I really enjoyed this essay. Having to come from a family with parents who don’t speak English, I can totally connect with Tan’s story. When my parent attempts to speak English with other people I often feel embarrassed and pretend like I didn’t hear what they said. However, despite their broken English I can still understand what they were trying to say. When it comes to reading letters or going to court I or my cousins often act as the translator and help my parent and relatives translate. I agree with the author that not having parents who don’t speak English can be a disadvantage and can limit their child’s possibility in life. In many ways my situation is very similar to Tan’s. For example, when it comes to the SAT or other assessments I always do well in the math portion than English portion. I don’t solely blame my parents for my poor performance; however I do think that it affected me in limiting my ability to expand my skills. In many ways people do look down at those who don’t speak English. They form a stereotype assuming that person is not educated or that he is simply an immigrant and this leads to humiliation.
I really enjoyed this essay because it examines a subjects that many other people have. I can relate to this as my parents try to speak English sometimes and it seems that I’m the only one who can understand her. The person who they’re talking to have no idea what they are trying to say and I have to step in to reiterate. Like the author, I am ashamed of my parent’s English because it sounds really bad and I wish they could speak better so they won’t have to ask me to translate for them. I’m pretty sure a lot of people have the same problem I do and some of them feel similar to me but, they are our parents and we still love them.
I am a writer. That statements raise a major concern, because anyone can define themselves as a writer; but what is a writer? I can write a thousand page paper on the effects racism or violence in America but would it be sensible or have personalized effect entwined within? A writer in my personal opinion is anyone who can formally fashion prudent literature that arouses opinion and thought in the reader’s mind. If I was to read a text that’s pointless and I feel as if I read it just to read it, then the author isn’t a writer.
I really enjoyed this essay and was delighted to read an essay from a well known author whose book I have read. Amy Tan talks about the language English in her piece “Mother Tongue.” “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 has learned in school and through books” (290). This quote depicts her admiration for the English language. She is one of very few people who do not take the language for granted. She studied long and hard as to learn the english language so that she can gain the many opportunities and simply gain the ability to convey exactly what is on her mind. Many people today do not cherish the language as she does. We continuously mispronounce words and misuse commas, apostrophies, semi-colons, etc. We have also abbreviated many words into what is known as instant messaging (IM) lingo. Words like “lol,” “ttyl,” “gtg,” “btw,” “smh,” have all been abbreviated to make talking online and texting through phones much more easier for man kind. We should look to english the way Amy Tan sees it. A language full of opportunities that shouldn’t be misused.
In this essay, Amy Tan wrote how it was like growing up from a family that can’t speak english. She had to pretend to be her mother when she was talking to a stockbroker on the phone. Her mother had to whisper to her, “Why he don’t send me check, already two weeks late. So mad he lie to me, losing me money”(292). Tan was embarrassed when her mother spoke to the stockbroker in person, revealing herself as the real Mrs. Tan. I know it must been hard for Amy living with a family that can’t speak english. They would probably getting used to living in America.
Mrs. Tan’s way of speaking english reminded me of how I speak. I have a speak problem where I can’t pronouce my words. My mom had to correct me on how I speak because she doesn’t want anyone to make fun of the way I talk. I’m stilling getting all the help I need so I can learn how to speak properly so that people can understand me.
As I read this story I found it to be very profound because it had more of a underline meaning than the fact that she had a mother who couldn’t speak English. In my opinion, the essay spoke about how those who can not speak what is known to be “fluent” English are often degraded and demeaned. As we can see in the essay when the writer speaks into a conversation that started with just her mother and an accountant , the mother isn’t taken seriously and its made a mockery of because her English was considered “broken.” As soon as the writer steps in immediate change takes place in the situation and as a result we can see that people today have become ignorant and oblivious to that fact that we live in a mixed nation. Where we live is full of immigrants and as a result they should all be accepted the way that we are as citizens.
