Mother Tongue

Mother Tongue
Not all people who speak the English language speak it the same way. A language can be subdivided into any number of dialects which each vary in some way from the parent English language. “Mother Tongue,” an article based on the power of language; without standard language skills, one is identified as an outsider, often wrongly perceived and unfairly discriminated against.

In the article Amy Tan describes her observation and thoughts about the use of the English language and the perceptions and prejudices of others regarding other languages. Amy describes the pain and shame she felt observing the negative reaction her mother received from others. Her mother received negative reaction in such places like department stores, banks, and restaurants. People did not take her seriously, they did not

Even if we are not multilingual, do we not all have a different mother tongue taught to us as children which has unconsciously shaped the way we see ourselves and the world? And do we not all speak our own different version of the English language, calling upon them as the occasion and audience direct? Certainly, the language I call upon in talking to my professors differs from the language that I use with my colleagues, which is different from the language I speak with my friends or family. It may be a matter of word choice or tone of voice or slang or content or purpose, but each is a different part of the world and myself.

Language can be characterized as many things such as the arrangement of words in a particular order uttered in a certain way, a particular instrument that evokes images and emotion