...especially when people from different countries have no clue what you are speaking. In this story by Amy Tan she explain her experience with language which was a very frustrating task and this story is called Mother Tongue. In the essay Amy Tan explains how speaking proper English and the language of Chinese which the county of China where she grew up has different dialects when spoken. On page (135) Amy Tan states that ‘’ I was giving a talk to a large group of people, the same talk I had already given a dozen other groups about the book of The joy Luck club. The talk was going well enough until I remembered one of the major difference which is English I never. ‘’ In...
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...By reviewing “Mother Tongue” Amy Tan explains about language that she speaks and the way how her mother speaks. Tan’s mother does not speak perfect English compare to her daughter. I agree when Tan’s mother would want to call her daughter for when the workers in the hospital had lost her CAT scan. I believe that if she did not call her daughter for assist the workers would not understand her or she would be confused of their speaking. I understand when Tan was curious about her mother speaking English because the how she speaks is strange like broken English. In my opinion, English is one of the toughest languages to speak, because there are people who still struggle speaking this language. I found this interesting when she mentions when she...
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...My Time in Israel In the essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, Tan claims that the idea that we speak different languages and that we are judged by the way we communicate with each other. She is really amazed by the way other people speak so she decides to use that in her work. When she walks down the street she observes all the different types of English. When she was a child she spoke two different types of English. She spoke proper English and broken English depending on who she was around. When she was in school she had to speak proper English because that is where it felt right. When she is at home she speaks broken English because her mom does not speak very much English. Her mother was sometimes judged when she went out in public and had to speak to people. When she had to talk to people they would ignore what she had said or they would pretend that they did not know what she had said. When tan was a child her mother would make her speak to people so there would be no confusion while they were talking. Tan believed that the language spoken at home affects how the children will speak in the future....
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...spoken language it's different than the one you are used to. Is it easy for you to communicate with other? Clearly, it is uneasy. I was intrigued by Amy Tan article which explains about the variation of Englishes we used. Some may not know a variation of Englishes we used as often and how this variation affects our daily customer services provided. In “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, who was always fascinated by language in her daily basis. She loves to talk about the English language and its variation she uses. From talking to mom, small groups and even in front of thousands of people. She also described how her friend respond when her mom speaks in English. After a while, she recognizes why her mom does not receive quality of good and services. She also described how standardize test was affected by a mother. Eventually, she became elated after hearing a...
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...The Article I chose is "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan. 2. I believe the author’s purpose was to acquaint the readers about the author’s explanation of differentiating Standard English and broken English. What brought me to this conclusion was that (Tan) the mother’s daughter has spent most of her time in America; it has enabled her to have a combination of both cultures. The author Amy Tan wants to grabs the attention of readers that have limitations and other difficulties in their life. The author has also used impersonation and rhetorical strategies in her writing, that's why she infatuated her ability to exhibit her sense to reason. 3. 1. Differentiating Standard English and broken English 2. Tan was able to have a blend of both societies...
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...own countries. However, others will treat im-migrants differently because they speak with the broken English. For example, if they go to companies find a job, boss can’t understand what immigrants talk about with the broken Eng-lish and will not hire them, which is unfair for the immigrant. The author Amy Tan reflects this phenomenon by writing an article called “Mother Tongue”. The author Tan effectively builds the credibility between herself and the audience by tel-ling her own personal experience. For instance, she can switch the English between her hus-band and her mother, she speaks the more informal English language to her mother because ensure that her mother can easily understand with...
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...way in which we communicate our ideas so that we can appeal to the views of the majority. Two authors explore how their attempt to compromise almost caused them to become detached from their roots. In "Mother Tongue," by Amy Tan, Tan talks about growing up as a young child in America and learning the English language. She speaks about growing up as a writer and her mother's imperfect diction which had a major influence on her. On the other hand, In her essay, "Censoring Myself," Betty Shamieh talks about being an American playwright and having to censor herself because of how her work was viewed. Both authors explore the influence that their background had on their ability to express themselves. As individuals we should not be afraid to express ourselves because of our differences, rather we should use our differences and show how our distinctions make us very unique. Firstly, In ""Mother Tongue," Tan talks about how her mother's limited English diction skewered her perception of her mother. Tan mentions how, "Like others, I have described it to people as "broken" or "fractured" English" (Tan 273). This shows how Tan viewed her mother's English speaking abilities. She describes it as if her mother spoke damaged English, which needed to be mended or repaired. For Tan it was imperative...
