The idea, that feminism is not limited to the biological fact of being female, but rather encompasses multiple cultural, religious and ethnic factors that shape ones experience as women, is an extremely powerful idea. Women do not share a life experience solely based on the fact that they are women. Culture, traditions, religion can be equally important in determining what life will be like for a woman. Dixon states that “It becomes clear that Western feminism is not a cross-cultural model of feminist identity and that while increased rights are a common goal for women globally, different cultures approach this progress differently and according to their own beliefs”. While reading “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, I was very interested in hearing about the experience she had growing up as a non-native speaker. …show more content…
I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say.” Not only did Tan perceive her mother in a simpler way, dismissing her intelligence and sophistication, but so did many other people who heard Tan’s Mother speak. The way she spoke using incorrect words, simple sentences and improper grammar mad outsiders think she was not a competent interlocutor. Many immigrants are facing similar issues. Because they do not have a perfect command of the language spoken in the country they are dismissed by salespeople, real estate agents, and office personnel. The command of the language also affects the career paths non-native speakers choose. Tan wonders, why there are not more Asian Americans represented in American literature. She thinks that there are other Asian-American students whose English spoken in the home might also be described as “broken” or “limited” and that those students are being steered more toward the precise disciplines such as math and engineering. I can not help but agree with her sentiment since I understand how difficult the nuances of a foreign language can be for someone who learned the language rather than had it
The writings of Amy Tan and Richard Rodriguez’s depicts a bilingual story based on two differing culture. On Mother Tongue, “Tan explores the effect of her mother’s “broken” English on her life and writing” (506). On the other hand, Richard Rodriguez “recounts the origin of his complex views of bilingual education through Public and Private Language” (512). From a child’s eyes, Tan and Rodriguez describe each joys and pain growing up in a non-English speaking family. Hence, may be viewed that cultural differences plays a major role on how one handles adversities.
The author demonstrates a personal example of how communication became a barrier because of the way Tan had to assist when her mother would speak. Tan would often have to relay the meaning of her mother’s message, because her mother’s “broken English” was difficult for others to comprehend. When Amy was younger, she remembers having to act as her mother on the phone, so that people on the other end would treat her mother with the respect she deserved. On one occasion, when her mother went to the doctor to get her CAT scan results on a benign brain tumor, her mother claimed that “the hospital did not apologize when they said they had lost the CAT scan and she had come for nothing” (Tan, 544 ). It was not until Tan had talked to the doctor that the medical staff seemed to care about any of her mother’s complications. Tan seems to come to the conclusion that a language barrier affects both sides. Not only does it affect Tan, but it also appears to affect the people around her. For instance, this happens when Tan changes her major from the stereotypical “Asian’s become doctors” to an English teacher. She eventually learns to write fiction and other writings that she was constantly told she would never be successful at.
When I was growing up, my mother's limited English limited my perception of her, Tan explains. She describes situations where her mother was treated rudely and explains that apologies were always proposed when Tan would interrupt with flawless English. Tan also discusses the educational problems that multicultural students face within the classroom today. She points out that the educational system is in need of a change because they also have teachers who are steering them away from writing and into math and science, which is what happened to me.... ...
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?
Tan divides the essay into three sections as a way to organize her own thoughts. The first section shows the way Tan speaks and makes a small break into how her mother speaks as well. In the second section, Tan furthers her thoughts on “broken” or “limited” English, and how it can be quite confusing to new learners because of what is expected of them to learn. Tan also references to specific times that her mother was treated differently due to lacking “proper” English. In the third break, Tan includes information of what is expected of Asian Americans to be in life, and how they cannot be writers just because that is not expected of them. She includes that she notices on surveys that many Asian Americans go into the math or science field as expected of them. If it were not for these breaks the essay would still make sense and be clear, but it would not seem to be as organized as it is with the three
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...
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.
...ch ease, and now is a successful businesswoman in her own right. Just as Tan’s mother did, “my mother has long realized the limitations of her English” (Tan 130). Somehow these limitations did not hinder her. She recognized who she is and that is the way that she was made to be and there was going to be no one or no thing that could change that.
In America do we have to speak English to be American? Does not speaking English make you uneducated? Even though people categorize others based solely from the way they speak, your language does not necessarily define who you are as a person. You have to learn to embrace your language and your ethnicity. In both of these essays, "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan and "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" by Gloria Anzaldua, we learn that without our native language we would have a hard time embracing our ethnicity.
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.
The registrar even said, “‘You people. Your children are always behind, and you have the nerve to bring them in late?’... The registrar filed [their] cards, shaking her head’”(Barrientos 630). In Tan’s work “Mother Tongue,” she speaks about her mother being treated differently because of her “broken English.” Tan gives an example of the discrimination her mother faced on a daily basis when, She said they would not give her any more information until the next time and she would have to make another appointment for that. So she said she would not leave until the doctor called her daughter. She wouldn't budge. And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English -- lo and behold -- we had assurances the CAT scan would be found, promises that a conference call on Monday would be held, and apologies for any suffering my mother had gone through for a most regrettable mistake (Tan 636). This quote greatly emphasizes the discrimination experienced by the mother, and the simple fact that she didn’t speak the same kind of English as the doctors closed her off from the respect given to a fluent English speaker. In each work
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
In the passage by Amy Tan ,” Mother Tongue”, she tries to show or emphasize the fact or theory that we all speak differently even if it is the same main language such as English. The author is considered a fictional writer that is “fascinated by language in a daily life”. Throughout the story through her experiences she realizes or notices there are different types of English or different ways people use it. The first time she realized it was when she was giving a speech about one of her books called “The Joy Club” and her mom was there. She realized that she could not talk to her mom the same way she was talking then. Another time was when she was talking to her family and realized she was using broken English and would
In “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan she uses her relationship with her mother whom is a Chinese immigrant to showcases obstacles due to assimilation such as discrimination, language barriers, and accepting one's true identity. Tan gives readers a clear view of her life with information dating back to her childhood. She constantly stresses how her mother’s language or tongue has affected her entire life. Tan emphasized that her mother spoke “broken English”. Growing up with a Chinese immigrant mother that spoke broken English made it difficult for the Tan's family to assimilate or adapt to the American culture. According to Amy Tan’s biography, her parents were born in China but she is from the United States, specifically California. In addition,
However, when she's talking to large groups of people, she uses “the kind of English [she] [has] never used with [her mother]” (Tan 351). Tan has two types of English that she speaks. Both were created not out of necessity, but out of relation. When she uses the more intimate language with her family, she can more smoothly connect and talk to her parents or husband about her personal life or her problems. This dialect is influenced by her family, because they all speak a form of this “broken” English, therefore she speaks it aswell.