In “Mother Tongue”, Amy Tan characterizes her mother as a person who is a smart person. Even though she speaks the English which people consider as “broken”, she still can understand what people say almost perfectly. She speaks “broken” English, but it is clear and easy to understand. In my opinion, it is very impressive that she can still manage business with her English. Due to her mother’s broken English, the author was embarrassed when she was young. Her thought change due to the incident in New York. A check from stockbroker was supposed to be sent to her, but it did not come even though it was two weeks late. The author and her mother went to New York to speak with the manager. Even though her English was limited, she still confronted
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Show MoreMy mother went to adult school to learn English, but she did not finish all the levels. Just like Tan’s mother, my mother knows the basics of English such as she, he, sad and happy. My mother can’t use nor can she understand sophisticated words. Tan’s mother also doesn’t understand the English Tan uses when giving a speech or writing a story. Tan explains to us that she cannot use the English she learned in school with her mother because her mother does not understand the concept. As with my mother, she cannot really compose a well-structured sentence. Tan states “some of my friends tell me they understand fifty percent of what my mother says.” (Tan 623) My parents do not speak English due to their lack of pronunciation and the lack of knowing what words mean. They usually do not use it because they have me talk for them. They only speak it if it is necessary, like at their jobs or at the store where there is no one that speaks Spanish and I am not
The Essay written by Amy Tan titled 'Mother Tongue' concludes with her saying, 'I knew I had succeeded where I counted when my mother finished my book and gave her understandable verdict' (39). The essay focuses on the prejudices of Amy and her mother. All her life, Amy's mother has been looked down upon due to the fact that she did not speak proper English. Amy defends her mother's 'Broken' English by the fact that she is Chinese and that the 'Simple' English spoken in her family 'Has become a language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk' (36). Little did she know that she was actually speaking more than one type of English. Amy Tan was successful in providing resourceful information in every aspect. This gave the reader a full understanding of the disadvantages Amy and her mother had with reading and writing. The Essay 'Mother Tongue' truly represents Amy Tan's love and passion for her mother as well as her writing. Finally getting the respect of her critics and lucratively connecting with the reaction her mother had to her book, 'So easy to read' (39). Was writing a book the best way to bond with your own mother? Is it a struggle to always have the urge to fit in? Was it healthy for her to take care of family situations all her life because her mother is unable to speak clear English?
In their articles, Chang Rae-Lee and Amy Tan establish a profound ethos by utilizing examples of the effects their mother-daughter/mother-son relationships have had on their language and writing. Lee’s "Mute in an English-Only World" illustrates his maturity as a writer due to his mother’s influence on growth in respect. Tan, in "Mother Tongue," explains how her mother changed her writing by first changing her conception of language. In any situation, the ethos a writer brings to an argument is crucial to the success in connecting with the audience; naturally a writer wants to present himself/herself as reliable and credible (Lunsford 308). Lee and Tan, both of stereotypical immigrant background, use their memories of deceased mothers to build credibility in their respective articles.
Both the brains and the hearts of the audience have been convinced. She also used many rhetorical strategies, like emotional appeal to convey her rough childhood to the reader. She gave numerous examples of being discriminated, and stereotyped because of their race. Tan’s audience reaches out to family members who speak broken English. Amy Tan also comprehends that although people may not be able to speak perfect English, they can comprehend what others are saying, and that you shouldn't discriminate others because of their race. A persons understanding of someone who speaks “broken-English” could be very limited, but the wisdom of the “broken English” speaker is
Tan states "I think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well. Sociologists and linguists probably will tell you that a persons developing language skills are more influenced by peers. And I believe that it affected my results on achievement tests, IQ tests and the SAT. She perfectly explains why she thinks her mothers "broken English" affected and limited her possibilities. Because her mother used broken English, Tan, growing up had become used to the English her mother used and she would write papers and essays according to the English she was most familiar with. Even now being an English major she
Mother Tongue by Amy Tan was one of the best short stories I have ever read and I am excited to analyze it. Tan was born in California to Chinese immigrants. She writes in her story about the struggles she faced with language. Tan makes great use of ethos, pathos and logos in her essay to make her claim that there are many Englishes, and none should be considered wrong.
