The essay “Mother Tongue” describes a writer who grew up with a mother of Asian origin and the limitations created by her mother’s speech. The author, Amy Tan, defines her mother’s English as “broken” and that it created communication barriers. For example, when Tan’s mother would need to call her boss about work, she would rely on her daughter to make the phone call and use proper english. When Tan decided to go into English in college, it seemed foolish since she was more skilled in math and science. The author also mentions how not everyone’s speech is the same, but that is not a bad thing. Tan decided to start writing fiction, and write a book in a way her mother would comprehend. Though the writing was harshly critiqued, Tan knew she…
Mother Tongue In this passage the author Amy Tan talks about the different ways people speak in America, as an example she uses herself and her mother, she tells us that one time she was giving a speech in front of a large group and she was using all this big words, and phrases like she had learned in school, but all of a sudden she remember her mother was in the audience and she started to think her speech was bad and all her words were wrong because it was an English she never spoke with her mom, because she explains to us that the English her moms speaks is very broken and very bad because of her Chinese roots, as an example she gives us a paragraph describing a story her mom told her once about a gangster that wanted to join her family, she also tells us that when she was younger she was very ashamed of her mothers broken English, which I think is very funny because I know a lot of people that go threw that problem, and hate going places were their parents have to speak English, luckily for me I didn’t encounter that problem because my mother grew up in Kansa City and learned English at a very young age, so her English has been very good all threw my childhood, the bad part was that since she knew perfect English she was able to communicate with my teachers…
In “Mother Tongue” (1990) an essay written by Amy Tan, a Chinese-American author who has written a lot of beautiful novels, Tan argues that all languages have a purpose and value. Tan tells us how every language has a purpose by giving us examples from her own life, specifically, she talks about the way her and her mother talked; her mother wasn’t very fluent in English, but the little English she could speak she could say smart and brilliant things like, “ . Tan uses personal examples in order to make us believe in the importance of language. The people she directs this story to is to people who grew up in English homes from birth to see just because someone doesn’t talk perfect English doesn’t mean they don’t know things, they do have brilliant…
Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue” Tan grew up in a home with her Chinese mother who spoke English that she considered “broken”. It was difficult for others to understand what her mother was saying. Tan then realized that when she was with her mother that she spoke English differently than she did. She was trying to figure out how her background affected her life, such as her education; but she eventually learned to except her background. At the same time Tan wanted to become a writer and she found that by spending time with her mother who again spoke “broken” English. Even though she was told that writing was her worst skill by her boss, she was determined to make it work.…
The author believes that language likes an invisible wall that prevents her mother from getting respect from the others. “The fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her”(765). This is how the others treat the author’s mother as well as non-native English speakers. Therefore, Amy Tan understands that there are a lot of immigrants who have been like her mother: being disregarded due to limited use of English. In addition, Amy Tan’s main point of the article is letting the audience know that the way of speaking language cannot reflect someone’s competency. The second point the author tries to say that language is not just language itself; it is about culture, background, and…
In the story “Aria” by Richard Rodriguez and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan both authors write about their experiences and struggles as a bilingual child. In “Aria” and “Mother Tongue” they describe their private language as an expression of intimacy with their loved ones. Growing up at one point they felt embarrassed and ashamed of their parents inability to speak English fluently. Tan writes “My mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English,” (Tan 543). They were their parents’ connection to the outside world and often had to be the voice of their family. Rodriguez and Tan both believe that there’s more options and advantages once they became Americanized. “The social and political advantages I enjoy as a man result from the day that I came to believe that my name, indeed, is Rich-heard Road-ree-guess.” (Rodriguez 518). Rodriguez and Tan emphasize the importance of language and the power it holds either intimately or publicly.The assumption you can make about the authors personas is that they have a strong bond and love for their intimate language.…
In Amy Tans's short store "Mother Tongue", readers are introduced to Tan who is the…
