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Compare And Contrast Private Language And Mother Tongue

813 Words4 Pages

There are two type of families. There is one family that speak only English and the other one that speak their home language and English in their household. Those type of families that speak two or more languages in their household are mostly immigrants that move to the United States. Their child or children will grow up speaking perfect English while their parents will speak poor English. In Amy Tan “Mother Tongue”, she talks about how without proper English it is sometimes difficult to get through daily life. On the other hand, in Richard Rodriguez “ Public and Private Language”, he talks about how people who are out in public they tend to speak in English and when they are at home they will speak in a language that makes them more comfortable. Both authors struggle in English but in different ways.
Tan’s mother has hard time speaking English since it was not her first language.
She struggles occasionally from day to day tasks. Since Tan’s mother English was poor, she tends to ask Tan for help “...she used to have me call people and the phone and pretend I was she” (300). Tan’s mother would tell Tan to pretend to be her to complain, ask for more information, and even …show more content…

He later found the different between the two languages. For example, classroom language is the same as public language while home language is the same as private language. Rodriguez felt more comfortable in speaking Spanish, his private language, than English. Therefore causing him to not really participate or speak in class. Out of the blue, his teacher came to visit his family asking “ to encourage your children to practice their English when they are home. (177)” The teacher wants Rodriguez’s family to stop speaking Spanish when he is home because it might help him feel more comfortable in speaking

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