Mother Tongue is about the creator's battles with her semantic personality, her moms "cracked" or "broken" variety of English and the association with her mom. Toward the start of the piece we are told about the diverse kinds of English she would talk with her mom and with every other person; we are then told how English wasn't Amy's most grounded subject, and later on we are told about the troubles her mom experienced due to the way she communicated in English and the bias she confronted. In the content Tan uses an assortment of complex gadgets to convey what needs be, tans utilization of parallel structures is utilized every now and again all through the piece, for instance, she begins the primary section with the expression "I am not a researcher of English" and … demonstrate more substance…
Summary - A. Tan: In Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue,” she explains the different Englishes she uses throughout her day. Using anecdotal examples, Tan confronts the disrespect most Americans have for “broken” English speakers and their disregard for language barriers. She questions the education system, through her perspective an immigrant’s child, that pushes Asian-Americans towards STEM. Throughout her work, Tan weaves in her journey as an Asian-American writer.
In Amy Tan’s, “Mother Tongue, the author uses a great deal of diction that is easy to follow along and understand her story no matter the audience’s cultural background. While in Sandra Cisneros’s, “Only Daughter”, the author uses examples and sentence structure that the audience is able to feel and emotionally feel connected to. While both authors use different techniques to gain the attention of the audience, they both effectively win any reader’s attention from any cultural background, therefore communicating their interpretation of language in culture.
In the work of Amy Tan’s “Mother’s Tongue” she provides a look into how she adapted her language to assimilate into American culture. She made changes to her language because her mother heavily relied on her for translation. She was the voice of her mother, relaying information in standard English to those who were unable to understand her mother’s broken english. She tells about her mother’s broken english and its impact on her communication to those outside their culture. Her mothers broken english limited others’ perception of her intelligence, and even her own perception of her mother was scewed: Tan said, “I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mothers ‘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.” (419) The use of standard english was a critical component to Tan’s assimilation into American culture. Standard English was an element she acquired to help her mother but more importantly is was an element that helped in her gain success as a writer. Tan changed her ‘Englishes’ (family talk) to include standard English that she had learnt in school and through books, the forms of English that she did not use at home with her mother. (417-418) Tan realized the ch...
In “Mother Tongue”, Tan writes about the awareness and discrimination about her broken English compared to Standard English. In Tan's essay she quotes her mother’s speech to demonstrate her mother's “Broken English”. Amy tan said “You should know that my mother’s expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands”(467). In other words, her mother had better command in English, and this was not shown in her story. The use of anecdotes and pathos, in Amy Tan’s story, Mother Tongue Narrates the discrimination of the Chinese immigrants, this prejudice takes place in the northern part of America caused by the immigrants accent. Tan figures out one must remain true to oneself in order to break the cultural barriers.
My mother’s English might not be as perfect as everyone wants it to be, but my mother is always going to be my mother. We need to respect everyone who doesn’t speak enough of a language, we need to help them, and not judge or criticize them. Amy’s mother had
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, was written for all kinds of people. Those who, like her mother, speak a broken form of English, those who speak a more...
Tan communicates that her mother’s “limited” English also limited her perception of her mother’s thoughts. She stated, “I believe that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say.” This statement struck a relatable feeling within me because I too have grown up with a mother whose English is limited. Unlike the author, however, my mother is American but with little education. I often find myself spelling everyday words such as “Success” or “accommodate” and the gut wrenching feeling of guilt that ensues because I feel a superiority of intelligence over her. The way that Amy explained how bank associates or department store associates did not take her mother seriously hit home in the fact that due to my mother’s shortage of intelligible words, she too is never taken seriously or given good service. It is then that I find myself telling the associate the educated version of when my mother would say, “yawl need to fix that, uh uh!” in her heavy southern drawl and they’d follow with, “excuse me?” However, in all my hesitation, I feel as though I have a responsibility to enlighten my mother of the “proper” way to speak, all while harboring feelings of
Amy Tan’s short article called “Mother Tongue” shows a limitation in speech does not necessarily mean a limitation on life. She tells the story of how her mother changed her view on language. While giving a well practiced speech, she realized that the speech sounded wrong. Having her mother in the audience gave her this feeling of doubt. “Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use” (Tan 35). Throughout Tan’s life she’s had to overcome several difficulties that her mother’s “limited English” have brought upon her. She would take on her mother’s responsibilities of communicating with other people. Her mother’s language dependency on Tan made her feel embarrassed. Most Asian people were advised to go into engineering because of their improper English. Tan felt this label was placed on her as well. As she grew up she saw her people’s stereotypes as a reason to try for something deemed unreachable. “Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving assumptions made about me” (Tan 39). She became an English major her first year of college and started writing fiction in 1985. Tan conquered an assumption put on her by others and even herself. Tan’s article appealed to emotions and has logic because she shared her story and backed it up with how people treated her and her mother. She showed boldness by writing her article and giving her courage to others.