Amy Tan Mother Tongue Thesis

Words: 702
Pages: 3

In Amy Tan's article "Mother Tongue," some of the main points were how people are treated who have broken English, the language barriers, and limited resources and how to overcome such obstacles. It also deals with the emotions associated with Amy Tan, as a young child having to pretend to be her mother, just because her mother was not being taken seriously. Tan's article reminds me of how it feels to learn another language, such as Russian for myself. While I began learning Russian, I have dealt with a language barrier. The theme of “Mother Tongue” is to enlighten the audience on cultural issues because it is based on language barriers, broken English, and limited resources. I believe Amy Tan’s goal is to educate the reader as to the problems faced by those who deal with broken English, language barriers, as well as having limited resources. Tan's goal was to educate the reader as to the problems associated with her mother furthermore, like many others like her. While having read the “Mother Tongue,” my knowledge of how many problems foreigners face in America grew. The first key point is language barriers. It is supported by this quote from the article: "The fact that people in department stores, banks, and restaurants, did not take her seriously, did not give her respectable service and pretended not to understand her or …show more content…
To be able to communicate with her mother, using the English she was privileged to have learned, would have been amazing. However, since Amy Tan was unable to, she wrote a book that her mother could read. By using the broken English that her mother used, she was able to communicate with her, on a level where she, her mother, did not feel inferior. Through my analysis, I discovered that education is a privilege, that not everyone is able to access. I also discovered that with hard work and determination many things can be accomplished regardless of your