Read the following passage and answer the questions below it:To put it bluntly, English cannot claim a dominant position of any kind in relation to the status of Bangla in Bangladesh. Although there are some other languages and cultures in Bangladesh, it is predominantly a monocultural and a monolingual country and it does not have many languages competing for ascendency. English - the language as well as its ancillaries is of course subordinate to Bangla and the national culture. What this means for everyone in Bangladesh is that the study of everything that relates to Bangladesh is far more important than the study of English. If English is at all important in the country, it is so for the study of a host of other things and subjects, and it is more important in the sciences than in the humanities. In other disciplines it is of course a mere instrument, a tool, and not much else. No scientist or economist ever needs to bother about reading a Mill or a Milton to develop a prose style they require for professional purposes. And indeed that is how most of our academics use English; they learn the language only to be able to research and to produce scholarly papers in their respective research areas.

**(1.1)** Does the passage discourage the study of English? Justify your answer.

**(1.2)** Why is English in Bangladesh subordinate to Bangla?

**(1.3)** How would you explain the idea of a language as 'a tool"?

**(1.4)** Give the contextual meanings in English of the words in bold and make a sentence of your own with each of them.

**(1.5)** Translate the first three sentences of the passage into Bangla.

Question

Read the following passage and answer the questions below it:To put it bluntly, English cannot claim a dominant position of any kind in relation to the status of Bangla in Bangladesh. Although there are some other languages and cultures in Bangladesh, it is predominantly a monocultural and a monolingual country and it does not have many languages competing for ascendency. English - the language as well as its ancillaries is of course subordinate to Bangla and the national culture. What this means for everyone in Bangladesh is that the study of everything that relates to Bangladesh is far more important than the study of English. If English is at all important in the country, it is so for the study of a host of other things and subjects, and it is more important in the sciences than in the humanities. In other disciplines it is of course a mere instrument, a tool, and not much else. No scientist or economist ever needs to bother about reading a Mill or a Milton to develop a prose style they require for professional purposes. And indeed that is how most of our academics use English; they learn the language only to be able to research and to produce scholarly papers in their respective research areas.

(1.1) Does the passage discourage the study of English? Justify your answer.

(1.2) Why is English in Bangladesh subordinate to Bangla?

(1.3) How would you explain the idea of a language as 'a tool"?

(1.4) Give the contextual meanings in English of the words in bold and make a sentence of your own with each of them.

(1.5) Translate the first three sentences of the passage into Bangla.

**(1.1)** Does the passage discourage the study of English? Justify your answer.

**(1.2)** Why is English in Bangladesh subordinate to Bangla?

**(1.3)** How would you explain the idea of a language as 'a tool"?

**(1.4)** Give the contextual meanings in English of the words in bold and make a sentence of your own with each of them.

**(1.5)** Translate the first three sentences of the passage into Bangla.

Accepted Answer

**(1.1)** No, the passage does not discourage the study of English. It only places English in its proper position in Bangladesh: subordinate to Bangla and the national culture. The writer states that English is important 'for the study of a host of other things and subjects', especially in the sciences, and that academics learn it to carry out research and write scholarly papers. So English is treated as a useful instrument, not as something to be ignored or rejected.

**(1.2)** English is subordinate to Bangla because Bangladesh is predominantly a monocultural and monolingual country, where Bangla is the language of the nation and no many other languages compete with it for ascendency. As a result, the study of everything that relates to Bangladesh is far more important than the study of English, and English cannot claim a dominant position.

**(1.3)** Calling a language 'a tool' means that it is valued for the practical purposes it serves, not for its own sake or its literary beauty. A scientist or economist uses English the way a carpenter uses a hammer: to read research, communicate findings and publish scholarly papers. Such people do not need to read writers like Mill or Milton to develop a prose style; they need only enough English to do their professional work.

**(1.4)** (The words in bold are not marked in the given text; the following key words are explained.)
১. **Ascendency** - a position of power, superiority or dominance. Sentence: The team's strong batting gave it ascendency over its rivals.
২. **Subordinate** - lower in rank or importance. Sentence: In a school, the assistant teacher is subordinate to the headmaster.
৩. **Ancillaries** - things that provide support to something main; additional or related items. Sentence: The hospital's ancillaries include the pharmacy and the laboratory.
৪. **Predominantly** - mainly or for the most part. Sentence: The village is predominantly inhabited by farmers.

**(1.5)** Translation:
সোজাসুজি বলতে গেলে, বাংলাদেশে বাংলার মর্যাদার তুলনায় ইংরেজি কোনোভাবেই প্রাধান্যের অবস্থান দাবি করতে পারে না। যদিও বাংলাদেশে আরও কিছু ভাষা ও সংস্কৃতি রয়েছে, তবু এটি মূলত একটি এক-সংস্কৃতির ও এক-ভাষার দেশ এবং প্রাধান্য লাভের জন্য প্রতিযোগিতা করছে এমন অনেক ভাষা এখানে নেই। ইংরেজি ভাষা এবং এর আনুষঙ্গিক বিষয়গুলো অবশ্যই বাংলা ও জাতীয় সংস্কৃতির অধীন বা গৌণ।

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