Mother Tongue By: Amy Tan. The context of this essay is Amy Tan’s own personal experience with growing up with a mother whose English is considered “broken” or “fractured” and how it affected her life. Growing up, Tan struggled with feelings like being ashamed of her mother. At one point in the essay she writes, “I was ashamed of her English.
What is the main point of Mother Tongue by Amy Tan?
The main idea behind Mother Tongue is the social constraints that defective English can impose, as well as the richness that such English can contribute to literature. Tan expands on this concept by examining her mother's language, her own English usage, and society's reaction to various people's English usage.
What is a theme central idea of Mother Tongue?
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is the short story about the importance of language and how it is a key for communication. Tan emigrated from China to Oakland, California and she was a first generation of Asian-American.
What are the significant contents of Mother Tongue?
Mother tongue develops a child's personal, social and cultural identity. Using mother tongue helps a child develop their critical thinking and literacy skills. Research shows that children learning in mother tongue adopt a better understanding of the curriculum.
What is the central theme in each of the story?
It is the message the writer is trying to convey through the story. Often the theme of a story is a broad message about life. The theme of a story is important because a story's theme is part of the reason why the author wrote the story.
What are the main themes of William Blake's poems?
These themes of vocation, religion, and the power of art figured later in Blake's themes on a much grander scale but here are presented as a somewhat straightforward introduction to his work. Also from Songs of Innocence (1789), “The Lamb” is one of Blake's most Christian lyrics.
What is the theme of the story the?
The theme of a story is an overarching concept that is shown through techniques such as characterisation, setting, and motifs.
What is the central themes of the text?
Theme is the central idea, or insight, about life and human way of acting that a story reveals. It is the idea on which the story is built. Theme most frequently applies to literary texts such as novels, short stories, dramas, and poetry.
What is Amy Tan's mother tongue about?
Amy Tan's 'Mother Tongue' explores her personal background in life and the tension between her worlds of Chinese and English. Explore the themes of finding her own voice, two worlds, shame, education, and coming to terms contained in this profound essay. Updated: 11/05/2021
What is the mother tongue about?
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. The broken English spoken by Tan's mother had far reaching effects. We are offered a window into the experiences Amy Tan, famous Asian-American writer whose works focus a lot on relationships between mothers ...
How did Amy Tan's education affect her?
Her education was affected as well by the language used in Amy Tan's home. Math seemed easy - after all there is only one answer - but English gave her difficulties because it seemed to her as though there was always more than one correct answer. Because of this, Tan is convinced that her standardized test scores were affected. She found that on these tests, there were analogies and sentence completions that threw her for a loop. Her background and upbringing did not make them clear to her. When speaking of analogies she tells us, ''I knew what the tests were asking, but I could not block out of my mind the images already created by the first pair, 'sunset is to nightfall'--and I would see a burst of colors against a darkening sky, the moon rising, and the lowering of a curtain of stars.''
What is Amy Tan describing when she talks about how she speaks to her mother versus how she uses English when giving?
What Amy Tan is describing when she talks about how she speaks to her mother versus how she uses English when giving lectures might be an example of her use of different formality and solidarity registers. These are linguistic terms describing how formal a person's speech is in different contexts as well as how a person changes their speech to fit in with family or with people of a similar social group. Write a paragraph examining how formality and solidarity registers can be used to explain what Amy Tan describes in this essay.
How did Amy Tan find her voice?
Amy Tan found her voice as a writer by spending time with her mother who spoke broken English. It is a bit surprising that Tan ended up as a writer considering the fact that she was expected to study the sciences.
Why did Amy Tan grow up in a home with her Chinese mother?
This is because she grew up in a home with her Chinese mother who spoke English that was, at best, difficult for many people to understand. Tan came to realize this because when Tan was with her mother, she spoke English differently, more simply, like her mother. In the essay, Mother Tongue, we see an article about Amy Tan contemplating how her ...
What is Amy Tan's essay about?
In this lesson, you learned about Amy Tan's essay, ''Mother Tongue''. In this essay, she explores the role of English in her relationship with her mother. Use the following activities to explore this concept in more depth.
