Amy tan tan, amy contemporary literary criticism essay. We need to communicate to get new and innovative ideas across, to state opinions, to sort our arguments and most. Amy tan tells the story of how she becomes to have a strong natural love for language. Oct 21, 2015 in the essay, mother tongue, by amy tan, the author expresses the difficulties that she faced growing up with a mother who was limited to broken english. Amy tans story mother tongue a good portion of americans today speak english as their first language. Tan begins to recognize that she uses different styles of english depending on people she meets. The broken english spoken by tan s mother had far reaching effects. Reflection on mother tongue by amy tan premium essay help. However, what makes us different is that it is rare to find two people that speak the exact same english. As the title of the story, amy tans essay mother tongue focuses on the use of english language by her mother, which she stated as broken english. This handout describes an assignment in which students write a literacy narrative exploring their use of different language in different settings. Feb 12, 20 a few examples of this was with amys friends, the stock broker, and the doctor.
Another purpose of writing such book is the fact that amy tan has spent much of her time in america, but she was born in china. I believe tan wrote this article not only toward her critics, but also towards herself as a reflection of her relationship with her. In 1993, tans adaptation of her most popular fiction work, the joy luck club, became a commercially successful film. In mother tongue, tan writes about the awareness and discrimination about broken english compared to standard english. Mother tongue, is the article based on the power of language. In her essay mother tongue, amy tan wrote some anecdotes of her mother and the influence of her mothers limited english on her early development, expressing her understanding of mother tongue. Judging the character of a person because of their ability to speak is a mistake everyone is guilty of. In her essay mother tongue, amy tan wrote some anecdotes of her mother and the influence of her mother s limited english on her early development, expressing her understanding of mother tongue.
She spends a great deal of her time thinking about the power of language the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Sep 06, 2011 in mother tongue, amy tan conveys all three methods of rhetoric, ethos, logos, and pathos. Tans mother had to constantly deal with the preconceived notions that her ability to speak english also reflected her understanding, intent, and own thoughts. All of these people interacted with amy tans mother and treated her differently because of the type of english, or dialect, she was using. What do language tests not have the ability to measure, according. What she is hears is her mothers english coming out of her mouth. Get an answer for in mother tongue, amy tan explains that she uses multiple englishes in her daily life. As i was reading mother tongue i picked up on the reflective tone amy tan was using to convey the message to her readers. She loves writing and thinks about how language influences everything. Jul 18, 2016 paragraph 1 shes not a genius in the english language.
Mother tongue by amy tan amy tan starts her essay clarifying she is not a scholar of english or literature, but a writer. What are words tan uses to describe her mothers english. The story helps readers understand one of tans points. In the essay mother tongue by amy tan shows how english does not have only one type, but a variety of ways to be used and understood. And by that definition, i am someone who has always loved languagetan 76. Mother tongue, by amy tan i am not a scholar of english or literature. I think thats why i was so moved by amy tans nonfiction essay, mother tongue.
Amy tan ends her essay, mother tongue with this short and even grammatically wrong sentence. After reading amy tans essay mother tongue, i have come to several conclusions. Mother tongue annotationa \mother tongue annotation. A summary of amy tan s mother tongue free essay example. Mother tongue, by amy tan university of missourist. Mother tongue is an essay by amy tan describing her life with her mother in america. What is your response to amy tans point about the value of different languages. The main ideas in amy tans short story a pair of tickets, the last story in her novel the joy luck club, are related to the synthesis of cultural identity. Tan believes that a language has a fascinating power to conduct and guide mental activities paragraph 34. In the essay, mother tongue by amy tan, we are asked to consider.
The story helps readers understand one of tan s points. Reflecting on amy tans essay mother tongue in amy tans work mother tongue, the author explains that in some situations, she hears herself say things like not waster money that way 54. Amy tan tells us about her mothers english and how it sounded broken or as if something was missing every time she talked. The broken english spoken by tans mother had far reaching effects. She even went as far as to say language is the tool of my trade signifying the importance of literacy in her life. Arthur more than 322,000 chinese immigrants 18501882 turning point of the u.