In this article, Amy Tan shares her personal encounters growing up with a mother who spoke imperfect English. She examines the diverse forms of English that she uses in her daily life. Tan grew up with many variations of English including her mother's “broken English” which was seen as limited and fractured. However, Tan sees her mother's language as vibrant and easy to understand through her mother’s sense of detail and imagery. Tan began to write fiction towards a target audience who would read her stories and decided to write with her mother in mind. When her mother read her stories and thought they were "So easy to read", Tan knew she had accomplished something very important. Ultimately, she concluded that no one should ever be evaluated on their intellect based on how properly they speak a language.…
I have read through two articles and I have my own thought about them. The two articles author, Amy Tan (Mother Tongue) and Gloria Anzaldua (How to Tame…) both discussed the topic about the language and life. They have many common points such as they all born in a bilingual family, and it brought a great change in their lives. The difference is two articles have different focus. “Mother Tongue” Focus more on the change what the bilingual family culture has brought to her, in other words, how this change her life. Amy Tan uses a neutral tongue in the article simply just to how the change take place. “How to Tame a Wild…
Throughout the passage of “Mother Tongue,” the author Amy Tan uses strategies in a way to have the reader influenced by the point she is trying to prove. And in this case she is explaining the idea of language in the Asian-American community. She is speaking through multiple perspectives in her own life to show how society is not very understanding to people who are native speakers or can not speak as fluently, in a way that people view their English speaking in different ways and even have less respect for.…
In “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan talks about her experience as a young child whose mother didn’t speak “proper” English; She Described her mother language as “Broken”. Tan recalls often having to translate for her mother in various time. She found herself feeling embarrassed of the way her mom spoke. One-day Tan was delivering a speech when she noticed her mom was in the crowded and it was the first time her mom heard her talk with such big words. After that she noticed she articulates different with everybody; she describes it as a “language of intimacy”(Tan 418) Throughout the article Tan argues that because of the way her mom spoke people didn’t take her serious, and perceived her as not very smart. Tan feels that if someone has limited English he/she will be heavily judged by those around them.I agree with Tan, my mom who has…
In Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue” (1990), she emphasize that her mother’s way of speaking English has created a cultural wall. Tan used truth from her life and her mother’s personal experiences to express how society treats people who speak poor English. Tan’s purpose was to encourage the reader not to prejudge a person who speaks imperfect English and in spite of how the individual speak, they should be treated the same way as the person who speaks perfect English. Tan’s anticipated audience was anyone who’s been judge or mistreated because of their imperfect English and anyone who judged or look down on a person that speaks imperfect English.…
After reading the strongly “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tran, it shows a great deal of strength from the Asian American Culture. Throughout the reading it showed how hard it was and still is for Asian Americans to work through the difficulties of the English language. In her essay Amy Tan writes about the problems immigrant families have with speaking English, by reflecting on her own experience. While reading Mother Tongue, I remembered the difficulties I faced when I was learning how to speak English. My English now is better than before but I am still learning because I still can’t fully pronounce some words or I catch myself stuttering when I speak English. My vocabulary was pretty weak and I had trouble pronouncing words that I was not familiar with. English is not my native language and it is not the primary language that I speak at home with my parents. I can connect to Tan’s experiences because I have experienced what she centers about. I believe that Tan’s work is easily understood by many American immigrants because it is easy to relate to. I also believe that her primary audience is those who have immigrated to the United States. It’s also concentrated to those who weren’t raised in an American Society. Tan wanted to show her audience that there are multiple forms that the English language can be spoken and used in. This doesn’t make one form “better” than the other. Using a particular language does not determine an individual’s accuracy in expressing clear, complete, and thoughtful ideas. When reading “Mother Tongue” I was able to connect with some of her experiences as well. For example, as a child, I would get embarrassed by my parents English language skills. Tan brings up a good point about the existence of multiple types of spoken English and how there is no particular one that is “correct” in comparison to another. Language is a means of communication, thus, it should unify us and bring us together rather than act as a…
Citation: Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue”, The Norton Sampler, Ed. Thomas Cooley, New York, London, W. W. Norton & Company, 2013 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 253-261, Print.…
When I moved to Seychelles in 2006 to work for the local government there, my biggest concern was that my knowledge of the English language would not be adequate to be a successful teacher. When it came to the subject itself I felt confident enough I had the necessary skills. I had been teaching science for 6 years and was familiar with the program that I was going to instruct. Feeling a bit scared I entered the classroom the first day of the school year.…