Heroes and Citizenship
Senior 2 · English
Heroes and Citizenship
Lesson 3 of 4
22 min
Some speeches change how a whole nation thinks about itself. On 19 November 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln of the United States spoke at the opening of a cemetery for soldiers killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. His speech has fewer than 300 words and took about two minutes, yet its last line, "government of the people, by the people, for the people", is still quoted all over the world as a definition of democracy.
A speech is written for the ear. In this lesson you will practise listening strategies, study Lincoln's speech, and learn four English consonant sounds that many learners find difficult: /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.
There is no recording in this lesson, so ask a friend, a parent or your teacher to read the speech aloud slowly while you close your book. If you study alone, read it aloud yourself and record it on a phone, then listen back.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Glossary: score = twenty; brought forth = created; conceived = begun, formed; proposition = an idea put forward to be accepted; endure = last, survive; consecrate, hallow = make holy; detract = take away; in vain = for nothing; perish = die, disappear. (Honored is the American spelling of British honoured.)
A score is 20, so four score is 4 × 20 = 80, and four score and seven is 87. Lincoln spoke in 1863, and 1863 − 87 = 1776: the year of the United States' Declaration of Independence. With one old-fashioned phrase, he reminded listeners of the ideals their country was founded on.
1. Why had the crowd gathered at Gettysburg?
To dedicate part of the battlefield as a cemetery for the soldiers who died there.
2. Lincoln says the living "can not" make the ground holy. Who has already done it?
The brave soldiers who fought and died there.
3. What does Lincoln ask the living to do?
To continue the "unfinished work" of the dead, so that they did not die in vain and so that government by the people survives.
4. Find a sentence where Lincoln repeats the same structure three times. Why does he do it?
"We can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow." Also "of the people, by the people, for the people". Repeating a pattern three times makes a speech rhythmic and easy to remember.
| Sound | How to make it | Common spellings | From the speech | More examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /θ/ | Tongue tip lightly between the teeth; blow air. No voice. | th | forth, birth, earth | think, three, month, truth |
| /ð/ | Same tongue position, but switch your voice on: you feel a buzz. | th | this, that, these, thus, fathers, whether | they, mother, breathe |
| /ʃ/ | Round your lips, tongue a little back from the teeth; push air out. No voice. | sh, -tion, -ssion, -cian | shall, nation, proposition, portion, devotion | ship, mission, musician |
| /ʒ/ | Same as /ʃ/, but with voice. | -sure, -sion after a vowel, -sual | measure | television, decision, usual, pleasure |
Kinyarwanda already has sounds very close to /ʃ/ (spelt sh) and /ʒ/ (spelt j), so these two are usually easy for Rwandan learners. The th sounds are harder because they do not exist in Kinyarwanda. Speakers often replace /θ/ with /s/ or /t/ and /ð/ with /z/ or /d/. Minimal pairs, words that differ in one sound only, show why this matters:
Tip
The finger test. Hold a finger in front of your lips and say think: the tip of your tongue should just touch the finger. Now put your hand on your throat and say this: you should feel a buzz. No buzz means you said /θ/; a buzz means /ð/.
Sort these words by their th sound: the, birth, those, earth, thus, thank.
Solution: /θ/ (no voice): birth, earth, thank. /ð/ (voice): the, those, thus.
Which of these words contain /ʒ/? measure, nation, usual, shall, decision
Solution: measure, usual, decision. "Nation" and "shall" have /ʃ/.
Say each pair aloud, then use each word in a short sentence: three / tree, they / day.
Possible answer: I have three brothers. We sat under a tree. They are coming today. What day is it?
How many years is "four score and ten"?
Solution: 4 × 20 + 10 = 90 years.
Read the last sentence of the speech aloud. Pause briefly at every dash (—). Stress the words people, by, for and perish, and take care with every th. Then say, in one or two sentences of your own, what Lincoln asked his listeners to do.
Model summary: Lincoln asked the living to finish the work the soldiers had started, so that their deaths were not in vain and so that government by the people would continue.
Remember
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