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…
Rodriguez, a bilingual author, had a case more extreme than mine, as he learned English as his second language. My Caucasian father could not speak Lao, which caused the need for my proficiency in English pronunciation and vocabulary. Rodriguez’s family spoke only Spanish. Originally, the introduction of English (most likely Spanglish) granted him elements of fun while he learned English. His essay takes a more melancholy tone when he is suddenly forced to speak solely English.…
Sedaris underscores the diverse backgrounds of his classmates while maintaining the notion that everyone is struggling with the language. The author employs humor to help convey his message: that regardless of one’s background,…
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…
Richard Rodriquez describes his childhood as a child of Mexican immigrant parents studying in an English school in America who had problems in communicating at school because he did not know English. In the beginning, Richard was timid because he felt uncomfortable with English. However, with the help of the teachers and family, he started to “raise his hand to volunteer an answer,” and eventually he “moved very far from the disadvantaged child.” After learning the new language, it certainly fortifies his bond with the community and makes him feel like an American citizen, but at the same time, it also weakens his family’s unity. However, he attributes this to his departure from childhood.…
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.…
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…
Language is the system of words or signs that people use to express thoughts and feelings to each other. Language has an impulse on a person that allows them to make ties with a certain society, thus giving them a cultural identification. When residents of another country come to America and speak a contrasting language to English, immigrants most likely feel uneasy having to adapt to a completely new culture and learn the English language. During this journey, the individuals’ cultural identities might fade away as well as losing their efficient fluency on their native language. In Amy Tan’s, “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez “Aria: A Memoir of A Bilingual Childhood”, both authors experience the difficulties of language barrier and adjusting to a different lifestyle in order to develop as an individual in the United States.…
Throughout our lives we communicate to a vast array of people on a daily basis from teachers to friends to family. Each time we speak to these individuals there tends to be a different “slang” that is used with each yet at the same time still portraying the same message. In groups of different cultures they have a similar voice through language. Even though the languages they speak are different the meanings can be the same. Through this everyone has the ability to show love, anger, sadness, and the ability to teach right from wrong. Two authors from different ethnic backgrounds show how language affects them personally and the ones around them. Kingston, a Chinese author, writes about stories based on the things she heard from her mother and…
Language was not always easy to speak, write, and understand when I first moved here from India. Understanding two different culture shocks from Indian culture and American culture, was surely one of the toughest part about moving to the United States was. Everything was very different from my skin color to the way I spoke English. Every time I passed by people in the hallway, everyone would stare at me because they all knew about “the new girl from India.” Slowly as months passed by I started realizing the difference in culture, lifestyle, and behavior. Looking back before I moved to the US, growing up with a single parent impacted my view in society. My mom always taught me to be the hardest working person in the room. She always told me…
I have come a long way down my road of knowledge and learning of English throughout my life and it has taken me places and shown me things I would have never expected when I first started out on this long journey, and it includes things that most other student’s do not. I have learned so much, so fast and it has taken me far from home and around the world. While most of the people I know have traveled the same road their whole lives and have grown up in very similar ways, my experiences tell a whole different story.…
The main purpose for “Why Good English Is Good for You” by John Simon is to inform people about how informal and how bad English people have been using these past years. Also to inform them about how the language has evolved to what it is today. He wants to aware everyone about this so that it can change and so everyone uses “Standard English”. The audience was anyone that spoke a language but his main audience was anyone who spoke English. The reason this applies to anyone is because language can change and can be created into new thing and new meanings. So the audience can be anyone because slang can happen in any…
When I finished my English class, I didn't see myself as to be a honor winning author, in any case I knew my work had been able to be comprehensible, legitimate better and making a decent sentence can effortlessly. I figure loathing English when I was in secondary school truly appeared in my grown-up life, however now as a grown-up I think that its one of my most effortless subjects, since I feel that I'm exceptionally imaginative with regards to conveying everything that needs to be conveyed, or giving my sentiment on stories that I've examined. Case in point, my scrutinizing is more specific, and that to me is required for the work that I perform. I've even lost an awesome occupation for my frailty to bestow on…
“Jane, what do you think about trying AP Language and Composition?” she asked with a smile. I never liked English, even though I always did alright. I was never outstanding. I would read the shortest books I could find, and the papers I wrote were always short. I never used big words or complex sentences. English wasn’t very exciting to me, and I refused to put a lot of effort into my assignments. I thought about all my weaknesses as Mrs. Alsip awaited my reply. I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t smart enough. It…
Growing up as a shy person, writing and drawing has affected my cultural identity. Times when I’m insecure about myself has been easier when I write and draw about how I feel. Having a notebook and pencil on a gloomy day can keep me busy for a long while because it’s what I love to do. Also, drawing and writing in my notebook was there when no one was. When I’m just writing my heart out, I feel that it has helped me more than other people think it does. This is a way to cope with the stress that is accumulated from my busy life schedule.This type of ability to be able to draw and write my feels has allowed me to become a persistent person and can be used to describe my cultural…