I enjoyed reading the essay because I found it to be relatable because I personally come from a family of immigrants where I often find myself laughing at their pronunciation of things. The same way that I laugh at them at home is the same way that they are getting laughed at in public. It shows that instead of me laughing at them I should be trying to help but they laugh with me because their pronunciation of things serves as a result of their accent. After reading this essay I learned that it has more of a deeper meaning than that people may have it worse than my family and the question then becomes how do they handle something as big as that.
I really enjoy essays like “Mother Tongue’’ because they speak of things that are relevant to my life. In this case, I suppose I am the intended reader. I understand what Tan means by the ‘different Englishes’ that exist in her language because they exist in my language too. I have the ‘proper english’ that I use to speak in school and the ‘improper English’ that I use to speak to my family. I also have the Spanish that I use in between, similar to Chinese in Tan’s essay.
I remember once when my dad asked me if I thought in English or in Spanish, I found that to be such a weird question. But now I understand why he asked it. It’s because I think in English and he thinks in Spanish, even mentally there can exist a language barrier, to me this was fascinating.
I can also relate to Tan in that English was not supposed to be my strong point, but it ended up being so because I tried really hard to understand the language. I remember reading a lot when I was younger in order to increase my reading and writing skills, thankfully it paid off. In short, I enjoyed the essay because I could relate to it. However, this story in my opinion is universal. Everyone role changes at some point in time, which is pretty much what those of us who speak more than one language do.
I liked this essay. It reminded me of my mother. As a woman who was born and raised in Jamaica it is hard for my mother to speak proper english. When she tries to speak proper english it sounds really funny to me because i can tell that it is not natural and that she feels uncomfortable doing it. As a Police Officer she is interacting with people everyday and has no choice but to speak with them. Having this job helps her with her speech but i feel at the end of the day my mother is a Jamaican woman and she just feels comfortable speaking in her language. My sister was also born and raised for a small while in Jamaica and came up her to go to school at the age of nine but i feel that it was easier for her to adapt becuase she was younger and became more “americanized” faster than my mother did. My moms english is very “broken” in comparison to Tan’s mother. This is why i could relate to this essay because it just made me think about my mother.
This is essay is basically about an idea similar to code switching. Code switching is the ability to change you’re attitude and the way you speak according to the person you’re with or speaking to. Since I’m familiar with this, I wasn’t very interested by this essay. It was restating ideas that I was already aware of. For example, I do not speak to my parents the way I speak to my friends. If I ever cursed in front of my parents I would have no teeth. Also, I don’t speak to my teachers the way I speak to my parents’ friends or my great grandparents and so on and so forth. Although I don’t have a huge vocabulary, the words I use and the tone I speak changes according to the person I’m conversing with. Therefore I guess I have multiple “Englishes” I use on a daily basis.
I think the ability of speaking different ways is kind of a survival skill, the ability to talk to different kinds of people. I personally believe this is what makes people who come from lower classes who prosper, better then the people born in rich neighborhoods where they spoke to only one kind of person. It makes us better communicators.
“Math is precise; there is only one correct answer. Whereas, for me at least, the answers on English test are always a judgment call, a matter of opinion and personal experience.”
I see what she is saying about the two subjects. Math is more of a universal language that no matter where you come from you will always know 1 +1=2. English is one language and being that it is opinion based there is movement for new ideas. I hate when people ask things like what is your favorite subject because that is a hard question for me to answer. I understand math well. I latch on to things like equations and how to do certain things so when the test comes out it is hard for me to forget; on the other hand, English is quite the contrary for me. I find it to be a challenge to get all the in’s and out’s. Grammar, spelling, and all that other good stuff is a challenge and when i do good on a paper or something i see it as a personal feat to fulfilling a goal to excel in English. With those two thing in mind i hate when people ask me “what is your favorite subject?” it is hard for me to answer. Easier isn’t always better, but it does help.
Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue was awesome. When reading the essay I have extremely excited and riveted to get deeper into it. For the first sentence I was hooked, and couldn’t help but cheer as and shout out “OMG YYYEEESSS” as a read on. My whole body lit up as the stupid smile on my face got bigger and bigger; she wrote in such a way that compels the reader to continue and just grabs hold of you. In some ways I was able to relate to her and feel the strong connecting that she shared with her mother when she said “some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It’s my mother’s tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery.” (291). This quotation just made my day, and as a writer my self I can’t help but not appreciate it. The language and the way that she structures they sentence is so poetic, and just flows wonderfully. This essay alone makes her one of my newly favorite authors.
I actually liked this essay even though I dislike Amy Tan for her book. The way she talked about using differently type of English around people and her mother. It reminded me of how I slightly change the way I talk around my parents. I don’t usually speak in the same tone of even with most of the same words that I usually use around my friends with my parents. This was something I was able to connect with because I knew exactly what she meant by different languages. I also thought the quoted paragraph from her mother was hilarious.
Amy Tans many “englishes” are similar to the many different ways we speak to people on a daily basis. Although she is an excellent writer and can speak, read, and write correct English, she still code switches to speak to her mother in “broken” English. This can be compared to the way I speak to my friends on a daily basis. When I’m articulating something in class, whether it is sharing my opinion or answering a question in my notebook all of that is spoken and written in grammatically correct English. However, when I’m in the street, or just around a group of friends we use a lot of slang words, for example “yo” or “what’s good?” People change the way they speak when conversing with different people to fit the language of that specific conversation and this is actually a good thing. Being able to adapt to different conversations by altering the language you’re using is a good tool because it makes you available to communicating comfortably with many different people.
Amy Tan does a good job at expressing that she doesn’t see her mother’s English as a bad thing although she does mention some events where her mother was looked down upon because of it. At the end of the day she accepts her mother’s speech, and she embraces is because it’s the way she grew up. She can understand her mother perfectly fine, and at the end of the day that’s all that really matters. I enjoyed this essay because I think it’s one that we can all relate to.
I thought this essay was intresting. Amy Tan, who doesn’t speak well in English writes about her experiences and how she deals with it. I went to a school where we had many chinese imagriants. They could not understand what teachers were telling them. They had to have someone translate for them. Those people never did well on the English part of any NY state exam. I felt bad for them because they wanted to achieve in America but couldn’t because they cannot speak English that well. I feel my grandmother can relate to Tan. She tries her best to speak English but is unable to because she never went to school in America. My grandmother today can speak some words in English but knows that she can only speak chinese. This essay is very relatable and I believe when someone reads this that they can picture being in this situation.
I’m not really sure if I’m the intended reader, but I guess I am. My mom was born in Barbados and she came to the US when she was 12. Over time she developed a perfect American accent, but she still kept her natural one. At work she switches on her professional and perfectly clear voice, but when she gets home she mixes in her Bajan slang, regular slang and English. I love it when my mom speaks which is why I can relate to Amy Tan. Some people may think that my mom is crazy when her accent comes out and she starts speaking some strange things, but I love it and I understand it so that’s all that matters.
I enjoy reading this essay because I can relate and understand what it is likes to have different ways of speaking English. Most of the people in my family don’t speak English, but when they try, the things that they say comes out weird and different. I use to feel embarrassed when my mother tries to speak English because it didn’t sound like “regular” English, but after a while I started to realize that not everyone speaks perfect English. When the author mention about “broken” English, I relate it with my mother and how I use to felt when she speaks English. I soon realize that she would be upset if I make fun of her or didn’t try to help her pronounce the words correctly. So now I try my best to help my mother understands words that she is curious to know and help her pronounce the words better so that nobody would laugh when she speaks English. My mother is not the only one that speaks “broken” English, because there are so many different people that come from different places that not everyone speaks the perfect English.
“It’s my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observations and imagery” (91).
