Amy Tan's 'Mother Tongue' By Paul Roberts

1272 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reflection on cultural diversity

Jasmine Garza
Dr. Nubla
English 097
12 May 2016 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. In the article“Speech Communities” by Paul Roberts, he uses examples in the text to helps give his audience an understanding of what a exactly speech community is and how they are formed in our lives. …show more content…

Language can defined the type of person you become and it has an influence on our choices as well as lifestyle. Language itself has become a way of seeing life in a different perspectives. Tan discusses the many ways in which language has played a role in her life and the result from it. I can relate to Tan’s experience to some extent because I come from a bilingual household too. Just like Tan, I am one of my mother’s main source of communication with people who don’t speak spanish. I believe the notion of Tan’s “Mother Tongue” is stating that just because someone who cannot speak the English language perfectly, is considered less intelligent to many compared to those who can understand and speaks it fluently. But what makes us all unique is that it is rare to find two or more people who speak the same exact English. Even though both Tan and I helped our parent and come from different ethnic backgrounds; Tan came from a Chinese family while I came from a Hispanic family. We both share similar ideas about the language spoken in our household, and it was also a big challenge for both of us while we were being raised by an immigrant parent who spoke only “limited English”(Tan

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Se Habla Español

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Se Habla Español,” is written by a Latin author, Tanya Barrientos; and Amy Tan, a Chinese author, wrote “Mother Tongue”. In both literate narratives the authors write about their experiences with language and how it impacted their lives. In This essay we will be discussing the similarities as well as the differences in the stories and the authors of “Se Habla Español” and “Mother Tongue”. We will discuss how both authors use a play on words in their titles, how language has impacted their lives, how struggling with language has made them feel emotionally, and how both authors dealt with these issues.

    Read More

  • Richard Rodriguez Public And Private Language Summary

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    The essay starts off by talking about a common belief shared by many parents now about how students miss out on “a great deal by not being taught their family’s language”(Rodriguez 525). But the author states that this isn’t always true especially considering the children who are socially disadvantaged in any way, they more than likely consider their native tongue or the language used at home to be just that a private language that should only be used around or with the family, he also highlights how odd it was that his childhood classmates

    Read More

  • The Mother Tongue by Demetria Martinez

    2546 Words  | 6 Pages

    Demetria Martínez’s Mother Tongue is divided into five sections and an epilogue. The first three parts of the text present Mary/ María’s, the narrator, recollection of the time when she was nineteen and met José Luis, a refuge from El Salvador, for the first time. The forth and fifth parts, chronologically, go back to her tragic experience when she was seven years old and then her trip to El Salvador with her son, the fruit of her romance with José Luis, twenty years after she met José Luis. And finally the epilogue consists a letter from José Luis to Mary/ María after her trip to El Salvador. The essay traces the development of Mother Tongue’s principal protagonists, María/ Mary. With a close reading of the text, I argue how the forth chapter, namely the domestic abuse scene, functions as a pivotal point in the Mother Tongue as it helps her to define herself.

    Read More

  • In Richard Rodriguez's Mother Tongue And A Memoir Of A Bilingual Childhood

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language is an important part of who we are. It influences the way we think and behave on a great scale. However, sometimes it is forced upon us to go in different directions just so we can physically and mentally feel as if we belong to the society in which we live in. Just as we see in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez’s “A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, both authors faced some challenges along the way by coping with two different languages, while still trying to achieve the social position which they desired.

    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

  • 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

  • Mother Tongue by Amy Tan

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    English is an invisible gate. Immigrants are the outsiders. And native speakers are the gatekeepers. Whether the gate is wide open to welcome the broken English speakers depends on their perceptions. Sadly, most of the times, the gate is shut tight, like the case of Tan’s mother as she discusses in her essay, "the mother tongue." People treat her mother with attitudes because of her improper English before they get to know her. Tan sympathizes for her mother as well as other immigrants. Tan, once embarrassed by her mother, now begins her writing journal through a brand-new kaleidoscope. She sees the beauty behind the "broken" English, even though it is different. Tan combines repetition, cause and effect, and exemplification to emphasize her belief that there are more than one proper way (proper English) to communicate with each other. Tan hopes her audience to understand that the power of language- “the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth”- purposes to connect societies, cultures, and individuals, rather than to rank our intelligence.

