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The Englishes in Mother Tongue

 

            In "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan talks about the different "Englishes" she speaks to communicate with different people. Language, culture, and education shapes us into who we are. The more you study the more you learn. It gives us a different perspective to life. In my experience, I can relate to Amy Tan we speak various types of English. At home, at work, and even with friends. The list can go on. For some of us we may be bilingual and that can also be a different way you communicate with others. .
             Although I may be able to speak both English and Spanish, I cannot write in Spanish very well. I have translated for my parents plenty of times. Tan mentions in her essay how she was ashamed of her mother's English. (136). Growing up I remember speaking to my parents in English a lot more than Spanish. I would say it in English then repeat it in Spanish. I believe that was one of the ways my parents started learning the English language. It may be considered "broken english" to some, but it doesn't make them less of a person. .
             In my personal opinion I think Tan should have been proud of her mom for speaking English even if it was considered "broken." To me, I love that even if my parents may not always know how to say something correctly it doesn't stop them from trying to do things on their own. They learn more everyday not only through me but at work as well. I'm not ashamed of it. In fact they make me very proud. It's not easy learning a new language. .
             One of my least favorite type of "Englishes" I speak is when I'm around my family. I'm referring to when I'm home with my parents. It can be hard and uncomfortable when talking about my personal stuff with them. When Tan says, "I again found myself conscious of the English I was using, and the English I do use with her." (135). She was referring to her mother. That's the way I feel when I'm around my parents.


Essays Related to The Englishes in Mother Tongue

1. Mother Tongue

Mother Tongue Not all people who speak the English language speak it the same way. ... Tan believes her mother's "English" is rich and interesting regardless, of it being entangle with the passion and directness that characterized her mother's character. "My mother's English is perfectly clear It's my mother tongue. ... Tan views the "English" that is characterized as broken and inferior as special, intimate and the insight expression of how her mother view the world even though at times she is embarrassed by the way her mother speaks English. Even if we are not mul...

  • Word Count: 558
  • Approx Pages: 2

2. Response To Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

I enjoyed reading Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. ... You could say they didn't have the best English. ... Their language could be described as "broken" English. ... Amy Tan is simply saying that because of her mothers language barriers she was able to form who she is today. ... She was able to see how some people formed a prejudice against her mother and herself even though they did not speak the English language as accurately as other Americans did. ...

  • Word Count: 463
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. STANDARD ENGLISH

In the essay "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan tells a story of how she uses different Englishes in every day life. ... Tan also noted that she was using words with her audience that she would not usually use with her mother because her mother's English was considered to be "limited" or "broken." Because of this limited use of the Standard English, Tan's mother was mistreated and sometimes ignored by others. Tan had begun to believe that her mother's words had no meaning because of her limited English. It was not until Tan was walking down the street with her mother and they are conv...

  • Word Count: 970
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Sujata Bhatt - Search for My Tongue

Initially, it explores a familiar ambiguity in English - "tongue" refers both to the physical organ we use for speech, and the language we speak with it. ... She deals with the experience of feeling that she is losing her mother tongue - her first language, Gujerati. Her tongue appears to symbolise her identity, her mother tongue demonstrating the deepest layers of her identity; her childhood, her memories, her roots. ... The mother tongue is compared to a living thing, a plant which grows and blossoms, an extended metaphor. ... ("Every time I think I've forgotten, I think I've lost ...

  • Word Count: 538
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Mother Tongue and Memoir of Bilingual Childhood

The Essay "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan and "A memoir of Bilingual Childhood" by Richard Rodriguez tell personal childhood experiences of both authors. ... The "broken" English of her mother and her excellent English. ... Despite all that she remembers her mother's English and she has to fall back for her. ... Tan on the other hand deals with her mother's broken English and people not taking her seriously. ... Tan's mother is disrespected because of the broken English she speaks. ...

  • Word Count: 905
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Mastering the English Language

What you need to do is just surround yourself with English by making rules with your existing friends that you will only speak English. ... " Next, remember the rule that do not translate the words from your Mother tongue as it can be totally different. ... This makes you to understand and learn English easier. No doubt, listening can be challenging for those primary English learner if the native English speakers use their own slang. ... Do not give up learning English when you face difficulties and at the end, you can find out learning English can change your life better....

  • Word Count: 735
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7. English Only Movement

The English-Only movement in many states prohibits the academic advancement of minority children and also deprives the children of the social advances of using their mother tongue. Researchers have found that when minority children lose their mother tongue the consequences are usually severe and extensive. In homes where parents don't use their mother tongue language with their children the family communication may worsen. ... Studies show that over 95 percent of first generation Mexican Americans are English proficient and more than 50 percent of second generation Mexican America...

  • Word Count: 1582
  • Approx Pages: 6

8. Can English be a medium of expression for Indian sensibiliti

When he writes, it is merely an expression of the same in English, a language that comes as naturally to him as his own mother tongue or even more so. ... "I remember the night my mother was stung by a scorpion. ... "They clicked their tongues."" The clicking of the tongue is something very Indian thing; something most Indians do... " and they sat around on the floor with my mother in the centre. ...

  • Word Count: 1833
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

9. English in America: Should it be the Official Language?

We found ourselves behind a middle-aged white man in front of us with a Hispanic mother with about five small children in front of him. ... But, the Hispanic mother was getting frustrated and began to yell at the girl in Spanish. ... And some people who come to this country do not want to speak English; they are comfortable with their native tongue and think they can get by just fine without knowing the language of our country. ... English 8). ... For centuries, our common tongue, English, had been the uniting force in the great nation, knocking down ethnic and religious barriers...

  • Word Count: 1886
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School