This quote stood out to me the most. I can relate my mother being a Spanish woman who never really learned proper English growing up has a similar problem. I’ve grown up listening to her English and to me it is understandable and clear, but to someone who does not know her may look at her like what are you saying. Once I look back to the things she say like Tan I am able to notice the flaws in her English. One thing that allows me to grasp everything she is saying is her hand movements and ability to bring the situation into gestures.
I also agree with her when she compared the English to math. English has more to do with structure and the ability to apply it to oneself, when math like other subjects has more to do with memorization, no matter where you are from what language you speak you will always know math, where English is far more complex.
I like this essay because I can make a connection with the main character. As Amy Tan mentioned “Like, others, I have described it to people as ‘broken’ or ‘fractured’ English” (292), it reminds me of the way I speak. I don’t mean that I speak English poorly, but there are times when my English speaking skills go haywire and I consider it as my “accent acting up.” I think it happens because I speak English at outside my home but I speak Chinese at home and when I start to speak one language more frequently than the other, that language would become a bit unfamiliar than me. I remember trying to befriend someone who speaks only Chinese, and after a while of taking to her, my “accent started acting up.” I don’t really enjoy it when my “accent act up” because it doesn’t fit my personality and it ruins my jokes.
Amy Tan essay about her mother’s tongue is similar to her book The Joy Luck Club. I enjoyed this essay because I like the author’s point of view of the different perspectives of mothers. I like how Amy is always mentioning women in her writing. This particular essay reminds me of my mother. I love my mother’s “tongue” as English as her second language. While I was reading the essay it made me able to imagine the same situations she had to deal with her mother I do with mines. Such as making appointments for her, acting like I’m my mother when she needs me to call for problems she has with her health care plan. I even call for her when she too sick to go to work that she needs to stay home and doesn’t like to embarrass herself. I don’t really speak to my mom in English and when I do she has her know way of saying certain words and I’m perfectly fine with that. I know the difficulties my mother faces when she hears me using big words in English. The only difference with me and Amy, math doesn’t come easy for me, I like the fact English doesn’t have an exact answer that the answer varies in different ideas and ways of different people. “Lately, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” or fractured” (292). This statement is true, because my mother does speak broken because she hasn’t gone too school to learn English like I have, she never really gave English a tried but she understands it and knows how to read it. My mother chooses not to express it with her tongue and I think that’s the only problem, but just as Amy when her mother finish reading her book she was happy to hear her mother enjoyed the book, I felt the same when my mother was proud of me getting into a advance English classes and receiving high English scores, by challenging myself.
I enjoyed reading this essay;in particular, I liked how Amy Tan incorporates how difficult it is to speak a foreign language. Especially since English is not her native language, Tan’s mother tries to speak English because it is the language people use most often in the society they live. I do find it embarrassing to listen to people speak in “broken” English because I find it difficult to understand what they are saying. I am;however, sympathetic towards them because I also find it difficult to speak in a different language. When I first attempted Spanish, the words seem like a combination of random letters. It was the same when I attempted French. Sometimes the grammar of a language is native to a person that he/she tries to incorporate it into the another language being spoken. When Tan wrote “I believe that it affected my results on achievement tests, IQ tests, and the SAT,” it reminded me of how difficult it was to take the Writing section of the SAT because people of multicultural backgrounds have a difficult time differentiating the grammar for English to another language such as Chinese ( 293). It is certainty difficult to communicate in a different tongue because we are more native to one language which conflicts speaking a different language.
This essay is good. Amy Tan reminds readers that not all people who speak the English language speak it the same way. In “Mother Tongue” she reveals the truth on individuals being identified as an outcast, and discriminated against. Amy describes the pain and shame she felt from observing the negative reaction her mother got from others in public places. “some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It’s my mother’s tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery.” (291).
