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…
Barbara Mellix grew up speaking two different languages like her children. Black english which to her meant country coloreds; and standard english which was proper english. She grew up in a black neighborhood. Barbara’s mother would get upset when she wouldn’t speak proper english. Her siblings and her were forced to speak proper english. Barbara’s mother was a woman with a thick muffled voice, and was always smiling. Her father was an articulated aggressive man, who spoke loud and clear. It was hard for Barbara to speak proper english because she was used to speaking, “country coloreds” with her friends, siblings, and people from her neighborhood. When they would go visit her grandmother who lives in Greeleyville, South Carolina, they were…
Text B is part of transcript of a University tutorial where the tutor is discussing Julie’s essay with her. Instantly we can infer that there will be elements of spontaneous speech in this extract with the purpose of the conversation being primarily transactional and informative but there is social talk nonetheless between the two. As it is a transcript there is no audience to the conversation, which highlights there will be lack of emotive language that connects the audience to the participants that is evident in many…
Sandra Cisneros’s essay, “Only Daughter” is an autobiography about being raised in a family of six brothers, and how she is desperate for her dad to accept her for whom she is, and what she has become, a writer. “When he was finally finished after what seemed like hours, my father looked up and asked: where can we get more copies of this for the relatives?”(114). In this quote, Cisneros’ dad really shows how proud he feels towards his daughter and how much he enjoyed her story, making Cisneros feel appreciated. In Amy Tan’s short story, “Mother Tongue” she writes about how she is passionate for all the different types of English that she is capable…
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…
The Author, Julie Alvarez, also the main Character in the story, is trying to explain how hard and difficult it is to learn and adjust to a new language which is English. For example my, when he was a citizen from t Mexico, he tried to learn Americas Culture but in order for him to do that he had to work twice as hard to pass a citizens test and even more as a new comer in the United States. Which meant a lot of sacrifices. As a father he became a great person now today and showed his willingness for his new country just like how Julie wants to show what she went through as a person learning a new culture.…
This was due to the struggles their parents had spoke a different language in society. Amy Tan states,“As a child Tan thinks of her mom as not as intelligent because of her “broken” English. “I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s ‘limited’ English, limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect.” This means that Amy Tan was ashamed that her mother couldn't speak the same language as society spoke, so she gave her mother a different identity. Similar to Amy Tan, Richard Rodriguez also wrote about how he was embarrassed with his parents language. He states, “And yet, in another way, it mattered very much – it was unsettling to hear my parents struggled with English. Hearing them, I’d grow nervous, my clutching trust in their protection and power weakened.” Rodriguez’s embarrassment of his parent’s inability to speak English supported by society’s impacted his family. Both Tan and Rodriguez at an early age struggle with how they viewed their parent’s identity which made them work hard to shape their own…
Living with parent that speaks "broken English" is similar in all households and presents similar hardships. In _Mother Tongue_, Amy Tan mainly focuses on the hardships of adapting to American culture. Tan also avoids to being in situations where her mother tries to express herself. Amy is "red-faced and quit" while her mother "was shouting at [the…
When we were younger we are taught what is acceptable and not acceptable in different situations. Our behavior is influenced by what society dictates is normal and appropriate. An example of this structured way of thinking is the behavior expected when we go to church. In church people are expected to quietly listen and contemplate what the priest, minister, or leader is saying. There is no running, there definitely is no making loud noises like yelling that disturbs your neighbor. We have been taught those actions are inappropriate for that kind of setting. Just like it would be inappropriate to use slang or shorten versions of words we use when texting to write a formal essay. In the story a “Mother’s Tongue”…
1. Amy uses emotional appeals throughout her essay as she does in her first couple paragraphs. Amy says “I am a writer” to show that she simply loves to write down her mind and that is it.…
When Amy Tan falls in love with the minister’s son at the young age of fourteen, she takes for granted what her mother was trying to show her about life. Young Amy’s trying to impress her boyfriend by appearing as a traditional American girl not wanting to appear in any way Chinese American. Tan, still not experiencing life yet, had not grasped that being different is what makes someone who they are. It wasn’t until many years later that she came to realize that all her mother was trying to express to her was that she should be proud of her Chinese heritage. “But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.” (117) She was not appreciating the diversity of different cultures and how both cultures have their own richness and value. Tan was embarrassed the whole time at Christmas dinner when she was trying to impress her young love Robert not realizing that her mother was making the meal for her. “For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen all my favorite foods.” (117)…
Language that we use in our private life may affect our public life. Anzaldua describes her life as a young Spanish woman who is more like Spanish for American and more like American for Spanish. On the other hand, Amy Tan recalls growing up with a mother…
Sandra considers herself deserving of her father’s respect but she does not earn it. Instead, Sandra passively sails through the life she is dealt. In truth, Sandra never does anything for herself except for her choose to study English. Even her decision to major in English seems driven by petty, antagonism, a half- hearted rebellion against her non-English speaking father. Sandra gently mocks herself; this allowed me the liberty to putter about, embroidering my little poems and stories without my father interrupting with so much as “What’s that you’re writing?”…