Intimacy In Amy Tan's Mother Tongue

Amy Tan’s discussion of her cultural identity is heightened through the varying levels of intimacy in her tone to ultimately mirror the fluctuating reverence and admiration that she has for her mother. Though unaddressed, it is implied through the absence of “we” that there is a prevalent cultural divide between Tan and her mother. Tan speaks to daughters of immigrant mothers in, Mother Tongue, as she analyzes the limits of being culturally and linguistically authentic in a society where the “standard English” is the accepted norm.
The audience is indicated of a cultural barrier through the juxtaposition between concise, rational sentences that describe the English language in its “perfect” context, and the fluid sentences that appear only when describing Tan’s mother. “I am a writer. And by that definition, I am someone who has always loved language.” A pragmatic tone is immediately established whenever Tan discusses English as the language itself. “I know this for a …show more content…
The existing conflict with language is to not only about English itself, but also about the relationship between Tan and her mother. It is crucial to understand that Tan’s original mentality was that her mother’s “English reflected the quality of what she had to say (...) and because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect.” More importantly, the voice used in the essay reflects Tan’s own opinions on English, so shifts to a softer tone and enhanced