I guess many people, including myself, can relate to what Amy Tan talks about in this essay. Many of our families are not born in the US and they speak with an accent or in “broken” English. My Mom and Grandmother are part of this group. My Mom tells me many stories about how she was treated and how she felt when she could not understand when people were talking to her and even worse when the laughed at her attempts to speak English with an accent and misspronounced words. I think that because of her experience, she has always insisted that I read a lot and write “proper” English. I read an article about a commitee in France that constantly reviews words beign used specially in English or on the internet and they translate them to French to preserve their language. They are having a difficult time agreeing with the translations because spmetimes the real meaning of the words is lost.
Welcome, Class of 2010! I hope you will find this blog to be a useful, expedient mechanism for sharing your writing and responding to the writing of others. Furthermore, I hope you have some fun! There are some rules, however, of which you must be aware.
First Rule
This blog is educational. It is not a space for chatting with your friends (you have myspace, facebook, bebo, etc. for that). You'll be expected to respond to your classmates' writing, but I want you to think of them more as colleagues than friends on this site. The "fun" mentioned above will be in taking others' ideas to task in friendly debate. Therefore...
Second Rule
Writing on this site is FORMAL. For a GRADE. You will be graded on the content quality of your response, not your grammar. HOWEVER...Grammar mistakes will lead to grammar assignments selected especially for you. The fewer mistakes you make, the fewer grammar check-ups you'll be required to complete.
Third Rule
Text message/Chat abbreviations are just that -- for texting and chatting. You won't be LOL-ing, btw, when I pwn ur grade, lolz! (For the record, I love txt lingo -- and it has its place -- but my job is to teach you to write formally -- not be your bff -- hence the requirement that you write with a formal tone here).
Fourth Rule
Comment on the comments of others, but remember that there's a person behind that comment. People have a tendency to think that it's okay to be cruel online and to "speak" to others in ways they wouldn't speak to others in real life. Remember: I know who you are.
Fifth Rule
Always use the same username in your comments. If you use a name that isn't already known to me, I'll assume you aren't one of my students and I'll delete the comment -- which means you'll have to write it again under your usual username, and that would not be fun.
22 Comments
November 9, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I really enjoyed this essay. Having to come from a family with parents who don’t speak English, I can totally connect with Tan’s story. When my parent attempts to speak English with other people I often feel embarrassed and pretend like I didn’t hear what they said. However, despite their broken English I can still understand what they were trying to say. When it comes to reading letters or going to court I or my cousins often act as the translator and help my parent and relatives translate. I agree with the author that not having parents who don’t speak English can be a disadvantage and can limit their child’s possibility in life. In many ways my situation is very similar to Tan’s. For example, when it comes to the SAT or other assessments I always do well in the math portion than English portion. I don’t solely blame my parents for my poor performance; however I do think that it affected me in limiting my ability to expand my skills. In many ways people do look down at those who don’t speak English. They form a stereotype assuming that person is not educated or that he is simply an immigrant and this leads to humiliation.
November 9, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I really enjoyed this essay because it examines a subjects that many other people have. I can relate to this as my parents try to speak English sometimes and it seems that I’m the only one who can understand her. The person who they’re talking to have no idea what they are trying to say and I have to step in to reiterate. Like the author, I am ashamed of my parent’s English because it sounds really bad and I wish they could speak better so they won’t have to ask me to translate for them. I’m pretty sure a lot of people have the same problem I do and some of them feel similar to me but, they are our parents and we still love them.
November 9, 2009 at 9:50 pm
“I am a writer” (290).
I am a writer. That statements raise a major concern, because anyone can define themselves as a writer; but what is a writer? I can write a thousand page paper on the effects racism or violence in America but would it be sensible or have personalized effect entwined within? A writer in my personal opinion is anyone who can formally fashion prudent literature that arouses opinion and thought in the reader’s mind. If I was to read a text that’s pointless and I feel as if I read it just to read it, then the author isn’t a writer.
