The Last Lesson
New Crown English Series 3 (Showa 56) pg. 84-89
| The Last Lesson | |
|---|---|
| 最後の授業 | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 480 |
| Book | New Crown |
| Grade | 3 |
| Year | 1981 |
Mr. Hamel sat on his chair. He looked around the class. He looked a little different this morning.
"Boys and girls," he began. "An order has come from Berlin. It says that we mustn't use French in school...." Mr. Hamel stopped for a while.
"Listen," he said. "You've used your language for twelve years. You may love it so much that you cannot live without it. But you must stop using it.... You must use German."
"I'm sorry, but I must leave here tomorrow," said Mr. Hamel. "A German teacher will come and teach you. So, boys and girls, this is our last lesson."
All was silent. The news was too shocking to believe.
Mr. Hamel began to talk about French.
"French is the most beautiful of all the languages in the world. It's the clearest and the most powerful language.... Boys and girls, never forget your language. If we remember our language, we'll win in the end."
It was twelve o'clock. As soon as the trumpets of the German army were heard, Mr. Hamel stood up.
"My children," he said. "I must stop now."
He wrote in big letters "Vive la France!" on the blackboard.
This is a part of The Last Lesson written by Alphonse Daudet. It tells us about a horrible experience that some French people had about a century ago. They had to stop using their own language because they lost a war against Germany.
Quite a lot of nations have had this kind of experience. Korea is one of them. Korea was governed by Japan for thirty-five years. The Japanese government told the Koreans to use Japanese only. It was really painful for them to stop using their own language. They could not begin using it again until the end of World War II.
You will understand that differences in language often work against understanding between nations. There are still a number of language wars happening in the world.
Ludoviko Lazaro Zamenhof was born in Poland near the Russian border in 1859. He wished for world peace and felt the need of a common language for all nations. He thought that the common language should not be the language of one particular nation, and he created a new language. He called it Esperanto. Esperanto means 'one who hopes.'
At one time English was the language of one particular nation. It was the language of England, but it is no longer so. Many peoples in the world have used English as a common language for a long time, and you can call it an international language. You have studied English for three years. You have studied it to understand other nations. There should not be another tragedy like that of the Koreans under Japanese rule or like that of the French people in The Last Lesson. Language is the life of the people who use it.
