Tanya wants to inspire those of her culture that can relate to what she is going through, while also asking for acceptance within the Latino community. Tanya was brought to the United States by her parents who were fluent in both languages. One parent was an artist and the other a psychology professor. Her parents only wanted what was best for her, so they only allowed them to read, write, and speak English. Tanya’s parents did this because they wanted her to fit into this, “red, white and blue world.”(pg 8) They wanted her to be able to speak the English language without a hint of the Spanish accent.
Our “Mother Tongue” is what gives us identity; it defines who we are, and therefore, people should value their native languages. The effect of western education on the relationship between parents and children is also another theme in the article. The initial bad relationship between Tan and her mother is caused by Tan’s feeling that that her mother is uncivilized and uneducated. This problem is common in the present world where once children have attained western education, they start disrespecting their parents or disassociating with them because they feel ashamed of the parents’ mother tongue influenced English. It is important that people learn to appreciate their parents irrespective of their level of education or their cultural background; after all, we owe our lives to
In the articles we read, the authors created a fundamental value specific to their culture by using examples of the effects they had with different members of their family. In Lee’s “Mute in an English-Only World,” it shows his level of maturity due to his mother’s influence on him an her respect in the culture. In "Mother Tongue," Tan explains how her mother changed her writing by changing her way of receiving the language. Lee and Tan, both of immigrant backgrounds, use their memories of deceased mothers to build credibility in their respective articles. Both of these writers were molded by their mothers.
From Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” (76-81), it is evident that language has an effect on our lives. Language defines the type of person I am generally and it has had an effect on my choices as well as my lifestyle. Language has become my way of seeing life in a different perspective. In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan discusses the many ways in which the language that she was taught affected her life. I can definitely relate to Tan’s essay because I too came from a bilingual home.
First came the dancing and singing trails, “ at first my mother wanted me to be a Chinese Shirley Temple†(Tan 450). Jing-mei never agreed to the things that other wanted her to do. Jing-mei was upset with her mother for forcing her to be A “Chinese Shirley Templeâ€. This plan didn’t work out. Jing-mei’s mother presented her with tests daily to see if
“Se habla Espanol” by Tanya Barrientos (2011) brings readers to a greater understanding of what it is like to struggle with learning a language. She tells what it is like to appear to be fully able to speak fluent Spanish but to be English-speaking only. People judge her by her appearance and name and assume that she can speak Spanish. However, even after six Spanish-speaking classes she still struggles to put together full sentences. Barrientos came to the United States as a young child and upon arriving in the new land she took on the new language, leaving her native language behind.
This is the first time that Kingston explicitly tells which additions to the story are her own. Not only is she referencing the story at hand, but she is also alluding to her life. While her mother very much colored her childhood, Kingston will be dictating the direction of the rest of her life. Kingston tells the story of Ts’ai Yen, a poetess captured and made to live with barbarians. Towards the end of the tale, Kingston tells of a song Ts’ai Yen sings: “Her words seemed to be Chinese, but the barbarians understood their sadness and anger…her children did not laugh, but eventually sang along” (209).
These factors contribute to the author’s intent in clarifying the purpose of the article, which is that a limitation in speech does not necessarily mean a limitation in life. Although her mother faced many struggles due to her inability to speak English properly, the ideas and the intent behind the verbal mistakes are what matters—words are sometimes more than mere words, because the connotations and intentions of the words are what truly count. After many years of writing, Tan realizes that she is becoming someone who she is not, and she ends up changing her style of writing and speaking because of her mother, who essentially changed Tan’s perception of language. With the use of rhetorical devices, it seems that Tan’s intended purpose is solely to send a supportive message to her mother, but it seems that she addresses a far broader audience, particularly American-born individuals whose parents have emigrated from elsewhere. Her aim is to help the first-generation people recognize the difficulty of being an immigrant in the United States and the challenges their parents face.
Unlke Yunior, she did not grow up in another country. Her struggle deals with finding an identity as a Chinese- American. Unlike the Domincan culture, which seems to be outspoken and open, the Chinese seem to encourage silence and secrets. The novel begins with Kingston’s mother saying, “You must not tell anyone,” before sharing the story with her daughter. - Silence is encouraged in their culture, allowing Kingston to develop into a shy, awkward girl with trouble adjusting.
My cultural story “Shanghainese”? I grow up in a very simple Chinese family with no wondrous family history. The only thing worth mentioning is my aunt—my mum’s sister believe in Buddhism, which may be considered as a tradition. I was once one of the Buddhist laity before I found the existence of Bodhisattva contradicts what I’ve learned from schools. Since my father, mother and I were all born in Shanghai, theoretically, I’m a kind of “Shanghainese.” Pesonally, I’d never labeled myself as a Shanghainese, for I feel a little ashamed of Shanghai intonation, especially in the quarrels.