November 10, 2009 at 12:08 am
I really enjoyed this essay and was delighted to read an essay from a well known author whose book I have read. Amy Tan talks about the language English in her piece “Mother Tongue.” “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 has learned in school and through books” (290). This quote depicts her admiration for the English language. She is one of very few people who do not take the language for granted. She studied long and hard as to learn the english language so that she can gain the many opportunities and simply gain the ability to convey exactly what is on her mind. Many people today do not cherish the language as she does. We continuously mispronounce words and misuse commas, apostrophies, semi-colons, etc. We have also abbreviated many words into what is known as instant messaging (IM) lingo. Words like “lol,” “ttyl,” “gtg,” “btw,” “smh,” have all been abbreviated to make talking online and texting through phones much more easier for man kind. We should look to english the way Amy Tan sees it. A language full of opportunities that shouldn’t be misused.
November 10, 2009 at 12:58 am
In this essay, Amy Tan wrote how it was like growing up from a family that can’t speak english. She had to pretend to be her mother when she was talking to a stockbroker on the phone. Her mother had to whisper to her, “Why he don’t send me check, already two weeks late. So mad he lie to me, losing me money”(292). Tan was embarrassed when her mother spoke to the stockbroker in person, revealing herself as the real Mrs. Tan. I know it must been hard for Amy living with a family that can’t speak english. They would probably getting used to living in America.
Mrs. Tan’s way of speaking english reminded me of how I speak. I have a speak problem where I can’t pronouce my words. My mom had to correct me on how I speak because she doesn’t want anyone to make fun of the way I talk. I’m stilling getting all the help I need so I can learn how to speak properly so that people can understand me.
November 10, 2009 at 1:01 am
As I read this story I found it to be very profound because it had more of a underline meaning than the fact that she had a mother who couldn’t speak English. In my opinion, the essay spoke about how those who can not speak what is known to be “fluent” English are often degraded and demeaned. As we can see in the essay when the writer speaks into a conversation that started with just her mother and an accountant , the mother isn’t taken seriously and its made a mockery of because her English was considered “broken.” As soon as the writer steps in immediate change takes place in the situation and as a result we can see that people today have become ignorant and oblivious to that fact that we live in a mixed nation. Where we live is full of immigrants and as a result they should all be accepted the way that we are as citizens.
I enjoyed reading the essay because I found it to be relatable because I personally come from a family of immigrants where I often find myself laughing at their pronunciation of things. The same way that I laugh at them at home is the same way that they are getting laughed at in public. It shows that instead of me laughing at them I should be trying to help but they laugh with me because their pronunciation of things serves as a result of their accent. After reading this essay I learned that it has more of a deeper meaning than that people may have it worse than my family and the question then becomes how do they handle something as big as that.
November 10, 2009 at 1:03 am
I really enjoy essays like “Mother Tongue’’ because they speak of things that are relevant to my life. In this case, I suppose I am the intended reader. I understand what Tan means by the ‘different Englishes’ that exist in her language because they exist in my language too. I have the ‘proper english’ that I use to speak in school and the ‘improper English’ that I use to speak to my family. I also have the Spanish that I use in between, similar to Chinese in Tan’s essay.
I remember once when my dad asked me if I thought in English or in Spanish, I found that to be such a weird question. But now I understand why he asked it. It’s because I think in English and he thinks in Spanish, even mentally there can exist a language barrier, to me this was fascinating.
I can also relate to Tan in that English was not supposed to be my strong point, but it ended up being so because I tried really hard to understand the language. I remember reading a lot when I was younger in order to increase my reading and writing skills, thankfully it paid off. In short, I enjoyed the essay because I could relate to it. However, this story in my opinion is universal. Everyone role changes at some point in time, which is pretty much what those of us who speak more than one language do.
