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Amy Tan Mother Tongue Essay

515 Words3 Pages

Human beings are similar to animals in their need to survive. Most would say we humans are superior because we can strategize and think past our instincts. I would like to argue that we have just learned to adapt at a faster pace because of the technologies we have created and have access to. As we grow, we learn there are different ways of expressing our opinions depending on whether we are at home, school, work, or even when we are with friends. When we were younger, we were taught what is acceptable and not acceptable in different situations. Our behavior is influenced by what society dictates is normal and appropriate. An example of this structured way of thinking is the behavior expected when we go to church. In church, people are expected to quietly listen and contemplate what the priest, minister, or leader is saying. There is no running, and there definitely is no making loud noises like yelling that disturbs a nearby neighbor. We have been taught those actions are inappropriate for that kind of setting. Just like it would be inappropriate to use slang or shortened versions of words we use when texting to …show more content…

We as readers get an inside view as to how difference scenarios require us to talk different ways. A particular point that stood out to me was even though she describes all the different situations that involve her mother’s inability to be understood, she recognizes that we talk differently based on who is around us at the time. Tan comes to the realization she uses different “Englishes” during the presentation of her essay: “the talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room” (Tan 113). The addition of her mother being there initiates a recognition of the change between how she speaks around her mother and around her

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The main idea of Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” emphasizes the barriers that flawed English can present, but the beauty and passion that type of English has. She criticizes her mother’s English and the problems it caused her on standardized tests, but in the end, appreciates the richness it has contributed to her writing. 2. Tan’s tone varies through her piece, beginning as critical, then transitioning to sympathy, and finally appreciation. While giving a talk about the book she wrote, Tan realizes that her way of speaking does not match the way she speaks at home, and, “is carefully wrought with grammatical phrases, burdened . . .

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For numerous amounts of people, with English being their second language, they have been described as having "Broken English". " Broken English" refers to a poorly spoken or ill-written version of the English language. One article called "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan discusses the effects of growing up with a Chinese mother who has "Broken English". In fact, Tan deliberates about the limitations and criticism of growing up with her mother. Although Tan speaks articulate English, she still can comprehend with her mother 's "Broken English".

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As a child, Tan watched her mother be ignored by society for her poor language skills, so when writing her first novel, she wrote sentences like, “That was my mental quandary in its nascent state,” which uses unnecessarily complex language that is hard to understand even for a native English speaker (Tan 456). Rather, she writes the novel in the way her mother thinks and it is deemed “So easy to read” when she uses the simpler language (Tan 456). Because her mother was viewed poorly for her poor language skills, Tan initially used convoluted language when simpler speech worked more

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In her writing, Tan often describes her experiences as the child of Chinese immigrants, growing up in northern California and living in American culture. Tan explains how she has learned to embrace the many Englishes her mother speaks and how her background has also caused her to have different Englishes. While others classify her mother's English as "broken" she finds no fault in it. In Tan's view, just because something is broken does not necessarily mean that it is in need of fixing. In her essay, author Amy Tan addresses the connections between languages and cultures in describing the different Englishes her mother uses.

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Summary of "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan In "Mother Tongue, Amy Tan writes about how her mother 's broken English affects her life. She begins this narrative essay by talking about the day she became aware of the different forms of English that she was using at home and during formal events. Amy says, "The talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech, using the kind of English I have never used with her" (Tan 1).

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After reading Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, my perspective changed about the struggles for people who are not as good at English. All throughout this article Tan uses personal experience from her mom to show the readers the struggle while also using primary sources to back up her claim. All the evidence backs up her initial claim and as the reader your perspective changes after reading about how she personally was effected. The author 's main claim of Mother Tongue is to persuade people so respect people who struggle with English because she has serval personal connections, she has fact based proof, and she is an experienced writer on this topic and in general. All throughout the reading she uses many personal stories and personal experiences on how difficult it was for her mother to go through her everyday life.

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In Amy Tan‘s essay “Mother Tongue” (1999), she describes her life with her mother in America and how the broken speech of her mother has had an influence on her life. Amy Tan talks about the different “Englishes" she speaks to communicate with different people. Also, she tells us about her love for English and how she becomes a famous writer in America. In her essay she tries to shows us that language, culture, and education shapes us into who we are and the more you study English the more you learn and English will change your life a lot.

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