The Scholar’s Mother Tongue – Class 4 English NCERT Solutions

Explore the solutions for The Scholar’s Mother Tongue, Class 4 English NCERT. This chapter teaches us about the importance of mother tongue and how even the most learned people naturally express themselves in their mother tongue when surprised or startled. The story also showcases Birbal’s wit and intelligence in solving problems.

English Summary

This story is about a learned Pundit who visits Akbar’s court claiming mastery over many languages. He challenges everyone to identify his mother tongue, as he speaks all languages fluently. When no one succeeds, Birbal accepts the challenge. At night, Birbal cleverly tickles the sleeping Pundit’s ear with a feather, causing him to cry out in Telugu – his mother tongue. The next day, Birbal reveals this to the court, explaining that in moments of surprise or difficulty, people naturally speak in their mother tongue.

• The story introduces a Pundit who is skilled in multiple languages
• He challenges the court to identify his mother tongue
• Birbal uses a clever trick to discover the Pundit’s mother tongue
• The story teaches that our mother tongue is our most natural form of expression

Hindi Summary (हिंदी सारांश)

यह कहानी एक विद्वान पंडित की है जो अकबर के दरबार में आता है और कई भाषाओं पर अपनी महारत का दावा करता है। वह सभी को अपनी मातृभाषा पहचानने की चुनौती देता है, क्योंकि वह सभी भाषाएं धाराप्रवाह बोल सकता है। जब कोई सफल नहीं होता, तो बीरबल चुनौती स्वीकार करता है। रात में, बीरबल चतुराई से सोते हुए पंडित के कान को पंख से गुदगुदाता है, जिससे वह तेलुगु – अपनी मातृभाषा में चिल्लाता है। अगले दिन, बीरबल यह दरबार में बताता है और समझाता है कि आश्चर्य या कठिनाई के क्षणों में लोग स्वाभाविक रूप से अपनी मातृभाषा में बोलते हैं।

• कहानी एक पंडित की है जो कई भाषाओं में कुशल है
• वह दरबार को अपनी मातृभाषा पहचानने की चुनौती देता है
• बीरबल एक चतुर तरकीब से पंडित की मातृभाषा का पता लगाता है
• कहानी सिखाती है कि हमारी मातृभाषा हमारी अभिव्यक्ति का सबसे प्राकृतिक रूप है

Word Meanings

Exercise Solutions

Q1. Who came to Akbar’s court?

A learned Pundit came to Akbar’s court. He was a very knowledgeable person who could speak many different languages fluently. His mastery over multiple languages made him confident enough to challenge everyone in the court.

Q2. What did he claim to know?

The Pundit claimed to have mastery over many different languages. He stated that he could speak all these languages so fluently that no one could identify which language was his mother tongue. This shows his exceptional linguistic abilities and confidence in his language skills.

Q3. How did he challenge everybody?

The Pundit challenged everyone in the court to identify his mother tongue. He was so confident in his ability to speak multiple languages fluently that he believed no one could determine which language was his native language. This challenge demonstrated both his pride in his linguistic abilities and his desire to showcase his skills before the court.

Q4. What is your mother tongue?

As a student, I can say that my mother tongue is Hindi. It is the language I first learned to speak and the one I use most comfortably to express my thoughts and feelings. Our mother tongue is special because it comes naturally to us and helps us connect with our cultural roots.

Q5. Tell the class a joke in your mother tongue.

Here’s a simple joke in Hindi: “टीचर: तुम स्कूल क्यों नहीं आए कल? छात्र: कल मेरी तबियत खराब थी। टीचर: कौन सा प्रमाण है? छात्र: मैंने कल दो डॉक्टर देखे थे। टीचर: वो कैसे? छात्र: एक के साथ क्रिकेट खेल रहा था और दूसरे के साथ फुटबॉल!” This joke shows how we can express humor best in our mother tongue.

Q6. Do you know any other language? Do you know a joke in English? Tell your friends.

Yes, besides my mother tongue, I know English. Here’s a simple joke in English: “Teacher: Why did the math book look so sad? Student: Because it had too many problems!” This shows how we can appreciate humor in different languages, though it might feel most natural in our mother tongue.

Q7. Listen to your favourite advertisement on the radio or T.V. Repeat it with stress on the words. Act, draw and write the advertisement.

Here’s an example of a simple advertisement for a health drink: “Stay strong, stay healthy! Start your day with HealthyLife, the complete nutrition drink. Packed with vitamins and minerals, it gives you energy for the whole day. Available in chocolate and strawberry flavors. HealthyLife – Your daily partner for good health!” When performing this, I would emphasize the words “strong,” “healthy,” and “HealthyLife” to make the message more impactful.

