For example, "It has become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk, the language I grew up with" (397). Tan is so used to hearing her mother talk in a "Broken" (398) English, which she does not seem to notice much of a difference between broken English and clear English. She grew up listening to her mother talk this way and has gotten used to it. This way when Tan and her mother talk it is how their family talks, their own special way they communicate to one another. Rodriguez shares this same family quality like Tan and her mother’s language.
In the essay, “Mother Tongue,” by Amy Tan emphasizes the idea that we all speak different languages unconsciously and also we are categorized by the way we speck. In the essay Tan observes experiences that made her realized the different types of “Englishes” she uses. The first time she became aware was when giving a talk about her book, “The Joy Club,” she saw her mother in the audience and she realized that she had been using academic language learned from books, a language she had never used with her mother. The second time she noticed one of her “Englishes” was when talking with her mother and husband, she said “not waste money that way” which for her is an intimate language used only by her family. Tan emphasizes that fact that her mother recognizes her opportunities and interaction in life are limited by her English.
I think that her mother has been labeled or stereotyped. Also I believe that stereotyping is wrong. For instance, when Tan states, “It is the sort of English that is our language of Intimacy, the English that relates to family talk, and the English that I grew up with”. Amy Tan speaks in a “variation of languages like academic, a language she does not use at home, but uses when conversing with others outside her family or in her books”. Tan also uses“different English with her family (mother /husband) that she grew up with”.
But while writing her first novel she realized that Her culture and her background made her the writer and gave her the language she speaks today. Baldwin mentions the fact that we owe some of the Standard English language to the black form of English, which was derived from old clack culture. Tan’s Argument also includes many examples that have to do with how language and power relate to each other. She begins her article by mentioning that she is not an English Scholar, but she does take pride in her writing and often thinks of the power of language (178). She backs up this statement with an example, “My mother has long realized the limitations of her English as well.
Everyone had to get on with their everyday life, so there was no point in worrying about it. * People said that they would just have to accept the fact that thousands will die, but even more will be saved. Therefore there is no point in panicking. * There have been many different accounts written in people’s diaries saying that they did get together and that the blitz did help people. * You can’t compare the Dorchester with other people’s homes as it is strong purely because that was the way it was built in the first place.
One Voice Susan G. Madera Susan G. Madera essay central idea is that the way we speak does not exemplify who we are. Sometimes people judge you and your mentality just because you have different ascent. Being bilingual was not a blessing; it was a curse for her. She had difficulties speaking English properly. It was hard to change the way she spoke, especially because she was raised speaking different language.
Tan’s essay also clearly shows just how people use the language, and how English is used quite differently in different situations. In Tan’s essay, she uses the form of English which is comfortable and broken with her mother and her husband.
I cannot give you much more than personal opinions…I am a writer…I am someone who has always loved language. I am fascinated by language in daily life…” (Pg.402) Tan frequently used anaphora throughout and many times, “I”, the first person point of view was used. Her sentence fluency varied, with many short and choppy sentences and numerous long and fluent ones. I could relate to “Mother Tongue,” because depending on the situation, the author used different types of “Englishes”. Tan spoke “broken” English with her mother, and a more sophisticated one with other people.
The talk was going along well enough, until Iremembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room. Andit was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech, using the kind of English I have never used with her. I was saying things like, "The intersection of memory upon imagination" and "There is anaspect of my fiction that relates to thus-and-thus'--a speech filled with carefully wrought grammatical phrases, burdened, it suddenly seemed to me, with nominalized forms, past perfect tenses, conditional phrases, all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother.Just last week, I was walking down the street with my mother, and I again found myself conscious of theEnglish I was using, the English I do use with her. We were talking about the price of new and usedfurniture and I heard myself saying this: "Not waste money that way."
We never speak English to each other. Since our first language is mandarin, plus my mother is not really an English speaker, we will only speak mandarin to each other. She will go to adult school for ESL class and learn English skills. However, she will always put single terms into one sentence with non-grammatical way. In the article, I like how Tan said, “I was forced to ask for information.” Even though I don’t have to pretend I am my mother, but I get the feeling that who ever speak better English had the responsibilities to help out the situation.