What Is The Main Idea Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

“Mother Tongue” an essay written by Amy Tan describes her relationship with the English Language. Amy is a first generation Chinese American. She writes about how her mother’s “broken” English has affected her life. Tan talks about facing racism and her experiences with discrimination with her and her mother. She argues that even though one may speak a different form of English that does not equate to their level of intelligence or understanding. Amy proves her point by, invoking the emotion of the audience, stating logical facts and establishing credibility. Amy is an Asian American writer who always loved language. She describes it as a tool of her trade and how she uses all the Englishes she grew up with. Although she is a professional

Tan writes “You should know that my mother’s expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands.” (1) Amy writes in descriptive detail of her mothers day to day activies which include reading the Forbes report and listening to Wall Street Week which is extremely impressive. Tan wants the audience to understand her mothers knowledge capacity despite speaking improper English. In the essay she shares a time her mother faced discrimination due to her “broken” English at the hospital. Throughout the essay, Amy uses strong language that invokes the emotions of the readers, and has them step into her shoes to give them a glimpse of discrimination she faced. She is able to get the audience to sympathize with her, and to address the prejudice that immigrants face in this

The students are pushed into Math and Science, and Amy states the reason for this is teachers steering the students away from creative writing because of the “broken” English spoken at home. Despite this Amy graduated as an English major and was determined to be a writer. She started to use complex sentences in her writing to display her certification in English. One example of her ability to write complex sentences was from her first draft in The Joy Luck Club. “That was my mental quandary in its nascent state.” (2) A line that the writer could barely pronounce. Amy wrote this essay based on her life experiences and it radiates to many immigrant children who grew up in similar circumstances. She uses her essay to channel that discrimination towards people’s literacy skills is unacceptable and unpleasant. Tan highlights the influence that teachers may have on their students and to be open and considerate of their influence. Teachers should be more understanding and welcoming to students who uses different Englishes to speak. By becoming more welcoming it helps others understand that their fluency in English does not make them worthy of