letter Y represents the vowel sound /aɪ/. Whereas, in words like

– “myth” and “synchronize”, Y represents the vowel sound /ɪ/. On the other hand, in words like – “only”, “quickly” and “folly”, Y represents the vowel sound /i/. In the words like – “yellow”, “yacht”, “yam” and “yesterday”, Y represents a consonant sound. As per a study conducted, an interesting observation was made about the letter Y. In approximately 2.5% of the usage time, the letter Y is used as a consonant sound and on the other hand, in almost 97.5% of the occasions, it is used as a vowel. It is imperative to note that all English words are written with vowel letters in them. A fascinating fact is that there are only two meaningful words in the English language with all five vowels in the alphabetical order. These are as under: i) Abstemious (meaning: moderate in eating and drinking) ii) Facetious (meaning: intend to amuse) Like letter Y, the letter W also occasionally becomes the second part of a vowel sound, e.g. in words like – cow, bow, or how. Here, the letter W has the vowel sound of /aʊ/. The letter W has a consonant sound at the beginning of various words like – when, where, wet. A total of 5 (or 6 – considering Y) vowel letters represent the 13 to 15 vowel sounds in the English language. Therefore, like combinations of consonant, vowels also work in combinations or clusters. Let us look at the difference between vowels and consonants. If we are clear that vowels and consonants are really sounds and are not the letters which have learnt since our childhood, it becomes easier to ascertain the difference between these sounds. A vowel is basically a speech sound, which is produced with mouth fairly open. It is the heart of a spoken syllable. On the other hand, a consonant is the sound which is produced with

mouth fairly closed. A consonant sound requires more accurate diction as compared to vowels. How are consonant sounds produced? The consonant sounds are produced by restricting the airflow in different locations in the mouth as per the following:  briefly pausing and releasing the air (like in the sounds - “p”, “b”, “t”, “d”, “k” and “g”)  diverting the airflow and sending the sound through nasal (like in the sounds - “m” and “n”)  pressing the air through a narrow space (like in the sounds - “f”, “v”, “s”, “z”, “th” and “sh”)  combining stopping and releasing the sound (like in the sounds - “ch” and “j”)  constricting the vocal tract (like in the sounds - “w”, “y”, “r”, “l”). Let us analyse the different categories of consonant sounds:  Approximants: Consonant sounds which are similar to vowel sounds are known as the approximants. These require less restrictions as compared to the other consonant sounds. These are namely - “y”, “w”, “r” and “l”  Syllabic consonants: Consonant sounds which themselves sound like a syllable and do not require the vowel sound are called syllabic consonants. For example: the sound of letter “l” in the words “bottle” and “middle”, the sound letter “n” in words “button” and “hidden”.  Voiced and voiceless consonants: Few consonants are created using the voice like “b”, “d”, “g”, “m”, “n”, “v”, “z”, “w”, “r” and “l”. Whereas, the rest of the consonants

do not require the voice element and known as voiceless consonants like “p”, “t”, “k”, “f”, “s” and “h”). Let us know examine examples of consonant sounds from “vowel letters” and vowel sounds from “consonant letters”. The “vowel letters” – E, I and U are commonly used to spell out consonant sounds. for example:  The letter E in the words like “solve”, “house”, “please”, “dance” and “sneeze”  The letter I in words like “union”, “brilliant, “motion”, “pension”, “religion” and “anxious”.  The letter U in words like “queen”, “penguin” “guess”, “boutique” and “build”. Please note that when a word starts with a vowel letter, but has a consonant sound to it, then the article to be used with it is not “an”, but “a”. For example: It is correct to say “a unicorn” instead of “an unicorn” and “a European” instead of “an European”. Now, which “consonant letters” sounds like a vowel – the most common one is letter “Y”. We have already mentioned how it is even considered as the 6th vowel in the English language. Let us look at some other examples:  The letter “W” in words like “saw”, “new” “grew”, “how” and “show”.  The letter “R” in words like “car”, “warm” and “fork”

