Summary Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

Words: 191
Pages: 1
Open Document
The essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. The author tells us how the power of language has played a major role in her life. Tan describes her observation and thoughts about the use of the English language and the perceptions of others regarding to non-English speakers. She describes the pain and shame she felt while observing the negative reactions her mother would receive from others because her “broken” English was different from everyone else. Therefore, she would get ridiculed, people did not take her seriously, they did not give her good services; moreover, they pretend not to understand her “as if she was speaking pure Chinese,” (419). Often at times, Amy’s would talk to people on the phone, pretending she was her mother, this way, people
Show More

Related Documents: Summary Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary

Mother Tongue by Amy Tan Amy Tan's Mother Tongue is highlighting the difference in the many forms of a language used, not just by different individuals, but also by the same person when speaking to a different audience. I believe she is validating the individual usage of a language on the basis of it's expression and intent, not merely on grammatical correctness or grasp of vocabulary. If language is expressing properly to the intended audience, it is not to be considered lesser even if it is what…

Words 326 - Pages 2

Mother Tongue Language Analysis

For years, the language barrier has been a stopping force of the world coming together as a whole. Deborah Tannen, “How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently” and Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue” both talk about language barriers that are present in society. Today’s society proposes many language barriers. Of these language barriers, two prominent illustrations would be male and female versus immigrant and citizen barriers. Male and female differ in the way they communicate by slang usage and…

Words 442 - Pages 2