Introduction
When Singapore achieved independence from Britain in 1959, she chose to become an officially multilingual state. Four languages were being selected as the official language of Singapore, namely English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. While English was being promoted as the working language of Singapore, the rest of the official language are considered as the Mother Tongues of the major racial groups in Singapore.
The term ‘Bilingualism’ is of no stranger to all Singaporeans. Almost all the Singaporeans are bilingual due to the bilingual policies that the government has implemented. Through the policies, Singapore had been transformed into an English knowing society. It was emphasized that besides being the bridging language among the different races in Singapore, English is also significant to the nation building process and the economic development. However, what about our Mother Tongue? Why do we need to learn our Mother Tongue and how will it be beneficial to us? Is it just for that two points off during GCE Ordinary Level Examinations?
…show more content…
Quantitative and qualitative secondary data relevant to the study will be examined. The data gathered will be used to analyze the economic benefit of being proficient in Chinese. Although bilingualism is a widespread phenomenon that has been covered extensively by linguists and sociologists, limited research had been done on its economic effects. Thus, this paper will cover the economic impact of Mother Tongue, specifically
Out of Breath Becoming accustomed to a new language is difficult, especially when it is not one’s primary language. Amy Tan, the author of “Mother Tongue” went through this same situation. Tan’s mother had a hard time with the way she spoke English because no one seemed to understand what she wanted to convey. Amy Tan uses her story as a way to let the audience know about how language can lead people to be prejudice, connect people, change perception and open new doors in life.
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.
"Mother Tongue" was written by Amy Tan, who is famous for her writings of her experiences as a Chinese immigrant growing up in American culture. Her primary purpose is to inform the reader about the prejudices her mother faced because her mother could not speak perfect English. In her essay, Tan shares stories of her mother's broken English and how people took advantage of her mother. Tan's intended audience are those who are unaware of people like her mother whose limited English is taken advantage of in everyday life. The experiences Tan shares with the readers is an emotion inducing strategy which Tan uses throughout her writing and it is proved to be very effective.
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".
I hope that it will give the lower grades another person to look up to and to inspire them even more so that they will keep training and eventually get a black belt of their own, thus expanding the club and helping out my instructor. I have been a very long running member of the Tavistock Tae Kwondo club and since it has acquired a new instructor I have tried to help as much as possible, especially with pregradings and helping out in lessons. Gaining a second degree will increase the number of people I am able to teach, thus helping the club out even further, allowing more of the people who normally teach to do some more training themselves, giving them a chance to solidify even further their knowledge and preparing them for their future gradings. It is because of these reasons that I feel I deserve a second degree black belt and I hope that you consider my application.
Writer and novelist Amy Tan in her essay “Mother Tongue”, narrates that speaking “broken” or “fractured” English is not a bad thing. Tan’s purpose is to show the readers her interpretation of different Englishes and what affect her mother had on her. Amy Tan builds a case in “Mother Tongue” that just because some people don’t speak English perfectly, doesn’t mean that they are stupid or ignorant. Tan uses metaphors such as “broken” (8) and “fractured” (8), these words are strong metaphors due to the fact that they give the reader an easy understanding of what Tan is trying to say. Tan uses these metaphors as a way of describing how her mother spoke, while trying not to offend her.
“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”.
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.
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. All throughout the reading she uses many personal stories and personal experiences on how difficult it was for her mother to go through her everyday life.
The article 'Mother Tongue ' by author Amy Tan is about the variations in the English language the author uses in her life. She describes her English when giving a speech to a other people, English she uses when speaking to her mother, and English she uses in her writing. She tells of difficulties faced by both her mother and herself from these many differences. Amy 's goal in this article is to show that a person does not have to speak proper English to be seen as smart or intelligent.
The more language knowledge significantly helps towards your career as you know. Bilinguals have the privilege of get their information from a wider variety of resources. Also, it has great educational benefit to kids. Many studies suggest that bilingual children tend to have a higher concentration and are better at working through distraction while doing their school work. Research has shown that bilinguals score higher on average on tests involving creative thinking or problem solving.
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).
Being bilingual has got many advantages. It has been debated that bilingualism has multiple advantages such as cognitive, cultural, academic benefits as well. Cognitive benefit reveals that being bilingual help to facilitate human brain. People who are bilingual have two language systems which are working simultaneously. These systems don’t create hindrance in individual’s performance and ensure brain’s functioning of both cognitive aspects (Bialystok, 1999).
Transition: Now, allow me to begin with the first reason why we need to learn foreign language. BODY PARAGRAPH 1: Main point: student should learn foreign language because it helps us to enhance our communication skills. Supporting detail:- As we know, in Malaysia consist of variety of ethnics and cultures and also have been visited with tourist from another country. By learning foreign language, it will easier for us to communicate with them when sometime they are asking us about a place and about our country too.
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Definition and backgrounds of theories and concepts connected to this study are provided in this chapter. Reviews of previous studies on code-switching, bilingualism and computer mediated communication which are homogenous to this study are provided. 2.1. Bilingualism 2.1.1. Definition of bilingualism