Q8. Tick (✓) the words which end with the sound ‘id’. Say each word aloud.

Looking at the given words, we can identify those that end with the ‘id’ sound:

• accepted – ✓ (ends with ‘id’ sound)
• irritated – ✓ (ends with ‘id’ sound)
• completed – ✓ (ends with ‘id’ sound)
• celebrated – ✓ (ends with ‘id’ sound)

Words like ‘failed’, ‘cried’, ‘find’, and ‘fried’ don’t end with the ‘id’ sound, so they shouldn’t be ticked.

Q9. Make a class dictionary with words from the story. Try to find suitable words for them in your mother tongue. Say these words aloud.

Here’s a small dictionary created from the story’s words:

• Pundit (विद्वान) – A learned person
• Court (दरबार) – Royal meeting place
• Challenge (चुनौती) – A difficult task
• Feather (पंख) – Bird’s wing covering
• Truth (सच) – What is real or actual

These words help us understand how different languages express the same concepts.

Q10. Make more sentences using words from the baskets.

Here are some sentences using words from the different baskets:

• I need a pillow and a blanket for my bed.
• Please give me an orange and an ice-cream.
• My father bought me a bat and a ball for my birthday.
• I want an umbrella for the rainy season.
• Mother gave me an alarm clock to wake up early.

Q11. How did Birbal find out about the Pundit’s mother tongue?

Birbal used his intelligence and wit to discover the Pundit’s mother tongue. He went to the Pundit’s room at night when he was sleeping and tickled his ear with a feather. This sudden action startled the half-asleep Pundit, causing him to cry out in Telugu, his mother tongue. This clever trick worked because people naturally revert to their mother tongue when surprised or startled. Through this method, Birbal proved that Telugu was the Pundit’s mother tongue.

Q12. Act this out with your friends and make it into a class play.

To act out this story, we need the following characters:

• Narrator – To introduce the story and explain the scenes
• Akbar – The king who presides over the court
• Pundit – The learned man who challenges the court
• Birbal – The wise minister who solves the puzzle
• Courtiers – Other members of the court

The play can be divided into three scenes:

• Scene 1: The Pundit’s challenge in court
• Scene 2: Birbal’s night-time visit
• Scene 3: The revelation in court

Simple props like a crown, traditional clothes, and a feather can enhance the performance.

Q13. Suppose you are going on a camping holiday. What are the four most important things you will carry with you? Choose from the tags attached to the hot air balloon.

For a camping holiday, the four most important items would be:

• First Aid Kit – Essential for safety and handling minor injuries or emergencies
• Water Bottles – Vital for staying hydrated during outdoor activities
• Food Packets – Necessary for sustenance and energy
• Box of Matches – Important for making fire for cooking and warmth

These items are chosen because they address the basic needs of safety, hydration, nutrition, and survival during camping.

Q14. Write all the words that show you are happy.

Here are words and expressions that show happiness:

• Hurray! – An exclamation of joy
• Ha! Ha! – Expression of laughter
• Wonderful! – Shows delight
• Yippee! – Shows excitement
• Fantastic! – Expression of great pleasure

These expressions help us communicate our feelings of joy and happiness effectively.

Q15. ‘I visited the court of Akbar’ means:

The correct answer is (b) You came there for a short time. When we use the word “visited,” it implies a temporary stay or short-term presence at a place. In the context of the story, the Pundit came to Akbar’s court for a brief period to demonstrate his language skills, not to live there permanently or because he was born there.

Q16. To imitate someone means to:

The correct answer is (a) copy someone. When we imitate someone, we try to copy or reproduce their actions, speech, or behavior. For example, children often imitate their parents or teachers. It doesn’t mean to tease someone or make them angry. In language learning, imitation is actually a useful tool as we can learn proper pronunciation by copying native speakers.

Q17. Look and fill in the columns with words similar to ‘quiet-quietly’.

Here are the word pairs following the pattern of ‘quiet-quietly’:

• Fluent – Fluently: He speaks English fluently
• Angry – Angrily: The teacher spoke angrily
• Fierce – Fiercely: The tiger growled fiercely
• Gentle – Gently: Mother patted the baby gently
• Sad – Sadly: He looked sadly at the broken toy

These pairs show how adjectives can be changed to adverbs by adding ‘-ly’.

Q18. Match the words in Column ‘A’ with words in Column ‘B’.

Here are the correct matches:

• King – Courtiers: The people who attend the king’s court
• Teacher – Students: Those who learn from the teacher
• Doctor – Patients: People who seek medical treatment
• Bus Driver – Passengers: People who travel in the bus
• Lawyer – Clients: People who seek legal advice
• Mother – Children: The family relationship

These pairs show relationships between different people in various professional and personal settings.