Connecting Two Worlds- Immigrants and Identity

Pham 1
Karyn Pham
Professor Gray
English 103
6 April 2014
Connecting Two Worlds

In essays “Living in Spanish” by Marjorie Agosín and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan,

the narrators both experience the struggle of language and its barriers in America. In their essays, they explain that having the capability to speak proper English and assimilating themselves to
American customs. Although there were many obstacles and challenges faced when adapting to
America, they did not dismiss their true heritage and culture. This defines a thriving immigrant, which is one that is able to fuse their own culture background with American culture, allowing two worlds to mesh into one.

Agosín explains her life growing up in Chile and moving to America as a difficult path,

but she never thought to let go of her Chilean background. Growing up in Chile she was surrounded by “a multiplicity of tongues,” meaning those who were born there or emigrated there spoke other languages like Yiddish or German, but Spanish was the main language spoken by everyone. She had experienced this same thing when her family migrated to the US, except the common language was English. Although she struggled with learning English, especially since she spoke “poor English and [had an] accent.” Her inability to properly speak English made her feel isolated and alone because through this language barrier she felt uncomfortable, knew she did not belong, and understood that she was a foreigner. Writing poems in her native tongue at home allowed Agosín to feel as if she were home and to still hold the comfort of a

Pham 2 home through her language. She had lost everything when she left the country, but the only thing she was able to hold onto was the language from the homeland. Her native tongue spoke
“rhythms, and the passion of [her] own identity…and it soothe[d her] own sorrows over what
[she] had left behind.” It’s scary for someone to move so instantaneously from a home to a strange where one knows absolutely nothing about its language and culture, especially when you have grown up in such a different environment. Agosín used her language in order to continue to keep ties with her background, but also she wasn’t resilient in learning the American culture.
Agosín’s expresses that English language is unable to fully express or show her true feeling and emotions, however she understood this was the language that had to be learned in order to adapt to a new place. Coming to America and learning the it’s ways of life, Agostin may have felt that she was losing a sense of who she was. Through her poems and writing in her native tongue gave her a sense of who she is, and the ability to fully express herself in a way she felt was right. It is understood that Agosín identifies herself with her hispanic background through language, and tries to keep this part of herself alive because it was part of her that she doesn 't want to get lost as she lives in America and becomes accustom to a new way of life.
Allowing for this identity to exists displays her way of balancing these two worlds and staying true to herself.
I really appreciate Agosín’s final statement in her essay: “Translators are not traitors, as the proverbs says, but rather splendid friends this great human community of language” In this statement she acknowledges and understands that everyone speaks a different language, and that is inevitable. But the ability to translate to one another different languages, is the way we come together as a world being able to communicate our feelings and emotions and our stories.

Pham 3
Translation was her best friend, as it allowed the American culture to fully understand how she felt about leaving Chile and growing up in such a strange place, which is what we call home,
America. Translating was her way of fusing her two worlds together, which allowed Agosín to gain success as an immigrant and flourish in America.
Similarly in Amy Tan’s essay, “ Mother Tongue,” Amy experiences the language barrier being a bilingual American, and growing up around a family who is foreign to America.
Although she may not be an immigrant, the language barrier is still pronouncedly influential and impactful. Her mother is a Chinese immigrant, who carries a heavy accent and speaks limited
English. Tan explains that her mother relied on her to translate her message into proper English, for instance Amy once called the stockbroker, while her mother stood next to her, only to relay the message into proper English so it could be understood. However Tan didn’t appreciate the way people would describe her mother’s English as “broken” or underestimate her intelligence.
Often times many Americans feel that foreigners who decide to live in America should be able to become adjust to this lifestyle, which distinctly means know the language. According to a poll reported by Huffington Post, "7
7 percent of Americans thought it was necessary for immigrants to learn English.”
Many people are judged by the way they speak and present themselves. This happens to not just immigrants but all people, this is the way people decide to rate an individual 's intellectual level. With this in mind, foreigners tend to have a more difficult time getting their message across because many people do not try to understand them, but are so quick to judge them as not smart due to their inability to speak proper english in America.
Unfortunately Amy Tan’s mother was a causality of this cruelty. Although her mother was very