What is Amy Tan's mother tongue?
In the initial section of “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan locates her position as “a writer… someone who has always loved language” (7). She describes the multiple Englishes that she uses, from formal academic language to the English she uses with her mother to the English she uses at home with her husband. The section concludes with Tan’s description of her mother’s “expressive command of English” (7), which is in conflict with her mother’s fluency in the language. Although her mother might speak English that is difficult for native speakers to understand, to Tan, her mother’s language is “vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery” (7).
What is the mother tongue about?
Summary: “Mother Tongue”. “Mother Tongue” explores Amy Tan’s relationship with the English language, her mother, and writing. This nonfiction narrative essay was originally given as a talk during the 1989 State of the Language Symposium; it was later published by The Threepenny Review in 1990. Since then, “Mother Tongue” has been anthologized ...
What is the mother tongue study guide?
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
What is the final section of Mother Tongue?
The final section of “Mother Tongue” transitions into personal reflection as Tan describes how she has reckoned with being raised by her mother in a xenophobic society. As a writer, Tan only found success when she moved away from more proper, academic register and instead wrote “in the Englishes [she] grew up with” (8). The essay concludes with Tan’s mother’s opinion about Tan’s most famous novel, The Joy Luck Club, in which Tan attempted to write in this fashion. Her mother’s “verdict: ‘So easy to read’” (8).
What language does Tan use?
Tan references the oft-used language of “broken” English and suggests that her mother’s English and way of speaking, despite its obvious interpersonal and social limitations (including harming Tan’s performance on such metrics as standardized tests), provided Tan a different semantic way of understanding the world.
What is Tan's mother's command of English?
The section concludes with Tan’s description of her mother’s “expressive command of English” (7), which is in conflict with her mother’s fluency in the language. Although her mother might speak English that is difficult for native speakers to understand, to Tan, her mother’s language is “vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery” (7).
What is the most famous book that Tan wrote?
The essay concludes with Tan’s mother’s opinion about Tan’s most famous novel, The Joy Luck Club, in which Tan attempted to write in this fashion.
Why is Tan's mother tongue unique?
Tan can obviously understand her mother’s language because it is so deeply engrained in her life.
What does mother tongue mean?
Mother tongue commonly means the language first learned by a person, but for the author, Amy Tan, it has a special meaning. In Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue”, Tan reveals how she was sculpted into the successful writer she is from the struggles of language speaking her mother had to face. By revisiting past occasions where her mother spoke in ...
How does Amy Tan use English?
Ultimately, Tan makes use of casual analysis, repetition, and comparison to send her message and make it loud and clear. English is the window to the soul, so there is more than one type of English as long as you keep an open mind. Throughout the essay, Tan uses simple and easy to read English, however at the same time we are able to understand the complexity of her argument. The method Tan uses to tell her story was an insightful approach because it allows everyone to relate to what she was talking about. Communication problems effect people’s day to day lives as it subjects some to low self-esteem and being taken advantage of. Amy Tan suggests a shift in the approach English writing be taught and made to aid in avoiding language speaking barriers.
What does Tan say about her mother?
Tan expresses this when saying she wanted to capture what language ability tests cannot reveal about her mother. By evaluating how the opinion of her mother was affected by her mother’s English, Tan realizes that she, too, forgot the true objective of the English language – to reflect one’s personality in its entirety.
Does Tan's mother's tongue have a relation to quality of thought?
However, she comes to a revelation that quality of expression has no relation with quality of thought. Tan confirms this train of thought when she affirms her mother’s tongue “was the language that helped shape the way she saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world” (Tan 4), which asserts the power of language.
What is Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue" about?
In her essay, “Mother Tongue” Amy Tan contemplates how her background shaped her life, her education, and brought her shame, but ultimately, she learns to embrace her background. Tan describes the way that she was stuck between two worlds.
What is Tan's mother's language?
It is vivid with detail and images. For Tan, her mother’s language is the language of her childhood, and it is clear, and full of imagery. She has no difficulties understanding exactly what her mother is saying.
