Language is a medium of communication and a carrier of culture because all that people know about their origin is communicated to them using language. In most cases mother tongues are suitable in expressing ones way of life. The native language is the best in expressing basic societal affairs. Language is the key medium of communication and it should be used in its simplest form because the simpler the language the easier the communication (Diyanni 633-639). ‘Mother Tongue’ a story by Amy Tan tries to take us through the different events one should change the manner in which he or she uses language with the listeners. As the speaker, one should use the appropriate language for the right audience so as to avoid circumstances in which language barrier can occur. The language which Tan uses with her mother is quite different from the one she uses with her listeners when engaging in public or official talks. It is quite evident that when Tan was confronting the stock broker who wanted to con her mother she changes her diction which matched a sophisticated language from the one her mother used. Language becomes hectic when one is trying to fit in a language he or she can hardly talk (Diyanni 633-639). In the story ‘The Veil’ by Marjane Satrapi, the writer expresses how she experienced culture shock due to the veils that were introduced in 1980s due to the Islamic revolution (Satrapi). They were hot to live with and the students said that they made them resemble dark monsters. Acculturation is very important in language acquisition meaning that when speakers of a language fails to acculturate with the set social norms of the second language, they will be lost and will form a language of their own like slang because they try to modif... ... middle of paper ... ...ritical views about how life should be to them. They feel that they need to be given a pace to choose the life they want and live according to other expectations (Satrapi). When one of the children says that they resemble darkness monsters, this shows that they can feel the burden the older generations are lacing on them. The same case applies to formation of language which is done through imitation. The children pick what they feel comfortable to use so long as it is comfortable with their mothers. Mother Tongue is used to show the relationship of the child and the mother and the manner in which they influence one another (Satrapi). Works Cited Diyanni, Robert. Hundred Great Essays, 4th Edn. New York: Longman Publishing Group, 2010 Satrapi, Marjane. The Veil. 2005. 13 September, 2011 < http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/persepspread1.html>
It is interesting for Lisa Kanae to use three different voices in her book, Sista Tongue. The structure of Sista Tongue is different from standard books as if to make her words flow and become active. Her message still holds truth in today’s society. In many homes, younger generations face the inadequacy of being unable to understand their mother tongues while their parents struggle with learning English. Code-switching is natural for bilingual people and those that speak to other sub-cultures. Lisa Kanae’s different voices are similar to
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.
Some relatives have strong relationships. They stay together, having their own language which accompany them to grow up. Personal language expresses their life. Their language can be understood by each other but can not be understood by strangers. It can not be captured by language test; it also can not be understood easily by language research. It is like mother’s speaking, only being captured by sons and daughters, can not be understood by teachers, professors, and researchers, “I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of thoughts.” (Amy Than 139) Author, never expressing her love and feeling by writing, uses personal language to show her affection to her mother, since personal language is more genial than normal communication language, and witness the growth of each
Language can be seen as not only a sign of knowledge and scholarship, but a sign of close or open-mindedness. Language is associated with imperialism (especially in this novel, and especially relating to the United States). Readers often find that stories about other cultures view the English language as overbearing and unyielding. (English speakers feel that other cultures should learn their language).
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.
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.
Her mother has long known her limitations in life because of her English speaking skills. She proves her mother’s limitations in life by telling two stories. One starts off when her mother forced her to talk over the phone when she was just fifteen. She had to talk to her stockbroker in New York, acting as her mother, Mrs. Tan. Her mother already knew they wouldn’t take her seriously because of her English. They then travel to New York from California, where her mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting at her boss in “impeccable broken English” (Tan). This is supposed to be a more humorous story, but then the second story is much more serious. Tan talks about the time her mother was at the hospital for a benign brain tumor, and they basically gave her no sympathy for losing her CAT scan. Her mother really tries to speak her best English all while explaining to the hospital that both her husband and son had both died of brain tumors. Coincidentally, once the hospital called her daughter, who spoke perfect English, they miraculously found the CAT scan and they apologized “for any suffering” her mother had gone through (Tan). These two stories clearly show linguistic discrimination, and how it can negatively affect everyday
If you are not fluent in a language, you probably don 't give much thought to your ability to make your personality attractive, to be in touch with the people and be understood in your world, that doesn’t mean you are an underestimated person. Every person has something special to make them more unique, remarkable, and gorgeous between people. The opinions could lead towards success, or those opinions could be one that is losing, and have a negative impact on how people connect with you. In Amy Tan 's “Mother Tongue” she made this book for several reasons. She had started her life by learning language, and she always loved to spend her time to learn language, but this story focuses about Amy Tan 's mother with her terrible English,
Socio-cultural factors have an important effect on second language learning. In particular, cultural exposure plays a significant role in the language learning process. Cultural ignorance and prejudice may cause difficulties for language learners and the degree of exposure also determines how fast a second language learner can acquire a new language. In this mini research essay, I will first examine how people from China and Middle Eastern will be stereotyped. Next, I will discuss why people have similar cultural background with the native speakers learn a new language better. Moreover, I will show different learning strategies people used and finally, how these factors affect second language learning will be discussed.
It also can define as tool of communication between people over the world. Hearing or reading what other is saying is a benefit thing to get more experience when facing a problem. Sometimes language is a savior from your sadness. For example, if you nervous and do not have patience to hold yourself from anger than suddenly someone talk to you with quiet and peaceful words that will be helpful to stop you from getting in trouble. Moreover, being the most significant tool of communication lead to have an information about the marginalization to many groups around the world. Language plays a key role on every interaction in our everyday
Language is a very important tool that permits us to communicate with others, and also it helps us to the development of culture, because “What we say influences what we think, what we feel and what we believe” (Budani, n.d.), so it can be said that from language people are able to transmit their thoughts, ideologies and beliefs and Also thanks to its culture can be transmitted and learned over the years through idioms and expressions of a particular place. Language allows the interaction between people from different contexts and creates social relations that create a cultural mix as
Language is many things: the arrangement of words in a particular order, uttered in a certain way, denoting certain meaning, a political instrument which evokes images and emotion. Certainly, all of this is a description of the purpose and function of language. But at its most fundamental, language is quite simply the expression of self and the ability to share that expression with others. Baldwin and Tan both highlight the importance of language: to be without language is to be voiceless, and to be voiceless is to silence the song of the self.
The relationship amongst identity and language will dependably include an complicated blend of individual, social and political variables which work to build individuals as having a place with a social gathering, or to avoid them from it. In the readings, different examples are pointed of identity as we see a mother fighting to keep her daughter 's identity alive, in another you see how learning a new language how affected poorly on a family and finally Mr. Li, from crazy English who has helped many individuals with their language difficulty.
Language is a part of our everyday lives, and we can describe the meaning of language in many ways. As suggested in Gee and Hayes (2011, p.6 ) people can view language as something in our minds or something existing in our world in the form of speech, audio recordings, and writings or we can view language as a way of communicating with a group of people. Language can be used to express our emotions, make sense of our mental and abstract thoughts and assists us in communicating with others around us. Language is of vital importance for children to enable them to succeed in school and everyday life. Everyone uses both oral and written language. Language developed as a common ability amongst human beings with the change
The mother tongue is regarded as a particular language learnt as you grow up, rather than a language learned at school or as an adult (Cambridge Dictionaries Online, 2013). The term mother tongue originates from conception that linguistic skills of a child are improved and shaped by the mother, but it does not mean that the language spoken by the mother would be the fundamental vernacular that the child would learn. In this essay I will argue that the mother tongue of the learners should not be the medium of instruction in all South African schools.