In Amy Tan's article Mother Tongue, I found a familiar situation. I usually am around family and friends that speak Spanish firstly or only Spanish. I find myself sometimes resorting to the use of Spanglish—a mixture of Spanish and English—to explain things where I have forgotten words in Spanish. At the end of such conversations, I often realize that it would be easier if I use regular language instead of trying to “sound smart” using more sophisticated language. The article focuses on Tan's interpretation of her mother's "broken" English. Being Chinese-American, Tan writes on how she incorporates this "broken" English into her habitual writing after she realized she was giving a speech using "big" or elaborated words that her mother, who was in the audience, probably didn't understand. Tan further explains that the "brokenness" of her mother's English has everything to do with English not being her native language and nothing to do with ignorance. When Tan expresses this thought, …show more content…
Usually, in the US, it is the result of immigration. While I agree that an effort should be made to comprehend or be fluent in the language of the country you're in, the fact that a person is not fluent doesn't mean that person is completely ignorant. Furthermore, I believe that being bilingual and/or speaking "broken" anything may be an asset for you, as the person trying to discriminate against you or trying to deny you a service may not even possess half of the ability of speech you have in both languages. Also, changing the way you write, especially when it’s your livelihood is something drastic to do but it may be something Tan may have needed to do to improve herself as an author. I do it sometimes but its only when I am trying to help somebody understand something I'm trying to say. Also, the way Puerto Rican Spanish is set up, I speak mostly Spanglish. I am always mixing the two languages together in some way, shape or
“Mother Tongue” is an essay by Amy Tan that examines the ways in which people treat those who do not speak or act like them. Simply, how people perceive those that are different . The main purpose of “Mother Tongue” is to inform the readers of the ways they might intentionally or unintentionally be treating people who speak broken english as Tan’s mother does. This essay highlights the extreme importance of language and how it connects with everyone’s day to day lives.
In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan talks about how family has a big role in shaping our experiences in school; specifically, in English. Tan uses her own experiences with her mother. She states that she had been embarrassed by her mother’s “broken” English and as a result of her learning said “broken” English she had struggled in school which resulted in her teachers steering her more towards math and science.
Ms. Amy Tan recalled in her article “Mothers Tongue” how her mother had not been treated with respect because she spoke broken English. As she looked back over the life of her mother, she realized that this had been a lifelong frustration for her. She wrote how she was frustrated with the term "broken". Her mother was an intelligent woman; therefore, she was not broken by the definition of broken. She even recalls one time where she had to pretend to be her mother on the phone because her mother was not taken seriously. Tan used people wrongfully labeled, personal experience, and intelligence was not based on vocabulary to explain that people need to be treated with respect.
Mother Tongue is a story that describes how Amy Tan’s mother was treated unfairly because of her “broken English”. As the second generation of Chinese immigrants, Tan faces more problems than her peers do. Her mom, who speaks “limited” English, needs Tan to be her “translator” in order to communicate with the native English speakers. Tan has felt ashamed of her mother “broken” language at first. She then contemplates her background affected her life and her study. However, she changes her thought at the end since she realizes things behind language might be more valuable than language itself sometimes. Through the various different literary devices and rhetorical strategies such as the ethos, pathos, and logos appeals, as well as a
In “Mother Tongue” Tan discusses how she was raised in America, both her and her mother struggled with English. Tan was told at a young age to focus on math and science, and not to worry much about English. Tan remembered the way her mother was treated and the embarrassment she felt, because her mother spoke poor English. Tan decided to work more on her English and grammar. Tan decided she didn’t want to be just a smart Chinese woman, who was only good at math and science.
While the United States is a predominantly English speaking country, there are numerous versions of the English dialect within America. In Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue” (1990), she describes her own experiences growing up within a family whose native language was Chinese. Furthermore, she describes the different types of “English” her family uses. In her essay, she focuses on her mother’s English and while her mother was an intelligent woman, Amy was ashamed of it. She later expressed how important English is to understanding someone’s experiences in life.
The purpose of Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue,” is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks “limited English” (36) as Tan’s mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others. As Tan’s primary care giver, her mother was a significant part of her childhood, and she has a strong influence over Tan’s writing style. Being raised by her mother taught her that one’s perception of the world is heavily based upon the language spoken at home. Alternately, people’s perceptions of one another are based largely on the language used.
Language as a combination of single words and different ideas affects us everyday in life. In the essay “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan, the author describes how her mother’s English influences her in her career and life that the “mother tongue” does not limit her as a writer, but shaped her and her perception on life instead. And her attitude to her mother’s English changes from the initial embarrassment to the final appreciation.
Despite growing up amidst a language deemed as “broken” and “fractured”, Amy Tan’s love for language allowed her to embrace the variations of English that surrounded her. In her short essay “Mother Tongue”, Tan discusses the internal conflict she had with the English learned from her mother to that of the English in her education. Sharing her experiences as an adolescent posing to be her mother for respect, Tan develops a frustration at the difficulty of not being taken seriously due to one’s inability to speak the way society expects. Disallowing others to prove their misconceptions of her, Tan exerted herself in excelling at English throughout school. She felt a need to rebel against the proverbial view that writing is not a strong
“One kind word can warm three winter months; an acute word can cut deeper than a sharp weapon.” This motto does not seem to follow the normal structure of English; that is because the motto is translated from the Chinese. However, it does not matter as long as people understand the meaning, right? Amy Tan in “Mother Tongue” narrates how her mother’s “broken” or “fractured” English affects her life. At first, Tan thinks that her language abilities and possibilities are limited because her mother, who is an American immigrant from China, does not speak English “properly” in the family. However, the experiences that her mother faced because of her mother’s “broken” English cause Tan to recognize that English structure is not the most important factor in English language. By using a variety of rhetorical devices through "Mother Tongue", for instance, double entendre, ethos, pathos, and tone, Tan effectively justifies that the underlying meaning should be more considered than the way people say their words or messages.
In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan wrote about broken English. It catches audiences who speaks broken English or a person who has a family member who speaks broken English. Tan also speaks to another group of people who have no idea about broken English or they don’t know the people who speaks broken English.
Amy Tan’s literacy narrative “Mother Tongue” is about the different dialects of English, she is familiar with. She explains that her intelligence is judged by the way she speaks. Amy Tan, explains memories from her life where she encounters many forms of English. Her mother, a Chinese immigrant spoke “broken English.” She describes her mother as someone who was able to understand English, well the mother claims that she understands everything, but when it came to speaking, she spoke without the correct grammar. Due to her mothers broken English, Amy Tan has adapted to the type of English her mother speaks, their own type of English language. Tan feels as if the English she is speaking with it outside world is more complex than the English she
In the work of Amy Tan’s “Mother’s Tongue” she provides a look into how she adapted her language to assimilate into American culture. She made changes to her language because her mother heavily relied on her for translation. She was the voice of her mother, relaying information in standard English to
People who can speak a certain language, but only in ‘broken’ form, are generally looked down upon by native language speakers. In her writing, Mother Tongue, Amy Tan writes about her
There are many bilingual and multicultural people in the world today. For many, the choices of which language they use, and how they use it, correspond to what social or cultural community they belong to. Amy Tan, a Chinese American novelist, portrays this well in her short essay "Mother Tongue." Tan grew up in two vastly different worlds, using different "Englishes." The first world, which consists of her close family, she speaks what we may call "broken" or "limited" English. The second world, which is her business and professional world, Tan speaks and writes perfect standard and academic English. Having to "shuttle" between these two communities with very different languages has had many different positive and negative effects on