How does mother tongue work?
The carefully chosen writing style of “Mother Tongue” makes the essay feel like a conversation that you are having. Tan engages the audience directly when she says, “You should know that my mother’s expressive command of the English language belies how much she really understands” (Tan 299). By directly addressing the audience she is able to show that she wasn’t writing this essay just to share her ideas, she really wants the reader to understand what is happening, and why it is such a difficult situation. Tan uses many storytelling techniques to make all the experiences feel more personal. By making the readers struggle to understand her mother, Tan makes the reader feel the frustration of the thick language barrier. We are compelled to experience all of the confusion as if we are having a real conversation. The reader is made to feel empathetic towards the situation. Tan knows what her mother means, and she feels bad that others don’t get to experience her thoughts or ideas. Tan’s writing style gives her readers a glimpse of what it must feel like to be stuck between the two worlds. As a reader you are made to feel the road block that is put in the way of her mother. It creates a feeling of defeat when she knows that her mother is capable of expressing her own ideas, but due to people’s impatience she has to constantly be a translator. Tan is not alone in her struggle between two worlds; Rosie King also shows her struggles of not fitting in to one stereotype.
How does Rosie King explain her autism?
King explains to her listeners the many ways that her autism has shaped her world view. King also discusses the tough question of what it means to be normal. She questions whether normal is a good thing, who wants to get a compliment that’s “wow you’re so normal” (King 04:01). While King shows how stereotypes are hurtful, she also tells how they motivate people to challenge the expectations that others have of them. Even though her autism has presented challenges she views her diagnosis as a unique ability because of the imagination it has provided her. She leaves her audience with a strong message to celebrate their uniqueness.
How does Amy Tan persuade readers?
Amy Tan can effectively persuade her readers by her use of ethos and having a strongly known character. Tan uses easy to read language throughout her essay. Even without elegant words, the readers can still understand the complexity of the argument she is making.
How does Tan make the reader feel?
By making the readers struggle to understand her mother, Tan makes the reader feel the frustration of the thick language barrier. We are compelled to experience all of the confusion as if we are having a real conversation.
What does Tan describe?
Tan describes the way that she was stuck between two worlds. When she is with her mother, she speaks in simple English, but while she is in the public eye, she shifts to an English that is more formal and acceptable; one that English-speaking people accept.
What is the purpose of Amy Tan's mother tongue?
Tan’s purpose was to show us how language separates, unites, or isolates those who don’t speak the common way as well as others. The differences between us and others do not make anyone less of a person. She tells us the different circumstances and struggles when her mother had been denied time and care for her broken English.
What is the meaning of mother tongue?
Amy Tan’s short story, “Mother Tongue” is an admirable tale that discusses the implied meaning of languages and how language is not only a device of communication, but a social tool of measuring an individuals’ worth.
What does Amy Tan mean by stipulative?
In the works of Jane E. Aaron, she states that a stipulative definition is a meaning that addresses a larger purpose or idea, also it broadens the meaning into something most people wouldn’t realize (235). Tan did exactly that when she depicts language in ways that separate us by the way we speak.
Why is Mother Tongue not worth the time?
Her mother was considered not worth the time of her doctors simply because they could not understand her and the stockbroker who was astonished at her broken English. There is a play on words with the title; “Mother Tongue” literally means one’s first language.
What was Tan's mother's diagnosis?
More recent in the story Tan states: her mother had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor and when she went to the doctor’s office, the CAT scan was lost and no one seemed concerned with her need to understand her prognosis—having lost a husband and son, both to brain tumors (14).
What is the sociological aspect of language?
This is the sociological aspect of language meaning how people judge others by the way they speak. In contrast, the author notes that the language her mother speaks is very different than American English, but that it is deceiving in that her mother understands more than one might think: “You should know that my mother’s expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands. She reads the Forbes report, listens to Wall Street Week, converses daily with her stockbroker, reads all of Shirley MacLaine’s books with ease—all kinds of things I can’t begin to understand” (Tan 7).
What is the mother tongue in Amy Tan's story?