For ethos, or credibility, tan makes personal references to her mother and factual events, as well as a description of her own accomplishments, which give credibility to her and her work. Amy tan has ethos on the subject of english and how it is used in a variety of tongues because her mother is chinese and immigrated to california. In mother tongue, amy tan conveys all three methods of rhetoric, ethos, logos, and pathos. Clipping is a handy way to collect important slides you want to go back to later. A rhetoric and reader for writers, edited by marjorie ford and jon ford, 7th ed. The struggles of communication communication is arguably the most essential and powerful part of everyday life. In mother tongue, tan suggests that asian americans might do better on math tests than on english tests because. However, tans mothers english also symbolizes the limitations of immigrants in america and the challenges they have to face to be accepted. Amy tan explains how culture may effect what you do and enjoy in life.
The main idea of amy tans mother tongue is the limitations that imperfect english can impose in society and the richness that such english can bring to writing. She also explains how fascinating the language is for her. Societies ability to run smoothly, efficiently and benefit as many people as possible, hinges greatly on communication and how effectively it is used. Amy tans mother tongue link to story amy tan is speaking of writing her book joy luck club theres a scene below, so in that sense it works as a good example of a literacy narrative in that tan writes about writing something. During this conversation, my mother was talking about a political gangster in shanghai who had the same last name as her familys, du, and how the gangster in. She alludes to several instances where people, even a doctor, would not take her mother seriously because of the way she spoke. Primary purpose of tans mother tongue english literature essay. Mother tongue amy tan is one of most imminent asianamerican writers of contemporary times. This is the argument amy tan makes in her story mother tongue. During this conversation, my mother was talking a out a olitical gangster in shanghai who had the same last name as her familys, du, and how the gangster in. Have students discuss amy tan s essay in small groups, using these discussion questions. With a chinese descent and a mother whose english skills could best pages.
Reflection on mother tongue by amy tan mother tongue, prepared by amy tan is about a woman who comes from a household of asian americans who traveled to america later in their lives. However, after further analysis, i see she could have been targeting specific groups. In the essay, mother tongue, by amy tan, the author expresses the difficulties that she faced growing up with a mother who was limited to broken english. Now customize the name of a clipboard to store your clips. What tan is classifying in this essay is the different kinds of english she uses. People were telling her how her english was not as valuable because her knowledge came from her mother, a second language speaker. Oct 29, 20 mother tongue is an essay by amy tan describing her life with her mother in america.
Tan describes her mothers english as broken or fractured 40. Amy tan, mother tongue by jiinlee in my personal opinion, the audiences of tans essay mother tongue are two groups of people. Apr, 2017 in the essay mother tongue by amy tan shows how english does not have only one type, but a variety of ways to be used and understood. She is then able to divide her different englishes. In mother tongue, tan posing as her mother on the telephone reveals that tan feels empathy for her mother. Reflections on amy tans mother tongue, essay sample. In this essay ive compared rhetorical analysis of amy tans mother tongue with james baldwin if black english isnt a language, then tell me, what is. Later she talks about a lecture she had some time ago tan was talking about her writing, her life, and one of her books. Both of them were right off the boat from sicily, italy. I thought by just reading the first paragraph that i was able to make a strong connection with amy tan and her essay. Use tans ideas about different kinds of english from mother tongue as a basis to consider the kinds of english you encounter every day.
Amy tans article called mother tongue the new world reader is very enlightening and opened my eyes to the struggles that asian american families go through on a day to day basis. I believe tan wrote this article not only toward her critics, but also towards herself as a reflection of her relationship with her mother and how it has led. Amy tans mother tongue is an example of a literacy narrative because she tells the story of how her writing and relationship with language has influenced her life. She has written several other books, including the kitchen gods wife, the amy tan chinese. Discussion of themes and motifs in amy tans mother tongue.
Amy tans story mother tongue 631 words 123 help me. Tan identify the different categories she discusses in mother tongue almost in the last paragraph, where she named all the kind of english she uses. Tan becomes well aware of the change in her language when she is with her mother. In a way, tans story is about tone and style, in the sense that how you convey a message is just as important as the content of your statement. Also, the imagery that illustrates amy tans difficulties in completing the word analogies further explains why english really has. Thoughts on mother tongue by amy tan happinessequalsoutlook. One is the group of asian americans who might have felt the same way as she had, that is, who might have thought that their asian parents use broken or fractured english and felt ashamed of.