 The letter “L” in words like “calm”, “walk” and “yolk”.  The ghostly letters “G” and “H” in words like “high”, “thought”, “though”, “through”, “thorough”, “weight”, “caught” and “straight”. Can you figure out if there are any English words which do not comprise of any vowels? Considering that “Y” has a vowel sound in words like – “cry” and “my”. The words which do not have any vowels are known as onomatopoeia. The best examples of such words are the intimate sounds that we create like “brrr”, “hmm”, “shh”, “tsk”, “pfft” or “psst”. These words are legit words and have no vowels. Let us understand a few basic rules for spellings regarding vowels:  Short Vowel Rule: When there is one vowel sound in a word, i.e. a vowel is used in the middle of the word, the vowel then has a short sound. e.g. bat, cat, dog, man, hat, mom, dad and got. If the alphabet after the vowel is F, L or S, then, it is often repeated. e.g. staff, ball, hall, pass and bass.  Two-Vowels Together: When two vowels are subsequently used in a word, the 1st vowel carried the long, which is usually the sound of that vowel and the 2nd vowel has no sound of its own. e.g. meat, seat, plain, rain, goat, road, lie and pie.  Vowel + Consonant + e Pattern:

When any smaller word or the last alphabet of a longer word, follow this set pattern of vowel + consonant +e, then the 1st vowel is usually long and the ‘e’ is silent. E.g. place, cake, mice, vote and mute.  Y as a long I: The letter Y produces the long sound of vowel letter I when it is placed at the end of a smaller word which has no other vowel. E.g. cry, try, my, fly and by.  Y as a long E: The letter Y or –EY produces a long vowel sound of E, when the word ends in an unaccented syllable. E.g. money, honey, many, key, funny.  I before E: When the vowel E succeeds the vowel I, the vowel sound is long E. However, this pattern is reversed after the usage of consonant C. e.g. relieve, relief and reprieve. Now, when the alphabet C precedes, then the pattern changes to EI. E.g. receipt, receive, ceiling, deceive and conceive.  E before I: When the vowel I succeeds the vowel E, the vowel sound is long A. e.g. weight, freight, reign.  OI or OY: The combination of vowels OI is used in the middle of a word and that of the vowels OY is always used at the end of a word. E.g. boil, soil, toil, boy and toy.  OU or OW:

The combination of vowels OS is used in the middle of a word and that of the vowels OW is used at the end of words, except for those words which with consonant N or D. e.g. mouse, house, found, mount, borrow, row, throw, crow.  Double Consonants: When the consonant letters B, D, G, M, N, or P exist after a short vowel in a word which has two identical syllables, then the double of that consonant is used in the word. E.g. rabbit, manner, dagger, banner, drummer.  The CH sound: If the consonant combination of letters CH is used at the beginning of a word, then the vowel sound is use ‘ch’. If the consonant combination of letters CH is used at the end of a word, the vowel sound used becomes ‘tch’. If the consonant combination of letters CH is followed by -ure or -ion, then instead of the consonant cluster CH, use T to spell the word correctly. E.g. choose, champ, watch, catch, picture, rapture. Let us look at some suffix and inflection rules:  Words ending with a silent letter E: Before one adds a suffix to the word, which begins with a vowel like –ing, drop the vowel E. e.g. state becomes stating and like becomes liking.  Maintain the vowel E when the suffix starts with a consonant. E.g. state becomes statement and use becomes useful.  When Y is the last alphabet in a word and that the Y comes before a consonant letter, change the Y to I before incorporating any suffix. E.g. beauty becomes beautiful; fry becomes fries; lady becomes ladies.

