Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary

Our Founding Fathers of the United States embodies John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington who all spoke English. Let’s acknowledge that our entire presidential body is full of English speakers. Imagine seeing a non-English speaker in the store clueless because they don’t know how to ask for service in English? Because they know the bewilderment they’ll receive from the employee trying to interpret what their saying. Imagine how much better they would feel knowing English and not feeling discouraged to ask for guidance. Declaring English as the national would prevent situations like this, avoid excluding non-English speakers, and transform ways of life.

In Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, Tan presumes that her mother is treated as an ignorant person most of the time because of her mother’s native language and the “broken” language she expresses. Tan reminisces about how she would have to talk to people for her mother because they didn’t take her mother serious. If Amy’s mother learned English soon as she moved to America she wouldn’t have to rely on her daughter. It’s not that what her mother was communicating wasn’t important but, most aren’t accustomed to her

Intimidation was felt by new foreign exchange student David, thrown into the “language pool” (Sedaris591), and told to “sink or swim” (Sedaris591). As he looked around he saw all returning students and appeared out of place. Each student introduced themselves and, their professor ridiculed the, for the way they spoke French. Students continued to stride in to class that followed the professor deriding anything the students said. It came to the point where the students became reticent unless spoken to. Once David began to understand what his professor was saying he felt like “The world opened up, and it was with great joy”