November 10, 2009 at 2:08 am
I liked this essay. It reminded me of my mother. As a woman who was born and raised in Jamaica it is hard for my mother to speak proper english. When she tries to speak proper english it sounds really funny to me because i can tell that it is not natural and that she feels uncomfortable doing it. As a Police Officer she is interacting with people everyday and has no choice but to speak with them. Having this job helps her with her speech but i feel at the end of the day my mother is a Jamaican woman and she just feels comfortable speaking in her language. My sister was also born and raised for a small while in Jamaica and came up her to go to school at the age of nine but i feel that it was easier for her to adapt becuase she was younger and became more “americanized” faster than my mother did. My moms english is very “broken” in comparison to Tan’s mother. This is why i could relate to this essay because it just made me think about my mother.
November 10, 2009 at 2:15 am
This is essay is basically about an idea similar to code switching. Code switching is the ability to change you’re attitude and the way you speak according to the person you’re with or speaking to. Since I’m familiar with this, I wasn’t very interested by this essay. It was restating ideas that I was already aware of. For example, I do not speak to my parents the way I speak to my friends. If I ever cursed in front of my parents I would have no teeth. Also, I don’t speak to my teachers the way I speak to my parents’ friends or my great grandparents and so on and so forth. Although I don’t have a huge vocabulary, the words I use and the tone I speak changes according to the person I’m conversing with. Therefore I guess I have multiple “Englishes” I use on a daily basis.
I think the ability of speaking different ways is kind of a survival skill, the ability to talk to different kinds of people. I personally believe this is what makes people who come from lower classes who prosper, better then the people born in rich neighborhoods where they spoke to only one kind of person. It makes us better communicators.
November 10, 2009 at 2:34 am
“Math is precise; there is only one correct answer. Whereas, for me at least, the answers on English test are always a judgment call, a matter of opinion and personal experience.”
I see what she is saying about the two subjects. Math is more of a universal language that no matter where you come from you will always know 1 +1=2. English is one language and being that it is opinion based there is movement for new ideas. I hate when people ask things like what is your favorite subject because that is a hard question for me to answer. I understand math well. I latch on to things like equations and how to do certain things so when the test comes out it is hard for me to forget; on the other hand, English is quite the contrary for me. I find it to be a challenge to get all the in’s and out’s. Grammar, spelling, and all that other good stuff is a challenge and when i do good on a paper or something i see it as a personal feat to fulfilling a goal to excel in English. With those two thing in mind i hate when people ask me “what is your favorite subject?” it is hard for me to answer. Easier isn’t always better, but it does help.
November 10, 2009 at 3:05 am
Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue was awesome. When reading the essay I have extremely excited and riveted to get deeper into it. For the first sentence I was hooked, and couldn’t help but cheer as and shout out “OMG YYYEEESSS” as a read on. My whole body lit up as the stupid smile on my face got bigger and bigger; she wrote in such a way that compels the reader to continue and just grabs hold of you. In some ways I was able to relate to her and feel the strong connecting that she shared with her mother when she said “some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It’s my mother’s tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery.” (291). This quotation just made my day, and as a writer my self I can’t help but not appreciate it. The language and the way that she structures they sentence is so poetic, and just flows wonderfully. This essay alone makes her one of my newly favorite authors.
November 10, 2009 at 3:08 am
I actually liked this essay even though I dislike Amy Tan for her book. The way she talked about using differently type of English around people and her mother. It reminded me of how I slightly change the way I talk around my parents. I don’t usually speak in the same tone of even with most of the same words that I usually use around my friends with my parents. This was something I was able to connect with because I knew exactly what she meant by different languages. I also thought the quoted paragraph from her mother was hilarious.
November 10, 2009 at 3:17 am
Amy Tans many “englishes” are similar to the many different ways we speak to people on a daily basis. Although she is an excellent writer and can speak, read, and write correct English, she still code switches to speak to her mother in “broken” English. This can be compared to the way I speak to my friends on a daily basis. When I’m articulating something in class, whether it is sharing my opinion or answering a question in my notebook all of that is spoken and written in grammatically correct English. However, when I’m in the street, or just around a group of friends we use a lot of slang words, for example “yo” or “what’s good?” People change the way they speak when conversing with different people to fit the language of that specific conversation and this is actually a good thing. Being able to adapt to different conversations by altering the language you’re using is a good tool because it makes you available to communicating comfortably with many different people.
