...Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan Comprehension 1. What Tan is classifying in this essay is the different kinds of English she uses. 2. Tan identify the different categories she discusses in “Mother Tongue” almost in the last paragraph, where she named all the kind of English she uses. 3. Tan does illustrate each category she identifies 4. Some specific situations where Tan says her mother’s “limited English” was a handicap is when her mother could not be able to talk directly with people, or would not be taken serious by the people she talked to. 5. One of the effects that her mother’s limited English has had on Tan’s life is the fact that, that was the language that helped shape the way she saw things, expressed things, and made sense of the world. 6. Tan account for the difficulty she had in answering questions on achievement tests, particularly word analogies: she could not be focused on the answers, she would read the example, and then those words would be stock in her mind keeping off the rest of the options. I do think her problem in this area has something to do with the level of her family’s language skills, because she grew up with that level of language as well, that is the way that she learned. 7. In paragraph 18, Tan considers the possible reasons for the relatively few Asian Americans in the fields on language and literature. Some explanations she offers are that Asian students do better on math achievement tests than in English and that there...
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...After reading the essay, “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, our class learned a lot about why we speak the way we do. There are some pretty important factors that determine how we speak, such as where you have lived during your lifespan, where your parents have lived, you and your parent’s ethnicity, who you associate with, or whether you’re in a public or private environment. I have spent my entire life living in the Boston area, so I definitely have my own unique mother tongue. All over Massachusetts and New Hampshire there are many different versions of the Boston accent. Now that I am living in Puerto Rico, I try to tone down the Boston accent I have, because it’s already a little challenging for me to communicate sometimes. Occasionally there is a significant language barrier, so I go out of my way to make sure I pronounciate my “R’s” when I speak. People don’t need to hear about my “cah” instead of car, or about how we eat “suppah” instead of dinner, or even how we take out the “gahbidge” instead of garbage, to give a few examples. There are also some words that in the Boston area mean certain things, while other places in the country it means something totally different. In Boston, some people call tomato sauce “gravy”. We call the water fountain a bubbler. A cart at the grocery store is a carriage. The basement is called the cella. In my experience, the term non-Bostonians have the most trouble understanding is “wicked”. When I travel to other places and say something is...
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...L01428270 keith r. wallace Fall 2015 (August - December) Aug 25, 2015 05:29 pm Your current Institution is Baton Rouge Comm College Student Detail Schedule Total Credit Hours: 12.000 English Composition I - ENGL 101 - M32 Associated Term: Fall 2015 (August - December) CRN: 10434 Status: **Web Registered** on Jul 27, 2015 Assigned Instructor: Kimberly E. Vodicka Grade Mode: Standard Letter Credits: 3.000 Level: Undergraduate Campus: BRCC Scheduled Meeting Times Type Time Days Where Class 6:00 pm - 8:50 pm M Date Range Schedule Type Instructors BRCC Louisiana Building 346 Aug 24, 2015 - Dec 12, 2015 Lecture Kimberly Eve Vodicka ( ) P Introduction to Cinema Studies - FILM 200 - M02 Associated Term: Fall 2015 (August - December) CRN: 10620 Status: **Web Registered** on Apr 24, 2015 Assigned Instructor: Steven A. Mitchell Grade Mode: Standard Letter Credits: 3.000 Level: Undergraduate Campus: BRCC Scheduled Meeting Times Type Time Days Where Class 6:00 pm - 8:50 pm W BRCC Magnolia Performing Arts BLACK BOX Intermediate Algebra - MATH 094 - M11 Associated Term: Fall 2015 (August - December) CRN: 10572 Status: **Web Registered** on Apr 23, 2015 Assigned Instructor: Jackie Bryant Grade Mode: Developmental Credits: 3.000 Level: Undergraduate Campus: BRCC Scheduled Meeting Times Date Range Schedule Type Instructors Aug 24, 2015 - Dec 12, 2015 Lecture Steven A Mitchell (P) Type Time Days Where Class 5:30 pm - 6:45 pm TR Date...
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...History 131 Janet Covert Alexander Hamilton Research Paper Rachelle Sorensen-Cox November 26, 2012 Alexander Hamilton was one of the men who built this country. What began simply as the published views and beliefs of Alexander Hamilton, became the doctrinal basis for one of the national, political parties Americans have subscribed to for over 200 years. Hamiltonians would today, be best be described as Democrats. Hamilton was a diverse leader, with a diverse skill set he excelled at both writing and finance. Disciplines’ that would serve him well. Our nation’s economic system was in part created by Alexander Hamilton. This achievement earned him a rightful spot on our country’s currency. A talented student and writer, Hamiton’s speeches, letters, pamphlets, essays and reports included regular contributions to The Federalist. He also keep good company, Alexander Hamilton had an impressive resume of friends and enemies. A long list of leaders, scholars and brethren such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin is the same list of men that are Alexander Hamilton’s peers. It has been said that “you are the company you keep” and it has also been said that Alexander Hamilton kept good company. As part of the original cast of characters that created this country, Hamilton’s remains one of the less well known stories, and one of the most essential ones. Hamilton’s input became some of the doctrine the American political system was created by. (Freeman)...
