When you can be yourself and it becomes an art, that’s when writing is fun. Barbara Mellix shares a great example of when she wanted to use "proper English", instead of her "black English." While doing so it made her feel uncomfortable and out of her realm. ""Thank you very much," I replied, my voice barely audible in my own ears. The words felt wrong in my mouth, rigid, foreign. It was not that I had never spoken that phrase before-it was common in black English, too-but I was extremely conscious that this was an occasion for proper English. (Mellix 259) and "My concern was to use "appropriate" language, to sound as if I belonged in a college classroom. But I felt separate from the language-as if it did not and could not belong to me. I couldn 't
No matter what writing style the author chooses, the overall purpose is to transfer knowledge in some fashion. In her TED Talk, Jamila Lyiscott emphasizes this fact before she even utters a word through her speech’s title: 3 Ways to Speak English. Each way, in this case dialect, are distinct, but still markedly similar because they all constitute a part of the English language. Lyiscott regularly speaks in three different dialects of English, yet she considers them equal because they all complete the same purpose and as such, transmit the same
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.
growing up in a household that chiefly spoke “broken” English, and a reflection on how this
Tan talks about the different types of English and the different circumstances she uses them. Most of her writings deal with issues of language and her relationship with her mother who spoke very broken English. She also talks about how that we are categorized on the way we speak. I want people to understand my point of view about what the author is trying to say because I can definitely relate to her paper because I came from another country and my English as a child considered broken but as I got older in school I learned, so not my Spanish considered broken. Tan indicates several different feelings when talking about her mother’s English. The article 's theme of is Language and the different forms of English’s that we are supposed to learn is well argued because not every culture speak proper English due to having to learn the English language on their own instead of getting taught the English the right way. The Author
“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. 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.
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.
In her writing, Tan often describes her experiences as the child of Chinese immigrants, growing up in northern California and living in American culture. Tan explains how she has learned to embrace the many Englishes her mother speaks and how her background has also caused her to have different Englishes. While others classify her mother's English as "broken" she finds no fault in it. In Tan's view, just because something is broken does not necessarily mean that it is in need of fixing. In her essay, author Amy Tan addresses the connections between languages and cultures in describing the different Englishes her mother uses. Tan is able to convey the power of language in her writing through the significance of the title "Mother Tongue", by narrating from three different perspectives and through her diction.
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). This quote from the narrative showed the author 's realization of the difference in the way that she speaks in different environments. Later Amy grasped that she uses the same type of English with her husband, but she comprehended that it was the language of family talk or the language she grew up with. Tan starts to tell her mother 's story about the gangster that wanted her mother family to adopt him. She states, "You should know that my mother 's expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands" (Tan 1). This part of the narrative inserts that her mother knew what she was talking about even though she spoke improper English. She talks about how her friends could not understand her mother 's talking but Amy thought her mother was good at speaking English. Amy states, "Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me, my mother 's English is
Amy Tan’s purpose in her article “Mother Tongue” is to show the influence of her mother’s style of english. She also relates this to a more broad topic of the idea that there are many different types of english that people speak that are tailored to whoever they are speaking to. She begins this piece by stating plainly that she is not an english scholar. Instead of decreasing her credibility it actually increases it and paints this piece as a more personal set of observations rather than a bland overview of the entire language. By making it more personal it allows the reader to connect to the author because she seem like a normal person you might run into on the street rather than an isolated scholar. She also mentions that she is a writer and an english major which gives her credibility by implying that she has
My personal literacy story might be considered as a short story. My literacy story stated very young with my mother and father reading me stories before I could read; some stories that were told to me were bible stories, Junie B Jones, Magic Tree house, and of course superhero comics.
By applying anecdotes she was able to allow the audience in her shoes. By doing so ,Tan was able to connect with the audience and explain her stories of her struggles due to her mother's English. "I think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life was well." (399) By engaging the reader in her personal experiences, she was able to allow the reader to experience how she felt and by doing so she was able to make people who spoke broken English more
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.