Response: Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” In the essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan (1990)‚ which discusses her mother’s way of speaking through “broken English”‚ Tan explores the different “Englishes” that she has come into contact with in her everyday life; these variations have presented struggles in her mother’s life. Tan illustrates this to her audience by giving examples of the struggles her mother was faced with due to “her” English and the many versions of English that surrounds Tan. Tan examines
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I think the main point Amy Tan is trying to make in A Mother’s Tongue is that words are more than just words‚ sometimes you have to look behind them and read in between to understand the true meaning. For example‚ her mother did not speak perfect English‚ but the points and ideas she was trying to get across are what really were important. Not all people who speak the English language speak it the same way. A language can be subdivided into any number of dialects which each vary in some way from
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Mother Tongue Amy Tan Amy Tan is an Asian writer who grew up in America and had to over come her difficulties with the English language. She grew up with her mother who didn’t speak proper language she spoke “broken” English. During Amy’s childhood the broken English affected her and made her different from the other kids. Tan has faced many difficulties in her life because of her mothers broken English which she grew up with: it has developed her to be the person she is today. When Tan was
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After reading Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue”‚ I realized how many different “Englishes” I have spoken or used‚ as well as how many I have heard in my life-particularly while in the military. For example‚ how I speak with authority figures versus friends‚ and how I speak with my daughter as opposed to “educated” adults. Although the English I speak with friends and coworkers is often filled with slang and swear words‚ I would never speak like that in many other settings. One of those times is‚ when
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Amy Tan‚ author of “Mother Tongue”‚ wrote a novella on the difficulties of her mother speaking and writing English; or more simply put‚ learning the correct rhetoric. Throughout the story‚ she ridicules her mother for her lack of ability to better express her thoughts in the 2nd hardest language on the Earth but seems to do it in the most loving way possible. Well‚ she tried to the best extent she could. Given the context of the situation Amy isn’t a horrible person or hatful towards her mother‚
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Mother Tongue is a story about a mother-daughter relationship between the writer and her mother and the difficulties that they had to face as immigrants in a foreign country. The story also centers around the difficulties that her mother had with English and how she evolved her own dialect that later became part of their relationship. At the beginning of the story‚ Tan makes it clear that she was not much of an enthusiast of English making her claim that she was no expert on English. “I am not a
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Tan explains the difference between the English she speaks at home and the English she speaks outside the home. Tan identifies her mom as an educated woman however strangers pretend to ignore her because of the way how she speaks English and she is not able to receive the same respect as Tan does. Claims that she had a limited perception of her mother. Explains that speech changes with the people you interact with. Tan concludes that she is proud of her mother’s way of speaking English and wants
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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
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Tan Begins to cry when she is told that her crush will be a guest at dinner‚ because she is not confident that he will be satisfied or accustomed to the nature of a Chinese dinner and would instead prefer the standard American dishes and would be shocked by the practices and customs of the Chinese dinner table. Tan’s mother is attempting to demonstrate the importance of a sense of pride for her own ethnic ancestry. Her mother recognizes her daughter’s own embarrassment and shame‚ and intends on be
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from in Amy Tan’s "Mother Tongue". Firstly‚ and most importantly‚ Tan wants to convey the message that words are more than just words and sometimes we must read between them to fully understand their meaning. Another message conveyed in this essay is that just because someone is using "broken" English‚ does not mean they do not fully understand what is going on. Finally‚ another important message is that standardized tests only test for standardized thinking. Throughout this essay‚ Tan describes
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