Summary Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

Asian-American author, Amy Tan, reflects in her personal essay, Mother Tongue (1991), her perception of language and ethnic identity through an employment of anecdotes and repetition. The history of Asian-Americans goes back to the nineteenth century when thousands of men left their families and homes in China, as well as other Asian countries, to seek their fortunes in the United States (Huntley 21). The Chinese, forming the largest Asian immigrant group, “became the first Asians to experience institutionalized discrimination when the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed by Congress, barring the majority of Chinese from entering the United States” (Huntley 21). International and domestic factors during the Cold War finally prompted the abolition of the quota system and the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act (Lee 3). Amy was born in California in 1952 to parents who had emigrated from China several years earlier (Huntley 1). As a second generation American, Tan’s parents wanted her to have “American circumstances and Chinese character” (Huntley 2); to her traditional Chinese parents’ dismay, she fully embraced the dominant American culture outside her home. Through the dual lenses of her American identity and her ethnic roots, Tan creatively shares her own experiences with language and emigration, while exploring the many facets of biculturalism and the challenges of integrating two distinct cultures.

Currently, there are over 6,000 living languages spoken in the world. Even with these many languages spoken, people are still discriminated in America. Language is a part of many cultures and daily life, for example in Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue", Tan says "I've heard other terms used, 'limited English,' for example. But they seem as bad, as if everything is limited, including people's perceptions of the limited English speaker." Language should not be a border where people today are still treated as "broken".

In Mother Tongue, an essay written by Amy Tan, the fictional author explains how we all speak different languages and how we are all categorized and treated differently by the way we speak. She gives us examples and stories that have happened to her and how they made her become “fascinated by language in daily life.”

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

“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.

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

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.

There are numerous bilingual and multicultural individuals on the planet today. For some, decisions of which language they utilize, and how they utilize it, relate to what social or social group they have a place with. Amy Tan, a Chinese American writer, depicts this well in her short exposition “Mother Tongue”. Tan experienced childhood in two unfathomably unique universes utilizing diverse English’s. The primary world, which comprises of her nearby family, she talks what we may call “broken” or “constrained” English. The second world, which is her business and expert world, tan talks and composes culminate standard and scholastic English.

The essays, "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan and "Public and Private Language" by Richard Rodriguez are recollections of both of the author’s personal encounters and difficulties with the gap that was created between their families by differences in languages. These two writers grew up with bilingual families, in which English was not the primary language. Consequently, they had a hard time accepting and understanding the issues surrounding the different languages they spoke with their families at home, and within society. Because of this, the gap between their public and private languages that had been created through the introduction of a second language slowly grew larger, and eventually impacted their relationships with their family and caused them to view them in a different light. In their writing, Both Tan and Rodriguez reflect on their personal experiences and memories and illuminate the effects that a private language can have on various aspects of life.

Novelist and essayist, Amy Tan, in her essay, “Mother Tongue”, emphasizes the hardships faced by those who speak with limited English. Tan strives to broaden awareness of the damaging stereotypes thrown upon those with limited English, creating a personal and reflective tone that develops her attitude toward her mother.

In “Mother Tongue” essay by Amy Tan, Tan shares her discoveries about the different variations of English she learned growing up in an Chinese-American household, and then reflects on these findings. Tan shows the reader that racial profiling still exists, even in a time where every person is promised freedom and equality in the world. Tan talks about not only does the profiling exist and occur, but that it is also done incorrectly and inefficiently, as Tan clearly demonstrates it by surpassing any test that suggested she study medicine or engineering. In her essay it is noticeable that all the evidence used to support Tan's arguments are past experiences she had as a child growing up, speaking what was considered "broken" English. I can definitely relate to Amy Tan’s essay because I too came from a bilingual home and Like Amy Tan, I had intelligent immigrant parents and I was their main avenue of communication with people who didn’t understand them.

A typical childhood consists of a child having two parents; a mother and a father, or two fathers, or two mothers, whatever the situations maybe. My childhood wasn’t typical, my childhood consist of one single parent, my mother, with the occasional glimpse of my father, but that was rare. My mother played a significant role in my education and how I communicate with others. You see my mother immigrant from Cuba to America and was unable to speak a word of english but she came anyway with her Heart open and her mind ready to learn. Thanks to reruns of ‘ I Love Lucy’ and Oprah; my mother was able to learn english but it was “broken” as Amy Tan would put it. Amy Tan’s essay “ Mother Tongue” discusses the many difficulties that she and her mother have face with her mother's “broken” english; which seem all to similar to my mother and me. It was like we were one in the same. Tan points out the prejudices and culture racism that immigrants are forced to endure without showing aggression or even acknowledging the reader of it. Tan is able to criticize our culture standards and expresses how we have double standards for English speakers.

I really enjoyed the story "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan. In most parts of her story, Tan gave little hints on how she overcame what was expected of her. When she made a phone call to her mother, her mother's life experiences were limited due to the language barrier. It is apparent that Tan's mother played a key role in her life. Tan's "broken" English developed into appreciation with age. Tan also mentions how her mom is the most expressive woman that she knows, which is why I find her to be one of the most important reasons Tan was so shaped by her mother's English

In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan recalls “all the English that she grew up with,” all of

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