Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary

245 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Mother tongue insights

In her article, Mother Tongue, author Amy Tan states that there are different types of “Englishes” used which each convey their own message. She develops this statement by describing her own personal experiences with language. During one of her speeches, Tan noticed that the language she used in an academic speech was different than the language she would have used if speaking to her mom. In an effort to sound more knowledgeable, she had filled her speech with grammatically complicated phrases that hindered her audience's ability to comprehend what she was saying. Tan grew up with a mom whose first language was Chinese and her second language was English. Her mom commonly used what most would refer to as “broken English.” Sometimes, sentences

Show More
Related

  • Amy Tan's Mother Tongue and Jimmy Santiago Baca's Coming Into Language

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the course of reading two separate texts it is generally possible to connect the two readings even if they do not necessarily seem to be trying to convey the same message. The two articles, “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, and “Coming Into Language” by Jimmy Santiago Baca, do have some very notable similarities. They are two articles from a section in a compilation about the construction of language. The fact that these two articles were put into this section makes it obvious that they will have some sort of connection. This essay will first summarize the two articles and break them down so that they are easily comparable; also, this essay will compare the two articles and note similarities and differences the texts may have.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Se Habla Español

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Se Habla Español,” the author, Tanya, talks about her personal experience with dealing with language issues. Tanya was born in Guatemala and moved to the U.S when she was only three years old. Tanya’s mother did not want her to speak Spanish, because they believed that when they moved to the U.S speaking only English would help her blend in. For so long Tanya believed that speaking Spanish went hand in hand with being poor and speaking only English made her feel superior. After many years she has tried to learn Spanish but has found it quite difficult because although that is her native language it was like trying to learning a whole new language for her. In “Mother Tongue,” Amy’s explains how she has come to the realization that she speaks more than one “English,” meaning that the way she speaks in front of a crowd is different than the way she speaks with her mother. The way Amy speaks with her mother is still English although it is not proper. Amy expresses how she does not really like the phrase “broken English,” because if something is broken it needs to be fixed and she does not feel that her mother’s English needs to be

    Read More

  • Amy Tan Mother Tongue Quotes

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “Mother Tongue,” by Amy Tan, Mrs. Tan talks about (in the book) her life and how she grew up with different Englishes was very hard and how it has affected her today. The setting of the book goes from being at lecture to the past of Amy Tan and her mother along with the different Englishes she had to come accustomed to. In “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, the author’s attitude towards the “different Englishes” she grew up with is fascinated. Amy Tan conveys this attitude through wanting to learn all different kinds of Englishes, her use of Englishes in her novel, and the acceptance she developed of her mother’s broken English.

    Read More

  • Twinkies

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    An individual’s background is where one comes from and how he or she is raised. Tan is Chinese American. She has a traditional Chinese mother who speaks “broken” English. Tan states that, “It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than ‘broken’, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed[. . .]” (Tan 43). Tan is an American school girl. As Tan listens to her mother use that type of dialect, it causes her perception of her mother to be distraught. Tan believed it “[. . .] reflected the quality of what [her mother] had to say” (Tan 43). For instance, department store clerks, bank employees and restaurant workers will ignore her mother when they can not understand her. Tan is a writer who loves the use of language. She says, “Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all-all the Englishes I grew up with” (Tan 41). She is able to adapt her dialect to her audience. With her mother, she uses “broken” English; with her colleagues, she uses correct English grammar.

    Read More

  • Mother Tongue by Amy Tan

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Amy Tan's 'Mother Tongue' By Paul Roberts

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are two forms of languages; public and private. The "private" language only spoken with family and close intimate relationships. The "public" language used in society, work, and school. Both of these help form two identities, that help us connect and communicate with one another. In the essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan and also in the article “Speech Communities” by Paul Roberts ,we will see how both private and public language demonstrate how we view, and grow from each language.