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...In her article, “Changing the Face of Poverty: Nonprofits and the Problem of Representation,” Diana George depicts the portrayal of poverty in the USA by non-profit organizations. These organizations want their ad-viewers to believe that the neediest people are being dealt with and do so through the usage of pictures capturing the hungriest of children in tattered, ragged or clothing. Furthermore they show “fallen down shacks and trashed out public housing, broken windows, dilapidated porches, barefoot kids with stringy hair, emaciated old women and men staring out at the camera with empty eyes.” The poverty that is shown by these organizations are the “deserving;” those people that should be receiving help and aid. George argues that poverty is not limited to just those factors. There are many individuals, whom, although do not look as if they have been struck by poverty, are factually in dire need. Georges quotes Bell Hooks saying that in this culture poverty “is seen as synonymous with depravity, lack and worthlessness. I talked with young black women receiving state aid, who have not worked in years, about the issue of representation. They all agree that they do not want to be identified as poor. In their apartments they have material possessions that indicate success (a VCR, a color television), even if it means that they do without necessities and plunge into debt to buy these items.” This is an image of poverty, although hardly, but it is enough to question if they are...
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...Nicholas Wiest Beverly Williamson English 111 September 21st, 2012 Critical 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...
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...Mother Tongue By Amy Tan By Jian C. Chen...
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...Mother Tongue and L2 English Learners I remember the time when I was told that in an English class the use of the mother tongue cannot be acceptable because it is not beneficial for students to learn a foreign language. So I asked to myself, why? Because I knew that you cannot speak in Spanish all the time, but “never”? In my classes I accept it for some activities and for others I do not. According to Davis Carless “Students use of the mother tongue in the task-based classroom”, the use of the native language or mother tongue (MT) is quite complex because it could be beneficial for learners but, at the same time, it could not. In general, the use of MT is stigmatized by some methods, and teachers who cannot handle a class in the target language (TL) feel frustrated by the overuse of the students’ first language. However, as the writer claims, by taking into account the type of tasks we give to our students we can analize which are the ones that imply a positive effect on the second language acquisition and the ones that imply negative effects. Thus, teachers will be able to handle a task-based class with both languages in interaction. Firstly, Carless argues that the use of MT may have positive and negative effects on second language acquisition. Positive effects seem to “serve social and cognitive functions, including the construction of scaffolded assistance and create through collaborative dialogue the opportunity for language acquisition to take place.” In fact, through...
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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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...Scientific monogenesis: The Mother Tongue theory. Theories of monogenesis do not necessarily derive from religious belief. Many modern scholars believe in a theory of monogenesis that has come to be called the Mother Tongue Theory. This theory holds that one original language spoken by a single group of Homo sapiens perhaps as early as 150 thousand years ago gave rise to all human languages spoken on the Earth today. As humans colonized various continents, this original mother tongue diverged through time to form the numerous languages spoken today. Since many scientists believe that the first fully modern humans appeared in Africa, the mother tongue theory is connected with a more general theory of human origin known as the Out of Africa theory. Currently, the theory of evolutionary monogenesis tends to be favored by a group of linguists working in the United States. Regardless of the origin of language, the fact remains that there are over 5,000 mutually unintelligible forms of human speech used on Earth today. And, although many are radically different from one another in structure--the differences are superficial since each and every one of these languages can be used creatively. Languages do not differ in terms of their creative potential but rather in terms of the level upon which particular distinctions are realized in each particular language. What is expressed concisely in one language requires a phrase in another language. (Examples of aspect and...
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...Student Response to "Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?" Student Name: Fan Xinyu Student ID: A0112819H 06 Sep 2014 "Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?" Luke Lu’s article, "Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?" raise one issue that has been existed for quite a long time in Singapore. The article author uses a name of one MRT station as a simple example seemingly points out the complementarily and compatibility of the language and culture issues of the current Singapore, but actually it points out the conflicts of the cultural and ideological between different races. As the author says, English has occupied an important role in Singapore's society and economy. In order to pursue convergence with the world and to strengthen national capacity, the Singapore government must be developed base on English education system. But at the same time, because of its special national circumstances which has multiple races, the government also encourages people not to forget their mother tongue, and practice constantly. And only under this circumstance, the conflicts appear as the author says:"On one hand, we have Singaporeans who claim English as core to their sense of self. On the other, the Government’s official position is that English cannot be our mother tongue. While there might be some Singaporeans who can accommodate both ideas, not all can or will do so". It is well known that, human will being affected by environment, and the language development...
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...and to understand 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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...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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...way into the hearts of my family, but upon laying eyes on it in my meatloaf I was suddenly overwhelmed with reluctance and suspicion. I tried my best to pick out the onion who had taken the shape of tiny diced chunks; however my efforts were to no avail. I soon became tired, hunger getting the best of me and gave in. I took my first bite and began to chew at first the crispiness was a welcome partner to my loaf of God knows what; I chewed and chewed and then finally, as I began to let my guard down, that is when he decided to strike! I could feel the burn start to take over, mild in the beginning then slowly growing in strength. One by one the tiny onions were assaulting me, throwing what I can only describe as little vials of acid at my tongue and my cheeks were taking damage from the splash effect. I very quickly became distraught, tears welling up in my eyes as my innocence was stolen from me....
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...primarily spoken language. Without, it is often hard to communicate, perform a daily task, express feelings, and others. Suppose you planned to go for study abroad where 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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