    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 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

  • Mother Tongue Analysis

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Life is tough when one doesn’t speak the native language or is new to a country. “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is a personal essay written in the first person point of view that tells the audience a story of a non-English speaker. Tan shares her story of how difficult it is for her mother to communicate with others. The presumption that people treat one another differently and with disrespect when one does not speak English is categorical truth. Tan’s purpose is to share her story and give the audiences the message of how tough life can be for non-English speakers because they have to work hard to achieve success; therefore, non-English speaker deserves the same respect as other people. Tan’s experiences along with my experiences are similar because

    Read More

  • Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Tan’s essay she indicates that her mother’s Chinese language is what helped shape her to notice, to understand, and to learn how the world works. For example, she learned that people could easily try to take advantage of others who can not speak the standard English language. She also learned that labels are given as soon as someone opens their mouth. Tan expresses the way her mother taught her and that was the way she understood things as a child and also as an adult. My mother’s Spanish language has also shaped me in order to understand things about the world. For example, I lived and grew up with my parents my entire life and their words influenced me in certain ways that made me who I am today. They gave me self confidence, a political identity, and my own beliefs. My mother always said “hechale ganas” meaning try your best and “ve con dios” meaning walk with God. It lead me to express things in my self confidence to one day help me become successful, to help me find my political identity in believing that every culture and community deserves equal rights, and my beliefs that I can one day become more faithful with God. My parents are the ones who made me who I am and If we spoke just standard English I would have a different perception and understanding of the

    Read More

  • Summary Of How To Tame A Wild Tongue

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay, “How To Tame A Wild Tongue”, by Gloria Anzaldua and the essay, “Mother Tongue”, by Amy Tan, the writers explore the use of language to demean other people. Amy Tan’s essay focuses on how some people look down on others who do not speak English without an accent. Anzaldua’s essay focuses on how people do not have a broad view of language and often look down upon others who do not speak the language that they speak. The essays both acknowledge how people often exalt their own language while demeaning other languages because the people want to look more powerful by giving their own language correctness while discrediting the language of others.

    Read More

  • The Power of Language in American Culture

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    Amy Tan is the author of the essay Mother Tongue. In this essay, she explains how the power of language has influenced her life through her mother and the experiences they have had together concerning her mother's English-speaking ability, or lack there of. She was born into a Chinese family where both Chinese and English were spoken. She is sensitive to and accepting of people's lingual differences. She talks about how the inability to speak English well in America gives others the wrong impression: "...everything is limited, including people's perceptions of the limited English speaker" (Tan 13). She is saying here that prolific English speakers place limitations on people who have limited English-speak...

    Read More

  • How Does Language Shape The Way We Think

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...xpressing her Chinese culture. Mastering a second language allows her to articulate her and her mother’s thoughts; it is a foundation for her pride and a foundation to express herself. For Gloria Anzaldua, instead of choosing one language over the other, she chose a mix of the two and fights for it. She realized the value of her language when she lost it and now treasures it. The kind of Spanish she speaks is neither English nor Spanish, but both. It is overflowing with culture from Medieval Spain, France, Germany, etc., just from the origins of the words. It is her pride and a representation of herself, fighting and living. In conclusion, in addition to Lera Boroditsky’s article proving that the structure of language affects how we think, the articles by Eric Liu, Amy Tan, and Gloria Anzaldua show how language is a foundation for a person’s culture, pride, and self.

    Read More

  • Difference Between Bilingualism And Multilingualism

    1754 Words  | 4 Pages

    He says that a speech community is a group of people who interact by means of speech. In addition, Hudson (1998 : 24) also defines speech community as all people who speak a single language and so share notions of what is same or different in phonology or grammar.

    Read More

More about Amy Tan's 'Mother Tongue' By Paul Roberts

Open Document