Mother Tongue

Language is universal and can vary from place to place meaning that it’s translated in different ways. There is no right or wrong on how a person views language. In “Mother Tongue” the author explains the challenges her mother faced from speaking her English. These challenges included labels, assumptions, and limitations that immigrant families can relate to in an English speaking society. The author describes the position she was in when trying to describe her mother’s English, and not…

Identity found through language in “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan Many people in this world do not understand the power of language. Language is much more than just a way of communication. In America, language is a key aspect in how others see you and what they think of you. People make assumptions about others from their appearance, from their actions, from the way they speak and also from what they speak of. Many people who speak proper English do not understand how much of an advantage they…

is supposed to be a tool that expresses ethnicity and culture, however people have turned language into a principle that forces people to speak that language if they want to be treated equal. Amy Tan proves this claim in her text “Mother Tongue” when she says “My mother had gone to the hospital for an appointment, to find out about a benign brain tumor a CAT scan had revealed a month ago. She said she had spoken very good English, her best English, no mistakes. Still, she said, the hospital did…

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…

Have you ever thought how about much work it takes to overcome obstacles throughout your life? In "Mother Tongue" Amy Tan knew how hard her mother tried to defend herself from other people, but in instances people said they did not understand what Amy's mother was saying. "And I had plenty of empirical evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even…

born in 1952. She has written several novels focused on mother-daughter relationships. In Mother Tongue, Tan analyzes the different “Englishes” she uses in everyday life and why some are considered better than others. Tan’s mother, a Chinese immigrant, speaks in what some call a “broken” form of English (543). She claims her mother is treated unfairly because of her fractured language. Because Tan grew up speaking the English of her mother, she could understand her perfectly. Therefore, Tan…

Cristina Andronic WRI-101-A 10/20/17 Prof. Siteman Mother Tongue by Amy Tan Language is not the creation of only one person, but it is the work of hundreds of generations. Someone said “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going”. With language, one can describe the past and specify the future. It always the human to communicate his beliefs and emotions. It plays a major role in a personal development. Words are sometimes…

author of “Mother Tongue” talks about how dominant the English language is. In her writings Tan explains that in the early phases of her life, English was a challenging language for her and her mother to understand. As an Asian-American, Tan was stereotyped to become an engineer. Additionally people assume that Asian’s in general cannot excel in English, but they can in mathematics. Tan’s mother could not quite grasp the theory of how to use precise and logical English. In addition Tan’s…

“Mother Tongue” is an essay that is elaborating on exploring the disparate ways in which her mother is defined by others because of her English speaking or “mother tongue.” Mother tongue is the interpretation of the English language person who has not been raised to speak English correctly which has been Amy Tan’s mother. Amy’s mother has not been able to have the opportunity of having the same speaking skills as Amy because her mother has been a Chinese immigrant. Since Amy has had more of the…

linguistic terrorism since she has influenced by her mother. In “Mother Tongue”, she wrote, “I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s ‘limited’ English limited my perception of her”. Amy Tan pointed out that her mother has played such important role in her childhood and affected to who she is. In Amy Tan’s essay, she also talked about few examples that influenced her to be a victim of linguistic terrorism. Tan’s mother didn’t speak Standard English, but that kind of…