In the beginning of Amy Tan’s narrative, “Mother Tongue” she states, “I am someone who has always loved language. I am fascinated by language in daily life. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language – the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth” (Tan Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English language and its variations in this country or others. I am a writer. And by that definition, I am someone who has always loved language. I am File Size: 62KB Amy Tan’s A Mother’s Tongue The purpose of Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue,” is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks “limited English” (36) as Tan’s mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others
Amy Tan, Mother Tongue (Free Essay Sample)
Language forms our identity because it defines who we are based on how we interact with people. Unfortunately, some people use language to gauge our levels of intelligence. Many people are discriminated based on how they express themselves, especially if they cannot speak English fluently. Tan, being a amy tan mother tongue essay author, recalls the experiences that helped her identify different types of English.
She also explores the role played by her mother in shaping her language that later even influenced her career choice, amy tan mother tongue essay. Amy highlights several situations portraying how discrimination occurs when the other person cannot understand broken English.
She quotes examples of broken English her family used to communicate. Tan noticed how people perceive others differently based on the language used. The author was fascinated by language which became part of her daily experience as a writer.
Tan keenly observed the different types of English in several instances like when giving a talk about her book and her mother was part of her audience; she realizes that she been using academic language from the book which is different from the language they used at home.
Even though her mother spoke broken English, this did not reflect her level of intelligence; her mother was perceived to have limited ideas by people who interacted with her.
When Amy was young, she acted like her mother for people to take her seriously. Her mother knew about stocks, meaning that she was intelligent amy tan mother tongue essay know how to invest.
Amy recalls the time when her mother tried to inform the doctor that she had lost the CAT scan results. The doctor ignored her mother because he could not understand her English. The doctor only amy tan mother tongue essay the initiative to assist her mother after Amy amy tan mother tongue essay to him using fluent English; the doctor apologized and solved the problem. Tan noted with a concern that people do not take other people seriously because of their language.
According to Tan, immigrant families are judged based on how well they speak English. She even thinks that her family language could have limited her from accessing several opportunities. Tan wondered why Asian students performed better in math tests than in language test.
She further questions whether other Asian students felt discouraged from learning foreign languages and as a result, focus more on math and science. She also recalls having changed her major from pre-med to English to become a freelance writer. Even though her boss discouraged that she could not become a good writer, she later became one of the best fiction writers. Amy is happy to have followed her dreams instead of feeling intimidated by other people.
People will always be judgmental, according to Tan; many people think that speaking broken English means not being intelligent. At times people make mistakes when pronouncing certain words, this does not make them less intelligent or lack proper education. Having to deal with stockbrokers and other important clients made Tan realize how intelligent her mother is. Speaking a different language with her mother affected her normal conversations and almost limited her opportunities, amy tan mother tongue essay.
Tan was discriminated even by her neurologist who is supposed to be listening keenly to patient despite the language barrier. She proved how her mother encountered a different kind of attitude when amy tan mother tongue essay tried to communicate with other people. She was always there for her mother to mediate in all the situations to enable other people to understand what her mother was trying to convey. Amy provides many experiences immigrant families face where sometimes one has to become a spokesperson for other family members.
The idea that other people perceive those with limited English to be uneducated is a common phenomenon. Unconsciously, people categorize other by the way they speak English, amy tan mother tongue essay.
The article reminds us of the many times when we look down upon people because they cannot express their ideas due to their limited language skills. The author informs readers to learn to respect people even if they cannot express themselves properly and avoid criticizing people who cannot speak English fluently.
The article Mother Tongue inspires readers to try to be more helpful and encourage those who do not speak proper language instead of labeling them. Through the article, readers are informed about the many challenges facing immigrants including being mistreated because of their limited language skills.
It is assumed that migrants are uneducated; this is not true because Amy points out that Asian students excel in math and science as compared to English. All in all, Tan believes that limited English means limited opportunities, especially for immigrants. Essay Zoo, amy tan mother tongue essay. Sign in. Sign In. Search for:. Fill out our order form with detailed instructions and give us some time for writing magic. Get Custom Essay from:. Order now. Free essay sample on the given topic "Franco Russian Alliance, amy tan mother tongue essay.
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Amy Tan “Mother Tongue” Language forms our identity because it defines who we are based on how we interact with people. Unfortunately, some people use language to gauge our levels of intelligence. Many people are discriminated based on how they express themselves, especially if Amy Tan’s A Mother’s Tongue The purpose of Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue,” is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks “limited English” (36) as Tan’s mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others 14/4/ · Analysis of "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan. Mother Tongue is about the author’s struggles with her linguistic identity, her mothers “fractured” or “broken” variation of English and the relationship with her mother. At the beginning of the piece we are told about the different types of English she would speak with her mother and with everyone else; we Estimated Reading Time: 4 mins
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