Pham 4 educated since she read many perplexing material, like the statistics from the stock market, she was often perceived as unintelligent due to her broken english.
For Amy Tan, language was a way of having a close relationship with her mother by translating her mother in such a judgmental society. And as an Asian American to keep her a part of her culture was understanding the difficulty her mother struggled with english and understanding the improper language her mother spoke. This was their language. This improper english was their way of communication and is a part of who Amy is because only people within
Amy’s family and herself are probably the only people who would understand exactly what
Amy’s mother tries to express.
She also mentions how this language barrier has impacted her life by making english a difficult subject to learn because family members have a very influential impact on the way we speak aside from our peers. She explains that english was never her best subject in school since the english spoken at home was never proper, but it was the greatest amount of exposure to language she had. However, this did not stop her choice to become a writer, instead she embraces the broken english spoken by her mom and embraces her Asian American heritage. In this way she identifies herself as an Asian American, who goes against the odds because even though English isn’t her strong suit, she uses this weakness to make it apart of who she is, while incorporating the known language she has with her mom. She fuses the english with the broken language her mother speaks creating a new world, Amy’s world.
In both stories a common denominator is the language barrier both authors face either coming from another country or living with a family that is foreign. However, they both strongly displayed their ways of integrating the American culture and their own culture into one world.

Pham 5
With language they both were able to find an element to identify themselves with. Agosin found that the American culture began to flooded her life with a new language and new customs, she began to lose herself, but through her poetry she was able to find a medium. And with Amy she struggled with living with a mom who always needed to be translated in order to be understood by other people, and she found her middle by incorporating both her mother’s language and english to be parts of her world. With language they both were able to fuse their roots and culture with the American culture creating their own identity.
Although I may not be an immigrant, but I do understand the language barrier immigrants face when they come to America and trying to fit in to the American culture. My family emigrated to America from Vietnam, and growing up I had learned two languages simultaneously, English and Vietnamese. Similarly to Amy Tan, I had thrived in math, because math is universal to every country in the world. English on the other hand was more difficult to learn. Learning is about applying your knowledge and practicing what you have learned. So when I was learning how to speak grammatically correct at school, I would apply and practice it wrong. At school I would learn, “Dogs like to eat meat,” but at home it sounded like, “ Meat is good one for the doggy.” Also trying to fit in and being a normal American was an obstacle and struggle that I faced growing up. My grandparents would normally pack me a lunch for school everyday, which were normally leftovers from dinner. Many of the kids at school would ridicule me for having such bizarre food. This never sat well with me, and I would be angry with my parents and myself for being different. However, this mentality changed in my junior year of high school, I soon realized that I needed to accept who I was and my cultural background. No matter how I act or what I do to ignore my heritage, nothing will change that fact that I will

Pham 6 always be apart of the Vietnamese culture. I am an American since I was born in this country, but my blood identifies me as a Vietnamese. From that day forward, I am able to accept and embrace being an Asian American. All though I may not be a traditional American, I still am an
American, but with a twist.
Like both Amy and Agosín, I was ashamed and never felt I was able to fully express myself. I developed a fear of talking in front of crowds and sometimes I can’ find the right words to show the full extent of my feelings and thoughts. Finding my identity as an Asian
American was a struggle because I have always tried to push away from my cultural background, and forced myself to do everything the american way with the way I dressed, the slang kids talked with, and the food, especially in front of others, but when I’m home with family I was comfortable with eating the bizarre asian food and the improper or even mixing of english and vietnamese in a single sentence. Initially, I was always embarrassed like Amy and struggled to express myself like Agosín, but as I have gone through some experiences and met others like me,
I soon understood that it was ok to be different and have different backgrounds because they creates who you are. I today I am able to identify with the american group and the asian group because I was able to fuse these worlds into one piece.

Being an immigrant or growing up with a family who is foreign to American customs

can be difficult at times because there are many challenges faced such as language. Although, it can be difficult to overcome, it doesn’t have to be. We all try to find out ways to some how accommodate ourselves to world that is judgemental and to fit in. But as we go through our experiences and learn who were are, like the way Amy and Agosín did through language, we will find a way to create ourselves to be better and identify ourselves in a way we choose.

Pham 7
Works Cited Agosín, Marjorie.
Always Living In Spanish (n.d.): n. pag.
Www.teacherweb.com
. TeacherWeb.
Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
Benedetti, Ana Maria. "Majority Of Americans Want Immigrants To Learn English, Poll Says."
The Huffington Post
. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
Tan, Amy. "Mother Tongue."
Www.shawnashapiro.com
. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.

Cited: . TeacherWeb.  Web. 4 Apr. 2015.  . TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.  Tan, Amy. "Mother Tongue." ​ Www.shawnashapiro.com​ . N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.