In Amy Tan's short story "Mother Tongue," explain the essence of what "mother tongue" signifies in the story. In Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue," this term is a play on words. A person's "mother tongue" is usually considered to be their first language, but in this story, it refers to her "mother's tongue," or the version of English that her mother speaks.
What is the mother tongue essay about?
Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue" is a wonderful tale that addresses the substance of languages and how language is not only a tool of communication, but a sociological tool of measuring individual worth.
What is Amy Tan's essay about?
Amy Tan 's essay " Mother Tongue " discusses the way that language changes, and the ways it stays the same, inside contexts of immigration and generational time. It explores these ideas through how Amy and her mother use the English language, and how Amy uses the English language differently around her mother than she does in professionalized ...
Why did Amy Tan's mother talk on the phone?
When Amy Tan recalls growing up, her mother would have Amy speak on the phone, pretending to be her mother, so that people would take her more seriously . One time Amy did this with her mother's stockbroker. More recent to this story, her mother had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, but when she went to the doctor's office, the CAT scan was lost and no one was remotely concerned with her need to understand her prognosis—having lost a husband and son, both to brain tumors. Amy's mother refused to leave the office until someone called her daughter. When this occurred, everyone was much more cordial with Amy than with her mother: promises were made and apologies graciously extended. In both cases, the perception based on her mother's "limited" English gave people the idea that Amy's mother wasn't very bright, or worse, was not worth their time. This is the sociological aspect of language.
What was Amy Tan's first book?
It was most gratifying to Amy Tan when her mother read The Joy Luck Club, Amy's first book. Her mother gave her praise that meant a great deal to Tan:
How does Amy set up this comparison?
Amy sets up this comparison by describing a talk that she gave about a book and had given so many times before that it was entirely familiar to her. When Amy gave this talk to an audience that included her mother, it caused her to reflect on the distance between the language that she uses in the world of her career and the language that she grew up with at home and still uses with her husband in the present day .
What is the mother tongue essay about?
In the personal narrative essay "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan she talks about how there is a variation of the English language all over the world. Tan explains about how her English is different from her mothers. Her mother’s English is described as "broken" or "fractured" (651). It was described as this because she does not understand all of the words and sometimes she misses words. Her mother has had to learn English as a second language; it was not her first language. Everyone that speaks English may change the way they speak depending on who is around. In a sophisticated environment they may talk with more poise and use larger words, but with their friends they may be more lenient and not worry about having to impress them.
What does the speaker feel about her cultural presents?
The speaker may feel a form of guilt for her uncertain feelings towards her cultural presents as she wants her English things, which she can feel natural in. Both these poems suggest that the poets feel culturally alienated in the countries they live in. The first poem talks about how the speaker is unable to use her mother tongue, “lost the first one, the mother tongue” and fears that she is going to forget it. At the same time, the second poem tells the readers how she receives presents from her aunts and likes them but is uncomfortable in them “I longed for denim and corduroy”. ‘Search for My Tongue’ is written in free verse.
Does Tan speak English?
Although Tan speaks articulate English, she still can comprehend with her mother 's "Broken English". In this article, Tan 's argue that her mother 's "Broken English" has caused unfairness, disinterest, and limitations throughout their life. Tan 's mother was discriminated a lot throughout her life, all because of her "Broken English". Growing up speaking "Broken English" has caused Tan 's mother to be treated unfairly. For example, in one body paragraph, Tan talks about her mother having her to call people on the phone pretending to be her.
What is the message of Amy Tan's mother tongue?
There are three important messages that we all can understand and learn from in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue”. Firstly, and most importantly, Tan wants to convey the message that words are more than just words and sometimes we must read between them to fully understand their meaning. Another message conveyed in this essay is that just because someone is using “broken” English, does not mean they do not fully understand what is going on. Finally, another important message is that standardized tests only test for standardized thinking.
What is Tan's example of her mother going to New York to yell at her stockbroker?
Tan uses an example of her mother going to New York to yell at her stockbroker, after not receiving her check from cashing out her portfolio, to show us that even though her language skills were sub par, she could still very effectively communicate her feelings and ideas.
