Language is a medium of communication and a carrier of culture because all that people know about their origin is communicated to them using language. In most cases mother tongues are suitable in expressing ones way of life. The native language is the best in expressing basic societal affairs. Language is the key medium of communication and it should be used in its simplest form because the simpler the language the easier the communication (Diyanni 633-639).
‘Mother Tongue’ a story by Amy Tan tries to take us through the different events one should change the manner in which he or she uses language with the listeners. As the speaker, one should use the appropriate language for the right audience so as to avoid circumstances in which language barrier can occur. The language which Tan uses with her mother is quite different from the one she uses with her listeners when engaging in public or official talks. It is quite evident that when Tan was confronting the stock broker who wanted to con her mother she changes her diction which matched a sophisticated language from the one her mother used. Language becomes hectic when one is trying to fit in a language he or she can hardly talk (Diyanni 633-639).
In the story ‘The Veil’ by Marjane Satrapi, the writer expresses how she experienced culture shock due to the veils that were introduced in 1980s due to the Islamic revolution (Satrapi). They were hot to live with and the students said that they made them resemble dark monsters. Acculturation is very important in language acquisition meaning that when speakers of a language fails to acculturate with the set social norms of the second language, they will be lost and will form a language of their own like slang because they try to modif...
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...ritical views about how life should be to them. They feel that they need to be given a pace to choose the life they want and live according to other expectations (Satrapi).
When one of the children says that they resemble darkness monsters, this shows that they can feel the burden the older generations are lacing on them. The same case applies to formation of language which is done through imitation. The children pick what they feel comfortable to use so long as it is comfortable with their mothers. Mother Tongue is used to show the relationship of the child and the mother and the manner in which they influence one another (Satrapi).
Works Cited
Diyanni, Robert. Hundred Great Essays, 4th Edn. New York: Longman Publishing
Group, 2010
Satrapi, Marjane. The Veil. 2005. 13 September, 2011
< http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/persepspread1.html>
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Language is many things: the arrangement of words in a particular order, uttered in a certain way, denoting certain meaning, a political instrument which evokes images and emotion. Certainly, all of this is a description of the purpose and function of language. But at its most fundamental, language is quite simply the expression of self and the ability to share that expression with others. Baldwin and Tan both highlight the importance of language: to be without language is to be voiceless, and to be voiceless is to silence the song of the self.
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