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...for me to assist my mother, so I am eager to improve my English and teach my mother to learn English to solve her problem by herself in life. According to “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, Her parents are Chinese and speak “limited” English. When Amy Tan was fifteen, she used to feel pressure to be a translator to aid her mother on the phone. Her teacher and classmates think the Asian American student can’t be good at English, yet Amy Tan challenges against...
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...Breaking the Language Barrier Dawn Schwaeber FYS-102-DL2A: First Year Seminar Adjunct Professor Camille A. Kramer March 23, 2014 Abstract “The Mother Tongue” which was written in 1990 is a touching story of acceptance and appreciation written by Amy Tan, who is most famous for her novel “The Joy Luck Club”. I read over the story several times, and in doing so I realized what language, and interpretation of that language really is. This inspiring writing piece shows that it’s not just a mere combination of words and grammatical phrases thrown together to form sentences and even paragraphs, it’s really about conveying a message with passion and emotion. A message that might inspire an idea, an image or a resolution to a problem. Tan’s essay shows me that the language a person learns at home is not necessarily the normal language of the society. Despite the limitations her Mother’s broken English placed on her as a child, Tan has become a successful writer. This to me, is truly incredible and breaks the language barrier. The Mother Tongue Amy Tan is someone who has always been fascinated by language. In the beginning of her narrative essay “The Mother Tongue, which was published in 1990 she states that “I am fascinated by language in daily life. I spend a great deal of time thinking about the power of language. – the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or the simple truth.” She goes on to describe the various forms...
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...American children are taught throughout their school years that the United States is a melting pot. The United States has residents from every country in the world. People are classified as Black, White, Asian, Hispanic and many other things whether it is politically correct or not. The many intersectionality’s or “hats” that people could have acquired through their lifetime are shown through Jeannine Capó Crucet’s essay “Taking My Parents to College”, Amy Tans “Mother Tongue”, and Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me.” Jeannine Capó Crucet is a first generation college student who was born in the US, to her Cuban born parents. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida in a low income family. (Crucet 1) These are all intersectionality’s that she sheds light on her essay “Taking My Parents to College”. Crucet has quite a few culture shocks when she starts her freshman year of college at Cornell University. She finds that she was raised differently than the other students. Other students were eager to say goodbye to their parents during the first week while she was hesitant to let them go. (Crucet 1) Jeannine finds herself without the...
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...Professor Ali ENC 1102 March 20, 2014 Amy Tan's, “Mother Tongue” and Alice Walker's “Everyday Use” both share similar traits in their writings of these two short stories. “Mother Tongue” revolves around the experiences Tan and her mother had due to her mother's English speaking limitations, she also revolves her story around the relationship of a mother and daughter. Alice walker on the other hand writes a story narrated by “Mama” the mother of two daughters Maggie and Dee and explains the conflicting relationship she has with Dee, both writers similarly emphasize on the relationships these mother and daughter characters had and they unravel both short stories based on these relationships. Although both short stories share this one similar characteristic it is clear that both writers have opposite point of views of their described mother daughter relationships. To begin comparing, both Tan and Walker use the characters of mother and daughter to evoke the importance the relationship plays in the telling of the story. There are similarities that both these characters share. One of these similarities are shown through the use of words that describe a similar feeling of shame or embarrassment both Dee and Tan have towards there mothers at some point in the stories. In one part of the story Tan describes feeling “ashamed” of her mother's broken English (Tan 345). Walker also shows the character Dee having some sense of shame of her mother and sister Maggie by saying “Its really...