 When changing the singular to the plural, if the word ends with a Y and is preceded by a vowel sound, add the letter S alone. E.g. toy becomes toys and monkey becomes monkeys.  When a single sound word which ends in a consonant and has a vowel sound before the consonant, before adding a suffix which begins with a vowel, please be reminded to double the final consonant. This rule is also known as the 1 – 1 – 1 rule, which uses one syllable, one consonant and one vowel. E.g. bat becomes batted or batting or batter.  When a multi-syllable word finishes in a consonant sound and is preceded by one vowel, and that the final syllable is stressed, the afore-mentioned rule holds true, the final consonant must be doubled. E.g. control becomes controlled and begin becomes beginning. 5.2.3 DIPHTHONGS Simple vowel sounds are known as monophthongs. The letters, like I or E – /ɪ/ are vowel sounds and are represented by a symbol accordance to the sound they produce as per the IPA. Let us look at a few examples of monophthongs:  /i/ as in police, feet, eat, and silly  /ɪ/ as in it, sit, kick, myth and bitter  /ɛ/ as in end, bet, less, and letter  /æ/ as in at, apple, fat, and matter  /u/ as in cool, tune, soup, and kung fu,  /ʊ/ as in look, would, pudding, foot, and rook  /ʌ/ as in bus, flood, come, and up  /ə/ as in kingdom, photography, philosophy, and hundred

 /ɚ/ as in butter, scholar, flavor, and burst  /ɔ/ as in all, caught, hot, and bot  /ɑ/ as in father, walk, farm, part, wasp, last, and blast Diphthongs refer to a combination of two different vowel sounds and those single vowel sounds which turn into another sound when pronounced. Let us read a few examples for the same:  /eɪ/ as in ate, reign, lane, slay, and convey  /oʊ/ as in toe, brow, go, goat, and mode  /aɪ/ as in eye, I, pie, cry, and height  /aʊ/ as in loud, house, cow, and about  /oɪ/ as in boy, moist, and Freud Like various other languages, there are various dialects of the English language and these different dialects use distinctive vowel sounds. However, the IPA symbols can guide us which vowel sound is used in a dialects. 5.2.4 STRESS In the English language, the individual sounds of a letter (i.e. syllables) are not pronounced with the same emphasis. One syllable may be emphasized more than the other. This relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence is known as “stress”. In the English language, the stressed syllables are spoken louder than the non-stressed syllables. Further, these stressed syllables are longer as compared to the non-stressed ones and have an elevated pitch as compared to the non-stressed syllables which are shortened.

Let us look at an example to understand the difference between stressed and non-stressed syllables: In the word “beautiful” - /BEAU-ti-ful/ - there are three syllables and the word stress falls on the 1st syllable - /BEAU/. It is pertinent to note that the first step is to identify syllables in order to understand word stress. Now what is a syllable? A syllable is a single unit of pronunciation which comprises of one vowel sound. A word may contain one or more syllables. Here are a few words with different syllables:  one syllable - “an” and “can”  two syllables - “po-lice”  three syllables - “com-pa-ny”  four syllables - “ne-ce-ssa-ry” A fun fact – The known word with the most syllables in the English language is: “antidisestablishmentarianism.” This word has 12 syllables in total. It is imperative to note that the syllables are not equivalent to letters, but sounds. The word - “scratch” has 7 letters but only 1 syllable. The word “umami” has 5 letters but 3 syllables. If you notice the sounds of vowels, it will become easier to find the stress of a word. The next step is to understand the features of a stressed syllable and to know which particular vowel which needs to be emphasized in a specific syllable of a word. In order to do be able to stress a syllable in a word, the following steps need to be followed: i) Make a longer vowel

ii) Increase the pitch of the syllable to a higher level iii) Say the syllable loudly iv) Pronounce it clearly v) Create unique facial movement 5.2.5 INTONATION Intonation refers to the variation of pitch while speaking. It is how the voice is modulated to express different ways of speech. In the English language, we may consider that the nouns carry weight of a sentence and that all the other words are equal. However, it is the verb which carries the most important information in a sentence. The verb does not even receive the primary stress of a first-time noun. e.g. Dogs eat bones. After the information has been expressed, or is being repeated through the usage of pronouns, the intonation shifts to the verb. Now, when the noun is changed to pronoun in the above- mentioned sentence, notice the change:  Dogs eat bones.  They eat them. The best example of intonation is the variation in the manner when one says a statement and a question. Let us look at few examples to understand it better:  When asked a declarative questions like – She found it in the park? The intonation or the voice rises to a higher pitch at the end.  When asked a WH - question like – Where did she find it? or a simple statement like – She found it in the park. The intonation falls to a lower pitch towards the end.

