Identity In Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

We all have some form of language limitations, no matter where we come from and what our background is. “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua both share similar themes in their stories that demonstrate how they both deal with how different forms of the same language are portrayed in society. In both stories they speak about what society declares the right way of speech and having to face prejudgment, the two authors share their personal experiences of how they’ve dealt with it. Both authors go in detail about their ethnic backgrounds and blend their language for us to better understand throughout their story.

Author Amy Tan uses different variations of English to make her essay “The Opposites of Fate, Mother Tongue “easier to read, more relevant, and understandable (2003, p. 20-23). Writers tend to elaborate more when they know their audiences. When they do not, they use more factual information and formal words and methods to get their points across. This is more the case when trying to reach those in their profession, and not the case with their families, and friends. Using blended English will make writing easier to read, comprehend, and reach a broader audience.

growing up in a household that chiefly spoke “broken” English, and a reflection on how this

Mother Tongue was written by Amy Tan who is famous for her writings of her experiences as a Chinese immigrant growing up and living in American culture. Her primary purpose is to explain to the reader her interpretation of standard English and broken. In her essay Tan shares stories of her mother's broken English and her it affected her life and how people took advantage of her mother's broken English. Tan's intended audience are people who are unaware of people like her mother's limited English who are taken advantage of in everyday life. The experiences Tan shares with reader is an emotion inducing strategy which Tan uses throughout her writing and it is proved to be very effective.

Racial stigmas and stereotypes have negative effects on a multitude of ethnic groups. Across our nation, members of numerous races experience difficulties surrounding their identity and inability to refine their English dialects. Anna Marie Quindlen, an American author, journalist, and New York Times columnist, once said, “Ethnic stereotypes are misshapen pearls, sometimes with a sandy grain of truth at their center...but they ignore complexity, change, and individuality”. Quindlen’s viewpoint is skillfully displayed in “Mother Tongue”, a first person narration by an Asian-American woman, Amy Tan. The obstacles she encountered based on her mother’s struggle with English significantly affected their identities in our society. Overall, it is

“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is the short story about the importance of language and how it is a key for communication. Tan emigrated from China to Oakland, California and she was a first generation of Asian-American. The author is very fascinated by the language and she believes that the language has the power of emotions, a visual image, a complex idea, and a simple truth. She also believes that there are many different types of “Englishes”.

Our identity is a place upon many attributes of a human being. Whether the person is someone who goes on promoting themselves to the world or not, and it shows how people communicate to others around them. Language is one of the main components that unveils the person’s identity in their everyday life, and they are many different ways to approach a person’s language. Relating to the article of Yiyun Li, “To Speak is to Blunder,” she knows two languages that has its positive and negative outcomes in her life. I to relate to her understanding of language, but a different view of what language means to me. This how a language connects towards those who can relate to other people and may or may not have a deeper relationship

In Amy Tan‘s essay “Mother Tongue” (1999), she describes her life with her mother in America and how the broken speech of her mother has had an influence on her life. Amy Tan talks about the different “Englishes" she speaks to communicate with different people. Also, she tells us about her love for English and how she becomes a famous writer in America. In her essay she tries to shows us that language, culture, and education shapes us into who we are and the more you study English the more you learn and English will change your life a lot. In fact, many people against Tan’s point of view that English is very useful and important. However, others, including me agree with Tan’s idea. Indeed, there are many reasons that agree with the author’s

For numerous amounts of people, with English being their second language, they have been described as having "Broken English". "Broken English" refers to a poorly spoken or ill-written version of the English language. One article called "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan discusses the effects of growing up with a Chinese mother who has "Broken English". In fact, Tan deliberates about the limitations and criticism of growing up with her mother. Although Tan speaks articulate English, she still can comprehend with her mother 's "Broken English". In this article, Tan 's argue that her mother 's "Broken English" has caused unfairness, disinterest, and limitations throughout their life.

Language, in the simplest sense is a way to communicate with others, but more than that, language is way that I can express myself and my thoughts, which is why it's so important. It’s a reflection of who I am and where I came from. In How to Tame a Wild Tongue, Anzaldua explains that Chicano Spanish is a boarder tongue that “sprang out of the Chicanos’ need to identify ourselves as a distinct people.” (Cohen, 2017, p. 36) In Mother Tongue, Tan talks about how her mother’s “broken” English is their “language of intimacy, ... that relates to family talk. The language I grew up with.” (Cohen, 2017, p. 416.) Looking at theses essays, it’s clear that language isn’t just a way to communicate it’s an important part of my identity and culture.

After reading Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, my perspective changed about the struggles for people who are not as good at English. All throughout this article Tan uses personal experience from her mom to show the readers the struggle while also using primary sources to back up her claim. All the evidence backs up her initial claim and as the reader your perspective changes after reading about how she personally was effected. The author 's main claim of Mother Tongue is to persuade people so respect people who struggle with English because she has serval personal connections, she has fact based proof, and she is an experienced writer on this topic and in general.

Do I know who I am? Am I who I think I am? What makes me, me.? There’s a lot to know, and still so much more to explore and learn about myself. There are three main aspects about my life, that symbolizes who I am as a person. My cultural identity is based upon values, appearance and my life itself. I love who I am, and who I am becoming. My happiness and intelligence is what makes me stand out from others. I’ve always put my best foot forward and make the best decisions for myself. I am half Indian, Caucasian, European & Mexican on my mom’s side of the family. On my dad’s, I am Half Jamaican on my dad’s side of the family. Both of my parents taught me different ways around life and what is expected of me. But the three things that sums up my cultural identity are food, fashion, and family traditions.

In the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldua insists that one’s identity is deeply bonded to the language in which they speak. She explains how the Chicano language has developed and sustained abuse. She insists that Chicano is a whole, complete, and not a bastard language. Gloria warns, “If you really want to hurt me talk bad about my language.” Gloria becomes passionate about her wild tongue and encourages others to embrace theirs.

Dodgeball; the greatest elimination game on Earth. What would you think if you could never play it again? I, for one, would be crushed that could never play it again. Many principals in Elkton, Maryland banned dodgeball because they believed it was inappropriate. They removed it from the P.E. curriculum just recently. I believe that dodgeball shouldn’t be taken out of the curriculum because it helps them be more aware, teaches them about life, and it leads to more games being taken away.

Seeing as language is a way of one expressing itself we can connect language to identity. As in order for one to demonstrate itself we have to be able to express our feelings and emotions and we do so through communication. Some characteristics of language is that it's dynamic, meaning that it changes constantly for example, the English people speak now is not the same English that people used to speak hundreds of years before. Language changes and modernizes itself in order to evolve and has many variations through dialects. Different language communities have certain ways of talking that will set them apart from others and those differences are known as dialects. Dialects are not just accents but also grammar, vocabulary, syntax and common expressions used.One is able to identify and distinguish between different people, different ethnicities and races as people speak different languages. Each human belongs to a community which makes them speak a specific language and dialect that represent their community and differentiates them from others. Language connects people to their community as they are connected to people that speak the same