Sociocultural influences on language ideology caused the mothers, even those who were more determined to teach their children Thai (Piti and Fern), to speak Japanese in the presence of Japanese speakers. May felt that it was necessary for Japanese speakers to be tuned in and Piti regarded the use of Thai as shitsurei (bad manners). The mothers were generally concerned that speaking Thai in front of in-laws, teachers, and other mothers would be perceived negatively. Ning confided:
もしタイ語使ったら向こうのおじいちゃんちゃん、おばあちゃんは文句を言うかも。反対かもしれません。(If I use Thai, their grandfather, grandmother might complain. They might protest.)
Ning also did not speak Thai in front of her child’s teacher for the same reason. However, it was uncertain whether her in-laws or the teacher would actually disapprove given that she had never tried using it. May was aware that speaking Japanese would deprive her children of valuable Thai input. Her dilemma led her to a compromise of speaking some English with Japanese. She shared:
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But if I keep saying Thai, (they are wondering) what are you talking about. If I speak in English, they might understand some word.
While speaking Thai would result in complete exclusion, May reasoned that Japanese speakers would somewhat understand the English she used to her children. While May denied that the prestige of English was a factor, she probably perceived that English was more ‘acceptable’ for Japanese people. The children also play a role in socializing their mothers into using Japanese in front of their friends. Fern
At her Japanese school she experienced even more of a disconnect between her two cultural heads, while at the school she was expected to behavior like a proper Japanese girl, she had to sit a certain way, respond in a certain manner, and bow when appropriate. This persona she took on during those few hours everyday clashed with her real personality, “Therefore promptly at five-thirty every day, I shed Nihon Gakko and returned with relief to an environment which was the only one real
Akira was 12 when his family moved to the United States. He spoke some english, but there were so many words he didn’t know. He didn't understand half of what people told him, and he couldn't help but feel like he didn’t belong in this strange new world. Akira was a fast learner though, it took him less than two months to be able to hold up a conversation with his friends, and he had no trouble paying attention to his teachers in class. While he does understand the language now, he had an extremely tough time before he learned it.
There were many more negatives experiences than positives for instance; Mami was unable to duplicate the words when she would ask the kids how to say it, “Her lips seemed to tug apart even the simplest vowels. That sounds horrible, I said” (Diaz 124). Additionally, her husband also did not contribute much to help her as well telling her “You don’t have to learn, he said. Besides, the average women can’t learn English.
Tan was raised in the English society and was already assimilated into society as she grew up. The language Tan was familiar with like Rodriguez was familiar to Spanish was her mother’s language, which she refers to as her “mother tongue” (Tan, 313). Tan writes about her experiences of her mother’s language as a child, and says, “…when I was growing up, my mother’s ‘limited’ English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English” (314).
There are two type of families. There is one family that speak only English and the other one that speak their home language and English in their household. Those type of families that speak two or more languages in their household are mostly immigrants that move to the United States. Their child or children will grow up speaking perfect English while their parents will speak poor English. In Amy Tan “Mother Tongue”, she talks about how without proper English it is sometimes difficult to get through daily life.
The film “Speaking in Tongues” (2010) obtained the students, parents, and communities perspective towards bilingual education. The students interviewed were all mainly towards learning how to speak a second language. The students felt they could benefit in learning a second language or in expanding their home language. In the film, Kelly Wong stated she loved speaking Chinese to her grandmother. Kelly could practice, learn, and get corrected by her grandmother while speaking Chinese.
“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”.
She thinks if you are in America you should be speaking English and if students are learning another language in school it takes time away from other curriculum. During the San Francisco School Board meeting, many people shared their thoughts having all San Francisco public schools students become bilingual. Dr. Ling-chi Wang, a scholar and activist, shared that knowing a second language stimulates and enhances learning in other subjects. Another man mentioned how only knowing English places limits on his job (ie. business). The business industry can be worldwide and not knowing a second language can create obstacles for people to do
“Communication is the key to a successful relationship, attentiveness, and consistency. Without it, there is no relationship,” (Bleau). The Joy Luck Club is a novel written by Amy Tan. Set in the twentieth century, this novel depicts the life of four Chinese immigrant women escaping their past and their American-grown daughters. The novel reveals the mothers’ hardship-filled past and motivations alongside with the daughters’ inner conflicts and struggles.
This evidence supports my claim since she explained how Mrs. Tan 's version of English was what taught her to understand the language. Amy also said, "That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world" (Tan, 2006, p. 21). Without Amy learning the descriptive language that her mother used, Amy would be less expressive of herself and not as vocally involved in the
To be orphaned from my native language felt, and still feels, like a crucial decision” (Lin 6). Yiyun Lin is caught between letting go her native language and wishes she can speak both because they both identify her. She struggles on choosing one of them and having one of them as a memory or a dream. This not only becomes a struggle for her, but an eye open decision on solving the problem of how she can combine a private language into a public language. “English is my private language.
Tan was in shame and pain when she would feel that people were giving her mother a negative reaction. As Tan grew older she realized that it wasn’t a big deal that her mother’s English was not that well. She got used to it because she had been talking to her for years using “Broken English” and when her mother was around
Summary of "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan In "Mother Tongue, Amy Tan writes about how her mother 's broken English affects her life. She begins this narrative essay by talking about the day she became aware of the different forms of English that she was using at home and during formal events. Amy says, "The talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech, using the kind of English I have never used with her" (Tan 1).
Language development is a critical part of a child’s overall development. Language encourages and supports a child’s ability to communicate. Through language, a child is able to understand and define his or her’s feelings and emotions. It also introduces the steps to thinking critically as well as problem-solving, building and maintaining relationships. Learning a language from a social perspective is important because it gives the child the opportunity to interact with others and the environment.
The questionable and ambiguous nature surrounding the notion that children play an active role in acquiring language has been debated by many theorists of different perspectives. These three perspectives include the learning view, the nativist view and the interactionist view. In this essay I will discuss each perspective with reference to psychological theories and research that relates to each view. The learning perspective of language acquisition suggests that children acquire language through imitation and reinforcement (Skinner, 1957). The ideology behind this view claims that children develop language by repeating utterances that have been praised by their parent, therefore gaining a larger vocabulary and understanding of phrases over