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…
After reading “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, it was rigorous for Asian Americans learning the English language. The article discusses the different languages of English that Tan had learned and frequently used throughout her life. Then the difficulties that she had learning in school because English wasn’t her best subject. Additionally, were issues that follow along her, due to the way Amy’s mother spoke English. English as a second language for Tan was very difficult, but through her mistakes, she succeeded. When she became a writer, it got easier after she realized the variety of languages she had already spoke throughout her lifetime. She constantly used diverse languages with multiple people and had absolutely no idea she was. It became easier for Amy to differentiate and correct herself. Tan’s life was hard for her to become the aspiring writer she wanted to be. As an Asian American, to succeed in something that no one believed she could was foolish. And even though English wasn’t Amy’s first language, in the long run it changed her understanding of the English language. Tan’s purpose was to show us how language can separate, unite, or isolate those who don’t speak perfect English. Literacy should have no limitations on how people view other people.…
Mother tongue by Army Tan employs the aspects of simplicity to appeal to the audience. In her introduction, she brings herself to the same level as his audience which makes them attentive and desires to know more. The author uses easily understood English which makes the readers easily relate to what she is saying. The author employs the aspect of the flashback where she tells her audiences about her experience speaking broken English and where this makes today, her viewers curious and to listen more. The author uses rhetoric to appeal to emotion to capture his audiences, in that her being limited to English is because of the influence of her mother this displays the personal experience.…
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…
As you know, on Mondays my shift at the MVASC is 11:00 - 4:00, and Amy R’s is 4:00 - 8:00. At the moment I wouldn’t have a problem with switching over to evening/night hours on Monday. Either way is fine by me. I know that Amy R has some trouble with her eyes and driving at night, and that is why I brought this up.…
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…
Amy Tan’s story “Mother Tongue” starts by the affirmation that she is not a scholar of English or literature. She is just a writer and the person who understand the power of language. From Tan’s observations from her daily life, she realizes that there are different types of English that she uses. The first time Tan notices the difference is when she gives a speech on her book “The Joy Luck Club” using academic English, the one that she never uses to talk with her mother. The second time is when Tan talked using “fractured” English unconsciously with her mother when walking down the street. After that, Tan recalls her memories from her early age: the phone call for her mother to the stockbroker, the meeting with a doctor in the hospital for her mother’s CAT scan result to demonstrate her mother’s realization of “limited” English. Then Tan agrees with the idea that language spoken in…
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.…
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 her essay “Mother Tongue”, Tan does not describe her mother’s English as bad or incomplete.She instead, uses words like ‘broken’ or ‘fractured’ to give the reader a better images of how her mother spoke English. In her essay she gives some examples of these ‘fractured’ and ‘broken’ sentences such as, “Why he don’t send me check, already two weeks late. So mad he lie to me, losing me money.” In this sentence her mother attempts to obtain money that a stockbroker had agreed to send, but the man tried to take advantage her instead because of her ‘limitations.’…
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.…
In the book, “Mother Tongue”, Amy Tan asserts that language is a tool of communication.…