Mother Tongue was originally part of a speech that Amy Tan had given while she participated in a panel entitled,”Englishes: Whose English is it anyway?” in 1989. The author describes in detail how she finds herself using various forms of English, depending on who she is around. She also makes the point on how hard life can be for someone who doesn’t speak good English.
Being Respectful Costs Nothing Reading the article “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan has made me thinking a lot these last days about “standard” and “broken” English. The writer gives a lot of ideas, but in my opinion the main idea is “RESPECT”. The bad respect that is shown to everyone only because of a “broken” English.
Foreign language learning in pre- and elementary schools has seen a rapid development in Europe. “This movement’s impact can be recognized in Europe’s aim of fostering a plurilingual, multicultural society throughout the continent” (Jaekel 632-2). Across Europe, foreign language education in elementary schools has become the rule rather than the exception. As a result, research into early foreign language education has been growing steadily. “Primary aims are the promotion of multilingualism and multicultural understanding as well as a response to the growing demand of fluent second language (L2) speakers for the job market” (Jaekel 632-2).
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".
Tannen beliefs in her essay that the dissimilarities in early stage communication between the men and women makes communication as if it is a like “cross cultural communication”. The author describes about a video during her research regarding the conversations between men and women that, “their eyes anchored on each other's faces and they faced each other directly". On the other hand, for the males, she states, "they sat at angles to each other and looked elsewhere in the room, periodically glancing at each other". Tannen describes about the example of a boyfriend and girlfriend in which, whenever the girlfriend wanted to make a conversation with the boyfriend, he would lie on the ground, shut his eyes, and put his bicep on the face. The girlfriend clearly thought that he is taking a nap, but he actually was super attentive avoiding all the distractions by doing that.
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is the short story about the importance of language and how it is a key for communication. Tan emigrated from China to Oakland, California and she was a first generation of Asian-American. The author is very fascinated by the language and she believes that the language has the power of emotions, a visual image, a complex idea, and a simple truth. She also believes that there are many different types of “Englishes”.
First, the artifact “reaching Students’ Mother Tongues” allowed me to research, review, and put in practice the knowledge about language acquisition. I had opportunity to research and learn about three languages that represent the majority of the English language learners at my school. This assignment provided me with important linguistic background to be considered, such as being able to predict
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).
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.
The United States is the most diverse nation in the world. It is full of people from all over the world. The United States is made up of all different cultures and languages. In order to promote this diversity foreign language has begun to be taught in school throughout American society. Some main reasons that foreign language should be taught in schools are foreign language study creates a less prejudiced attitudes and behaviors toward people who are different, it enhances opportunities in life, and the United States needs to prepare for changes in American society with the increase in immigration.
Writer and novelist Amy Tan in her essay “Mother Tongue”, narrates that speaking “broken” or “fractured” English is not a bad thing. Tan’s purpose is to show the readers her interpretation of different Englishes and what affect her mother had on her. Amy Tan builds a case in “Mother Tongue” that just because some people don’t speak English perfectly, doesn’t mean that they are stupid or ignorant. Tan uses metaphors such as “broken” (8) and “fractured” (8), these words are strong metaphors due to the fact that they give the reader an easy understanding of what Tan is trying to say. Tan uses these metaphors as a way of describing how her mother spoke, while trying not to offend her.
The article 'Mother Tongue ' by author Amy Tan is about the variations in the English language the author uses in her life. She describes her English when giving a speech to a other people, English she uses when speaking to her mother, and English she uses in her writing. She tells of difficulties faced by both her mother and herself from these many differences. Amy 's goal in this article is to show that a person does not have to speak proper English to be seen as smart or intelligent.
Out of Breath Becoming accustomed to a new language is difficult, especially when it is not one’s primary language. Amy Tan, the author of “Mother Tongue” went through this same situation. Tan’s mother had a hard time with the way she spoke English because no one seemed to understand what she wanted to convey. Amy Tan uses her story as a way to let the audience know about how language can lead people to be prejudice, connect people, change perception and open new doors in life.
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.
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.