 “Yes” or “No” questions like – Did she find it in the park? May have a rising end, but not necessarily always. Therefore, intonation describes rise and fall in voice during a speech. There are 3 main patterns of intonation in the English language, namely: i) falling intonation, ii) rising intonation and iii) fall-rise intonation. Let us took at these intonations in detail: Falling intonation Falling intonation conveys how the voice falls in case of the final stressed syllable. A falling intonation is quite common in WH-questions.  Where is the nearest b↘akery?  What time does the play b↘egin? The falling intonation is also used when conveying a definite message.  It seems we are completely l↘ost.  OK, here is the boo↘k you wanted. Rising intonation

Rising intonation expresses how the voice rises at the end of a sentence. It is most common in Yes or No questions. Examples:  I hear the Company has done new hiring. So, is that the new i↗ntern?  Are you th↗irsty? Fall-rise intonation Fall-rise intonation expresses how the voice falls and then rises. It is used at the end of a conversation when the speaker is not sure of the message being conveyed, or may want to add more to the conversation. Examples:  I do↘ not support any political party at the m↘om↗ent. (but I may change my mind once the list of candidates is declared).  It snowed every day in the firs↘t w↗eek. (but the weather improved later). Fall-rise intonation is used with questions when information is requested or someone is extended an invitation. It is the intonation pattern which makes it polite to ask questions. Examples:  Is this your mob↘i↗le?  Would you like another cup↘ of t↗ea?

5.3 SUMMARY  A vowel is basically a speech sound, which is produced with mouth fairly open. It is the heart of a spoken syllable. On the other hand, a consonant is the sound which is produced with mouth fairly closed. A consonant sound requires more accurate diction as compared to vowels.  Simple vowel sounds are known as monophthongs.  Diphthongs refer to a combination of two different vowel sounds and those single vowel sounds which turn into another sound when pronounced.  One syllable may be emphasized more than the other. This relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence is known as “stress”.  Intonation refers to the variation of pitch while speaking. It is how the voice is modulated to express different ways of speech. 5.4 KEYWORDS  Diphthong: a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable  Intonation: the rise and fall of the voice in speaking. 5.5 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Compare intonation in English with your mother tongue. 2. Write 10 words each to compare consonant and vowel sounds different from the respective consonant and vowel letter.

5.6 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. What is the meaning of the term – Consonants. 2. What is the meaning of the term – Vowels. 3. What is the meaning of the term – Diphthongs 4. What is the meaning of the term – Stress 5. What is the meaning of the term – Intonation. Long Questions 1. Explain the different types of consonants with examples. 2. Explain the difference between short and long vowels. 3. What are the characteristics of stressed syllables that identify them? 4. What are the rules of placement of stress? 5. What are the functions of intonation? B. Multiple choice Questions 1. Language can help us understand a. how a speaker feels about what he is saying b. how a speaker feels at the moment he is speaking c. both of the above d. none of the above 2. what happens when your intonation patterns are not regular a. everyone will understand you b. your meaning will probably not be clear

c. neither of the above d. all of the above 3. What is usually stressed in a sentence? a. every word b. nouns c. pronouns d. verbs 4. Subsequent to the introduction of nouns in a sentence and usage of pronouns, which words are usually stressed? a. verbs b. pronouns c. adjectives d. adverbs 5. The hard convex surface just Behind the upper front teeth is called a. soft palate b. teeth ridge c. hard palate d. tongue 6. Diphthong is a