mother tongue

Peiwen Su
Professor Ibrahim
English 107
October 5, 2014 Mother Tongue
Amy Tan uses her mother’s experiences as a sample to represent a type of new immigrants who is always disrespected by locals and have troubles in dealing a lot of things; the reason why this happens is because they cannot speak English well. However, from Tan’s perspective, although non-native speakers should also improve their English if they want to fit in to different cultures, native speaker should respect them and should also help them. Through describing three stories of her and her mother, Tan mentions that people should not judge others for their English skills. They put more attention to people inside spirit and talents. Language problems can be solved. If people want to erase the barrier of language, it can solve at once.
Language skill is just one of the eternal characteristics of people, so it cannot be the only standard to judge whether the people should be respected or not. In the description of her mother experiences, Tan employs symbolism to portray how an immigrant suffers others’ contempt because of their terrible language’s level. In the sample, “stockbroker neglected her mother for the reason that he is not that patient enough to understand her mother’s terrible English. In order to gain the stockbroker’s respect, Tan pretended to her mother to talk with the stockbroker because she can be a master in English well. ”Tan use “stockbroker neglected her mother” to express the phenomenon that people always judge others easily by their language skill. In other words, people used to judge others by their race, skin, accent, culture and clothing. After having a first expression of the people, they would decide how to treat that person. It is difficult for locals to treat immigrants equally. However, as for the foreigners, local people are more respect the people who have good language skill than the people who have terrible language skill. With Tan’s mother’s terrible English, the stockbroker neglected and was contempt her mother naturally. Tan using “ she pretend her mother’s voice to call for the stockbroker” emphasizes the phenomenon that good language skill is a key for communication. A bad English speaker is difficult to communicate with local English speakers. However, if the stockbroker can be more respectful to Tan’s mother, things might not be that bad.
Language skill should not be that important for others, because people’s thinking is more important. In order to express the thesis clearer, Tan use her own experience to illustrate that immigrants are easier to lose others’ respect because of language skills. In the story, “a speech filled with carefully wrought grammatical phrases, burdened, it suddenly seemed to me, with nominalized forms, past perfect tenses, conditional phrases, all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother. ”, it demonstrates that Tan also unconsciously tried her best to exhibit all her perfect English to receive others’ respect. As a non-native speaker in US, Tan is accustomed to show her English for the way to close and make friends with local people. In our society, people always pay attention to others’ language level before they try to know other’s characteristics. In general, if two people communicate fluently, they will try to know each other and make friend with each other. If they cannot understand what the other say, they would be annoyed and uninterested to talk with the other, and then they would also try to find some reasons to ignore and indirectly unrespect to the other. This is an evidence to prove the idea that language skill is the key point in communication. However, when people are at home, when they talk with their family, they always hardly tack attach to their family member’s language because they just pay attention to understand their relatives’ thinking. Language skill becomes a trifling role at home. When people meet with their family members, they always choose the simplest speaking way to express. Therefore, the masses should try to think highly of the internal spirit of people more than the language skill of people and the eternal characteristics of people. In fact, a person’s thinking is more important than his language skill and his other eternal factors. In the past, people want to know foreign cultures and custom, they would try to learn the foreign language first. Nowadays, people want to live and study in U.S, so they have studied English for a long time. Although language skill is important role in communication, but people’s thinking is more significant than language. Thus, people should respect to others who have a good thinking but poor language skill. People should be more patient to listen poor language speaker’s speaking and try to understand their thinking. It can help people get some unexpected harvest.
Poor language skill cannot be a barrier to obstruct problems solving. Tan uses the story of her mother finding the CAT scan to demonstrate that, it is important for people to have a good language skill when they are living in a foreign country. In the story, “And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English—we had assurances the CAT scan would be found, promises that a conference call on Monday would be held, and apologies for any suffering my mother had gone through for a most regrettable mistake”. It illustrates that people are easier to solve problems without language problems. It seems to be Tan’s mother who is a bad English speaker. When they ask others to help them solve some problems, it is difficult to gain others’ help. Sometimes people pretend that they cannot understand the poor language people’s speaking because they do not want to help those poor language speakers. Sometimes people really do not know the meaning of the people what they want to express. In this situation, people always cannot solve problems and feel others contempt them. When Tan talked with the hospital, the hospital apologized immediately and helped to find the CAT scan quickly. On one hand, Tan’s perfect English express clearly, so the hospital officer should know what she want to say. On the other hand, when Tan exhibited her perfect English, the hospital officer would naturally be more respectful to Tan and without offending Tan. However, although language skill would affect the impression of others, people should be more patient to listen to others and try their best to understand their meaning. In fact, the hospital should help Tan’s mother to find the CAT scan result, because this is a duty for hospitals. Although patient’s bad English skill is difficult to understand, it can be understood after carefully thinking. Generally, people should be respectful to non-native speakers, because language cannot obstruct between two people’s communication. Tan’s mother’s problem is not difficult to solve. However, the reason why Tan’s mother cannot solve her problems is the hospital unwilling to help her.
Based on the statements above, Tan maintains that the public should not be disrespectful to others because of other’s language skill, race and another eternal factors. People should pay more attention to other’s thinking and talents. Non-native speakers can solve problems easily, if others can be more patient to help them. In the society, if all the perfect language speakers can be more patient to help those bad language speakers and be more respectful to them. Our world will be more peaceful and colorful in the future.
Works Cited
Tan, Amy. "Mother Tongue." Writing as Revision. 4th ed. Boston, MA.: Pearson Custom Pub., 2011. Print.

Cited: Tan, Amy. "Mother Tongue." Writing as Revision. 4th ed. Boston, MA.: Pearson Custom Pub., 2011. Print.