Mother tongue, by amy tan mother tounge essay writing. In the story mother tongue, one thing that embarrassed tan as she grew up was pretending to be her mother and making her phone calls. Rhetorical analysis of mother tongue by amy tan 929. She also speaks smart english, but she also speaks her childhood english. Sep 10, 2011 amy tan, mother tongue by jiinlee in my personal opinion, the audiences of tans essay mother tongue are two groups of people. The primary purpose of tans mother tongue is to orient the readers about the authors intepretation of differentiating standard english and broken english. Tans essay examines the differences in how she communicates with her mother, and how she communicates. In her essay mother tongue, amy tan wrote some anecdotes of her mother and the influence of her mothers limited english on her early development, expressing her understanding of mother. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the english language and its variations in this country or others. It is an invitation to see english as a variety of ideas and expressions of oneself. In tans essay she quotes her mothers speech to demonstrate her mothers broken english, it was a very trivial story but the thing that is worth looking at was her mothers grammar. Shift the discussion by asking why tan speaks a different english with her mother than with her husband.
Through their actions they were discriminating against tans mother because of her speaking abilities. Amy tan explains in her story about her love of literature and how her mothers broken english has inspired her to write. It plays a major role when we are searching for a job because most employers are seeking people who can speak languages that meet the needs of their clients. Amy describes how we speak differently to family compared to how we speak to people out in public. While at the same time, her mothers way of speaking english sounded natural and real to amy, and i think this could be a reason she chose mother tongue as her title. Even amy tan, the author of mother tongue changed the way she perceived her mother as a result of harsh attitudes others displayed against her. How the broken speech of her mother has had an influence on her life. Throughout most of my life, my great grandparents were around. The main ideas in amy tan s short story a pair of tickets, the last story in her novel the joy luck club, are related to the synthesis of cultural identity. Mother tongue by amy tan key points and summary emmanuel. From reading amy tans mother tongue, we are informed of how she portrays her english language as a daughter, student and as a writer.
She even went as far as to say language is the tool of my trade signifying the importance of literacy in. It is one of the many englishes she grew up with, tan 519 and one. Hand out copies of mother tongue, and read the first two paragraphs aloud. She was reflecting on her past experiences with her mother and those that interacted with her. If the authors name is included in a signal phrase, you only need to cite the page number in parentheses. Feb, 2012 amy tans mother tongue is an example of a literacy narrative because she tells the story of how her writing and relationship with language has influenced her life. Amy tan explains about rebel against her oppressive mother towards the end of the story. Amy tans mother tongue in the essay mother tongue by amy tan 1990, which discusses her mothers way of speaking through broken english, tan explores the different englishes that she has come into contact with in her everyday life.
Amy makes the reader realize how really not being american can affect how well you could handle everyday situations. In the amy tans mother tongue, she states that she is someone who has always loved language. This is evident in the concluding lines of her essay mother tongue, apart. Sep 12, 2011 amy tans article called mother tongue the new world reader is very enlightening and opened my eyes to the struggles that asian american families go through on a day to day basis. Ask students to explain what tan means by different englishes. Michelle blay september 16, 2014 summary and claim of mother tongue amy tan complains of how her literacy on the english language was affected by the obstacles that she had to encounter of how others were judging her and her mom in her essay mother tongue. Tan elaborates this idea by scrutinizing her mother s language, her own use of english and societys response to different peoples english usage. Use tan s ideas about different kinds of english from mother tongue as a basis to consider the kinds of english you encounter every day. In mother tongue, we get a glimpse of the experiences amy tan had growing up in a home where english was not the first language. Amy tan, the author of mother tongue very well makes the point across about cultural racism without showing any anger or specifically pointing out racism.
However, the extreme behavior that it can promote must be combatted in order for it to play a productive role in society. Rhetorical analysis of mother tongue written by amy tan so easy to readp. In the essay mother tongue, amy tan explains that she began to write stories. Mother tongue by amy tan term paper mother tongue amy tan. Jan 25, 20 after reading amy tans essay mother tongue, i have come to several conclusions. The origin is dictates their first language or mother tongue and is the main reason why they do not express themselves in english remarkably well.
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