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...Amy Tan, author of “Mother Tongue”, and Richard Rodriguez, author of “Public and Private Language”, both grew up in a home where English was a second language. Both authors write about their experiences growing up and learning English language. Each of them had a language that was spoken only within their home and one that was spoken outside of it, in public. They talk about their parents and the impact their ability to speak the language had on their lives. Even though Tan and Rodriguez shared a similar background their experiences were very different. In “Mother Tongue”, Tan recalled a time when she was giving a talk on one of her works; a talk that she had given before without a problem. Tan wrote, ”I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room.” In that instance Tan became aware of the different “Englishes” she spoke. The English she was using was one that was taught to her. The one she called “Standard” English. She stated it was “all the forms of a Standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother” (Tan, 2011). Rodriguez, on the other hand, referred to English as a public language. In “Public and Private Language” he writes, “What I needed to learn in school was that I had the right – and the obligation – to speak the public language of los gringos” (Rodriguez, 2011). Coming from a Spanish-speaking home, Rodriguez faced the challenge of learning...
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...English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” Baldwin confronts the topic of “Black Language.” Baldwin states, “Language incontestably, reveals the speaker” (Baldwin, 648). The language one speaks can say a lot about a person. People may speak the same language, but it is always going to be different based off where the speaker comes from, what type of person the speaker is, what the speaker does as their career, and what the speaker has experienced in their life. Baldwin states that his argument has “nothing to do with language itself but with the role of language” (648). Language is key to communication; it allows people to exude their perspective on things. In Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue,” Tan emphasizes that we speak different languages unconsciously and that we are categorized by the way we speak. I agree with Tan, we speak different languages without being aware at times and this...
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...Imagine having to always speak for your mother because her English broken or being so poor that you have to dig in the garbage for a meal. In The Glass Castle by author Jeannette Walls, “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, “Going Gangsta Choosin Cholita” by Neil Bernstein, and “Vanity Fair” by Nancy Jo Sales all show how childhood experiences can shape an individual into someone who they would be for the rest of their lives. Jeannette Walls and Amy Tan overcome the negative things that happened in their lives, while the kids in “Choosin Cholita” and “Vanity Fair” seem to be more focused on all of the wrong things. Jeannette Walls and Amy Tan show how negative childhood experiences shaped them into a better individual, but we see through April Miller and Alexis Neirs how negative childhood experiences can shape a person for the worst we see this through their personalities and career paths. Jeanette Walls the author of The Glass Castle overcame the negative childhood experiences such the poverty and being around an alcoholic father. In The Glass Castle Jeanette Walls and her three siblings Lori, Maureen, and Brian had a tough upbringing. They never let it get the best of them even when times became real tough. Those tough situations they had growing up made all of them stronger indidvials. “When mom got the extra big royalty check came in, Mom brought canned ham. We ate off of it for days cutting thick pieces of to make sandwiches with. Since we had no refrigetor we left the ham sitting...
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...Analysis Essay I have chosen “Mother Tongue” for the subject of my essay. I chose this essay because Amy Tan has a unique writing style which has tone that is clear and identifiable. Tan makes her arguments in a way that is easily understood. While her tone is sometimes humorous and captivating, it still clarifies some serious issues. These qualities among others leave Tan’s work to be desired by almost any reader because her tone and style are both genuine and upfront. This essay will talk about how Tan’s work in her essay “Mother Tongue” uses several different styles and tones to make her point of regarding the differences of her communications with her mother and other people in her life. In a way, Tan’s story is about tone and style, in the sense that how you convey a message is just as important as the content of your statement. Tan’s essay examines the differences in how she communicates with her mother, and how she communicates with everyone else in her immediate environment. I find it interesting that you can find examples of her point right in the story. You can see that Tan focused her essay to be grammatically correct, and descriptive, so that the readers such as ourselves can interpret it. It’s clear that she considers this in the very beginning of the text where she states, “I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language-the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth”(Tan 34). Tan examines how tone and accent...
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