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Mother Tongue Essa

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Mother Tongue Essa
In the essay ‘Mother Tongue’ (Tan 1990) it is portrayed that Amy Tan is an Asian American writer. She comes from a cultural background where English is not the main language spoken. This reflected her upbringing as she was raised in a country where English was the first language. This experience reflected her relationship within the language and her daily life. Amy Tan perceives language as ‘’The way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex ideal or a simple truth.’’ (Tan, 1990, pg.1) This gave Tan a stronger linked relationship with language as she viewed it more than just a figure of speech or writing. Furthermore Tan believes that the English language is a very powerful tool.
Tan presents to the readers of the article that the way individuals talk to one another is impacted by their relationships. For example she mentions that the way she communicates with her mother is different to the way she would interact with someone else with stronger English. Tan found herself using sentences such as ‘’Not waste money that way.’’ (Tan, 1990, pg.1) Which highlights that when she’s with family members she uses what she refers to as ‘’broken’’ (Tan, 1990, pg.5) English. This example portrays that the ‘’different’’ (Tan, 1990, pg.5) Englishes are useful in relationships. As individuals we feel a stronger connection when we are able to communicate with someone using the same kind of English as they do, as it enables people to form a stronger relationship. This is powerful tool as it will strengthen relationships between individuals due to the common style of language used.
The power of the English language also has the ability to make individuals feel as though they are disconnected to someone else, like how Tan felt like towards to mother. Tan describes her mother’s English as ‘’broken’’ (Tan, 1990, pg.5) and ‘’needed to be fixed.’’ (Tan, 1990, pg.2) She was embarrassed about her mother’s language and felt like she was unable to bond with her mother due to her
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