Mother Tongue By Amy Tan - 1375 Words

Vladimir Paramoshin Prof Marguerite Atterbury Literacy Language (English 110) 10/ 23/2017 The potential that lies behind the usage of our language and words. â€Å"I am a writer. And by that definition, I am someone who has always loved language. I am fascinated by language in daily life. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language-the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all-all the Englishes I grew up with.† -Amy Tan, Mother Tongue Language is what allows humans to be creative. Creative in the way we express ourselves, creative in the way we put our ideas forward, creative in the way we correspond†¦show more content†¦It is the core of her existence. Gloria Anzaldua speaks many divergent forms of Spanish and English. She states, â€Å"And because we are complex, heterogeneous people, we speak many different languages.† There has been an argument whether language originated from emotions or logical and rational thought. It doesn’t really matter how it originated, I personally believe that we were created by a higher Creator with the ability to talk and to write and to communicate with each other. To be able to express our feelings of love or hate. As of now there are about 5000-7000 different languages in the world. I can speak and write in two, English and Russian. Having moved from Russia to America in my teenage years I went through some exact situations as did Amy Tan. I’m specifically referring to the instance where she would be using her language to speak for her parents because they didn’t speak fluently. I did so on many occasions as well in the past when I was a teenager, either talking to somebody on the phone and pretending that I’m my Dad, resolving his issues. Helping constantly translate in stores or with Credit Card companies on the phone, or just about any life issue that needed language or translation. Now I constantly find myself thinking in different languages, talking in varying dialects. With my kids I’m more loving and inspiring and gentle. With my parents I’m more patient and understanding. With friends moreShow MoreRelatedMother Tongue By Amy Tan1553 Words   |  7 Pages(Date) â€Å"Mother Tongue† Response Essay In the essay â€Å"Mother Tongue,† Amy Tan emphasizes the idea that the language we are taught in childhood plays an important role in our lives. She writes about the profound effect language has on her life and how she is inspired by her mother’s â€Å"impeccable broken English† to become a writer (317). Tan describes her mother as an educated person who can read sophisticated and technical literature written in English with ease. However, Tan’s mother is oftenRead MoreMother Tongue, by Amy Tan819 Words   |  4 Pages Despite growing up amidst a language deemed as â€Å"broken† and â€Å"fractured†, Amy Tan’s love for language allowed her to embrace the variations of English that surrounded her. In her short essay â€Å"Mother Tongue†, Tan discusses the internal conflict she had with the English learned from her mother to that of the English in her education. Sharing her experiences as an adolescent posing to be her mother for respect, Tan develops a frustration at the difficulty of not being taken seriously due to one’s inabilityRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan1306 Words   |  6 Pages Mother Tongue is a story that describes how Amy Tan’s mother was treated unfairly because of her â€Å"broken English†. As the second generation of Chinese immigrants, Tan faces more problems than her peers do. H er mom, who speaks â€Å"limited† English, needs Tan to be her â€Å"translator† in order to communicate with the native English speakers. Tan has felt ashamed of her mother â€Å"broken† language at first. She then contemplates her background affected her life and her study. However, she changes her thoughtRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan883 Words   |  4 PagesIn Amy Tan’s essay â€Å"Mother Tongue,† it is obvious that language plays an enormous role in our life. Language can influence and give us an insight into another culture different from our own. Amy Tan discusses the many ways in which the language she was taught and native to was important and powerful throughout her life. Language can be defined in various forms, but I hold and acknowledge Amy Tan’s explanation: â€Å"Language can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.† I canRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan1290 Words   |  6 Pageslanguag e is a difficult and demanding task. In â€Å"Mother Tongue†, Amy Tan expresses the limitations caused by the use of imperfect English in society and her struggles to revitalize it into her life and her writing. Through the use of several rhetorical strategies such as expanding on her own credibility with the use of ethos, appealing to the audience’s emotions using pathos, stating statistics using logos and providing an example of repetition, Tan successfully manages to prove her point on the struggleRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan967 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"Mother Tongue†, Amy Tan describes the several different kinds of English her that she speaks. It is an interesting concept to think about the fact that more than one variation of a single language exist. After reading â€Å"Mother Tongue† I began looking at my own life and seeing if I could recognize the different variation of English that I have come in contact with. After some serious thoug ht, I realized that I have not only come into contact with many different kinds of English, but I speak manyRead MoreAnalysis Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan913 Words   |  4 Pages Analysis of Mother Tongue by Amy Tan In the narrative essay, â€Å"Mother Tongue† by Amy Tan, the author sets out the story between her mother, whose English is her second language, and Tan herself can speak native English very well. The essay covers the tonal shift of Amy Tan s psychological change, from grudge to understanding. Although she begins the essay saying, I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on theRead MoreAmy Tan s Mother Tongue1060 Words   |  5 Pagesupon me for my inability to speak English properly. However, in the essay â€Å"Mother Tongue†, the author Amy Tan gives a different, a more optimistic outlook on the various forms of English that immigrants speak as they adapt to the American culture. Using simple language to develop her argument, she casually communicates to the audience rather than informing, which helps the audience understand what is being presented. Tan’s mother plays an important role in her outlook of l anguage because she helps herRead MoreAmy Tan s Mother Tongue992 Words   |  4 PagesIn the essay â€Å"Mother Tongue† Amy Tan, the author, gives a different, a more upbeat outlook on the various forms of English that immigrants speak as they adapt to the American culture. Using simple language to develop her argument, she casually communicates to the audience rather than informing which helps the audience understand what is being presented at ease. Her mother plays an important role in her outlook of language, because she helps her realize that language not only allows one to be a partRead MoreAnalysis Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan1048 Words   |  5 PagesTwo Worlds - One Story In â€Å"Mother Tongue,† Amy Tan reflects on her childhood to describe how her mother contributed to her understanding of language. Tan encounters numerous situations when she feels like she is judged based on how her mother spoke â€Å"broken† English. Nevertheless, she overcame her teachers’ opinion that she should focus on math and sciences and became a writer. I have a similar experience because I have lived in a different country for a long time, and I speak a different language