Amy Tan's Oppression Of Language

Reading and learning from other author’s conversations has been intriguing and the opportunity to join the conversation excites me. In this essay, I will be digging deeper into three texts and using them to formulate a claim regarding language. Language is interesting to study because it is so important to everyone in the world. Language has the potential to bring people together and solve world problems. However, it can tear people apart and cause violent conflicts. On a social side, language can be a barrier for some and a way to take advantage of others. Without a solid control of language, people may struggle in society. My argument is that control of language is unfair to certain individuals because it leads to discrimination, lack

Amy Tan argues this in Mother Tongue when she discusses her mother’s story, “My mother has long realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on the phone to pretend I was she. In this guise, I was forced to ask for information or even to complain and yell at people who had been rude to her.” Tan’s mother was taken advantage of so often that she had to turn to her own daughter for help. This is a clear example of people with poor language being taken advantage of. A key task of language is to communicate and negotiate, but without control of language, it is near impossible to accomplish those important

He talks about the role of language in a political and social sense. Baldwin claims that, “It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power.” He believes that an individual’s language relates to their political power. Control over language gives you a voice in societal decisions. Baldwin’s final claim is about identity, which ties in perfectly with my final point. He talks about English accents and how they play a part in power and identity: “To open your mouth in England is (if I may use black English) to ‘put your business in the street’: You have confessed your parents, your youth, your school, your salary, your self-esteem, and, alas, your future.” A person’s control goes beyond their personal decisions, diving deeper into one’s background. People perceive others differently based on how they perceive their background. I will be discussing this much more in my next