    Read More

  • What Is The Mother Tongue Summary By Amy Tan

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    Amy Tan, the author of The Joy Luck Club, talks about in the article, Mother Tongue, how her mother’s broken English would affect her daily life, how people treat her because of it, and how she feels about her mother’s language. She also talks about when she was in school she was pushed towards science and maths because of her cultural background, as an Asian American student; when she really wanted to write English and become an English major. In the beginning paragraph of the article, Tan explains how she has to depict the different Englishes she uses throughout her daily life in writing and how she is able to deal with it. Tan recently learned about the different types of English she uses daily. When speaking to a group of people about her book, The Joy Luck Club, she didn’t realize a difference in the way she was speaking until she saw her mother sitting in the room listening to her speak.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God Language Analysis

    311 Words  | 1 Pages

    The way people speak English is primarily affected by where and from whom they learned to speak it. In many cases,

    Read More

  • Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    Despite growing up amidst a language deemed as “broken” and “fractured”, Amy Tan’s love for language allowed her to embrace the variations of English that surrounded her. In her short essay “Mother Tongue”, Tan discusses the internal conflict she had with the English learned from her mother to that of the English in her education. Sharing her experiences as an adolescent posing to be her mother for respect, Tan develops a frustration at the difficulty of not being taken seriously due to one’s inability to speak the way society expects. Disallowing others to prove their misconceptions of her, Tan exerted herself in excelling at English throughout school. She felt a need to rebel against the proverbial view that writing is not a strong suit of someone who grew up learning English in an immigrant family. Attempting to prove her mastery of the English language, Tan discovered her writing did not show who she truly was. She was an Asian-American, not just Asian, not just American, but that she belonged in both demographics. Disregarding the idea that her mother’s English could be something of a social deficit, a learning limitation, Tan expanded and cultivated her writing style to incorporate both the language she learned in school, as well as the variation of it spoken by her mother. Tan learned that in order to satisfy herself, she needed to acknowledge both of her “Englishes” (Tan 128).

    Read More

  • Amy Tan's Mother Tongue

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    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?

    Read More

  • Miscommunication In The Joy Luck Club And Drowning

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    Whenever an immigrant must first learn English when coming to America, it is always a challenge. This is due to the fact that English is one of the hardest languages to learn, especially in the verbal sense. The term “Broken English” strives from the lack of certain placement and filler words within the language. For example, instead of saying “Let us not waste money that way” immigrants will say “Not waste money that way” (Tan). Tan, who is the famous author of The Joy Luck Club and Saving Fish from Drowning, and whose mother was a Chinese immigrant, never liked the term “Broken English” since it has a negative context or seems unwholesome. When referring to “Broken English” and the heavy accents that come from the immigrant's native country, native English speakers claim to never understand what the other person is saying. As a child, Tan had to pretend to be her own mother to speak to formal officials; such as, stock brokers and advisers. This is because they claimed that they could not understand a single word of English she spoke (Tan). Not being able to understand what another person is trying to say is a direct form of

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Amy Tan article “Mother tongue”, Amy Tan was talking about her love and fascination of language in daily life. Amy Tan explores the various forms of English that people from around the world use as they immigrate to the U.S. and how they are classified by the way they speak. Her mother plays a big role in telling of how her perspective on language has been changed. The author’s analyze the purpose and evaluate the effectiveness in her writing using persuasive devices to influence her audience. Through the article Amy use the various different rhetorical strategies such as the pathos and logos.

    Read More

  • Amy Tan Mother Tongue Thesis

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Mother Tongue” is an essay that show the power of language and how Amy Tan uses the many forms of English and the different ways in which the language she knew impacted her life. I feel connected to Tan’s essay because I also come from a multilingual home. I have smart emigrant parents who are educated, but even though they are educated they still need my help with communicating with people occasionally. I believe the most important idea in Tan’s “Mother Tongue” is the limitation that an imperfect English can cause in a society and the richness that such English can bring to

    Read More

  • Mother Tongue by Amy Tan

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    Growing up in a bilingual family, Tan can hardly escape from encountering phrases such as “limited English” and “broken English” for countless times. She dislikes the phrases as she mentions, “it has always bothered me that I can think of no other way to describe it other than ‘broken,’ as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as it lacked of certain wholeness and soundness. I’ve heard other terms, ‘limited English,’ for example. However, they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions of limited English speaker” (634). People raise and teach their children the definition of “limited” as imperfect, “damaged and nee...

    Read More

  • Amy Tan’s A Mother’s Tongue

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue,” is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks “limited English” (36) as Tan’s mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others. As Tan’s primary care giver, her mother was a significant part of her childhood, and she has a strong influence over Tan’s writing style. Being raised by her mother taught her that one’s perception of the world is heavily based upon the language spoken at home. Alternately, people’s perceptions of one another are based largely on the language used.

    Read More

More about Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary

Open Document