The short essay of “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan emphasizes the different Englishes she uses to communicate with her family and at her professional environment; therefore she explains the differences between non-Standard English and Standard English. Tan views non-standard English as her mother tongue language because her family can communicate better with her. She views Standard English as the formal way to communicate with professional people in a daily basis.
English is the formal language in the United States of America, however, not every individual has the knowledge, the education or ability to speak or express themselves using the formal English Language. In our society, the non-standard English has variations such as the slang English …show more content…
Whenever I am with my family or relatives, we usually communicate in Spanglish – (considered non-standard English); this is a way for my parents to practice their English Language, for me to keep part of my culture by speaking Spanish and an effective way to communicate with my family or close friends. At some point, I wanted my parents to speak English only, and thought for a moment they were limited or would be ignored in our society, however, I now understand that my parents have knowledge, they know about finances, culture, history, and that makes them as valuable as any other person who can communicate effectively using the formal English …show more content…
In my own experience, I found myself as an intern in a law office. Automatically, my mind switched from my non-standard English (or Spanglish) to my formal English Language. As an intern, my mind knows that I am representing the law office; therefore, I must act and speak accordingly. I found myself speaking and using a professional law terminology, and different English, yes the formal English Language that I have learned at school, the “proper” way to communicate. I can understand Tan when she explains, ““Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use… I was saying things like, “The intersection of memory upon imagination” and “there is an aspect of my fiction that relates to thus-and-thus”-a speech filled with carefully wrought grammatical phrases, burdened, it suddenly seemed to me, with nominalized forms, past perfect tenses, conditional phrases, all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother”” Tan expound how she only uses standard English as a formal way to communicate with professional people in daily basis, however, she never use this language with her mother before (Tan, paragraph 2, page 121). She also explains how she gain knowledge learning standard English as she was growing up by reading books and at
English is the formal language in the United States of America, however, not every individual has the knowledge, the education or ability to speak or express themselves using the formal English Language. In our society, the non-standard English has variations such as the slang English …show more content…
Whenever I am with my family or relatives, we usually communicate in Spanglish – (considered non-standard English); this is a way for my parents to practice their English Language, for me to keep part of my culture by speaking Spanish and an effective way to communicate with my family or close friends. At some point, I wanted my parents to speak English only, and thought for a moment they were limited or would be ignored in our society, however, I now understand that my parents have knowledge, they know about finances, culture, history, and that makes them as valuable as any other person who can communicate effectively using the formal English …show more content…
In my own experience, I found myself as an intern in a law office. Automatically, my mind switched from my non-standard English (or Spanglish) to my formal English Language. As an intern, my mind knows that I am representing the law office; therefore, I must act and speak accordingly. I found myself speaking and using a professional law terminology, and different English, yes the formal English Language that I have learned at school, the “proper” way to communicate. I can understand Tan when she explains, ““Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use… I was saying things like, “The intersection of memory upon imagination” and “there is an aspect of my fiction that relates to thus-and-thus”-a speech filled with carefully wrought grammatical phrases, burdened, it suddenly seemed to me, with nominalized forms, past perfect tenses, conditional phrases, all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother”” Tan expound how she only uses standard English as a formal way to communicate with professional people in daily basis, however, she never use this language with her mother before (Tan, paragraph 2, page 121). She also explains how she gain knowledge learning standard English as she was growing up by reading books and at