Amy Tan does a good job at expressing that she doesn’t see her mother’s English as a bad thing although she does mention some events where her mother was looked down upon because of it. At the end of the day she accepts her mother’s speech, and she embraces is because it’s the way she grew up. She can understand her mother perfectly fine, and at the end of the day that’s all that really matters. I enjoyed this essay because I think it’s one that we can all relate to.
November 10, 2009 at 3:18 am
I thought this essay was intresting. Amy Tan, who doesn’t speak well in English writes about her experiences and how she deals with it. I went to a school where we had many chinese imagriants. They could not understand what teachers were telling them. They had to have someone translate for them. Those people never did well on the English part of any NY state exam. I felt bad for them because they wanted to achieve in America but couldn’t because they cannot speak English that well. I feel my grandmother can relate to Tan. She tries her best to speak English but is unable to because she never went to school in America. My grandmother today can speak some words in English but knows that she can only speak chinese. This essay is very relatable and I believe when someone reads this that they can picture being in this situation.
November 10, 2009 at 3:30 am
I’m not really sure if I’m the intended reader, but I guess I am. My mom was born in Barbados and she came to the US when she was 12. Over time she developed a perfect American accent, but she still kept her natural one. At work she switches on her professional and perfectly clear voice, but when she gets home she mixes in her Bajan slang, regular slang and English. I love it when my mom speaks which is why I can relate to Amy Tan. Some people may think that my mom is crazy when her accent comes out and she starts speaking some strange things, but I love it and I understand it so that’s all that matters.
November 10, 2009 at 3:36 am
I enjoy reading this essay because I can relate and understand what it is likes to have different ways of speaking English. Most of the people in my family don’t speak English, but when they try, the things that they say comes out weird and different. I use to feel embarrassed when my mother tries to speak English because it didn’t sound like “regular” English, but after a while I started to realize that not everyone speaks perfect English. When the author mention about “broken” English, I relate it with my mother and how I use to felt when she speaks English. I soon realize that she would be upset if I make fun of her or didn’t try to help her pronounce the words correctly. So now I try my best to help my mother understands words that she is curious to know and help her pronounce the words better so that nobody would laugh when she speaks English. My mother is not the only one that speaks “broken” English, because there are so many different people that come from different places that not everyone speaks the perfect English.
November 10, 2009 at 3:47 am
“It’s my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observations and imagery” (91).
This quote stood out to me the most. I can relate my mother being a Spanish woman who never really learned proper English growing up has a similar problem. I’ve grown up listening to her English and to me it is understandable and clear, but to someone who does not know her may look at her like what are you saying. Once I look back to the things she say like Tan I am able to notice the flaws in her English. One thing that allows me to grasp everything she is saying is her hand movements and ability to bring the situation into gestures.
I also agree with her when she compared the English to math. English has more to do with structure and the ability to apply it to oneself, when math like other subjects has more to do with memorization, no matter where you are from what language you speak you will always know math, where English is far more complex.
November 10, 2009 at 3:49 am
I like this essay because I can make a connection with the main character. As Amy Tan mentioned “Like, others, I have described it to people as ‘broken’ or ‘fractured’ English” (292), it reminds me of the way I speak. I don’t mean that I speak English poorly, but there are times when my English speaking skills go haywire and I consider it as my “accent acting up.” I think it happens because I speak English at outside my home but I speak Chinese at home and when I start to speak one language more frequently than the other, that language would become a bit unfamiliar than me. I remember trying to befriend someone who speaks only Chinese, and after a while of taking to her, my “accent started acting up.” I don’t really enjoy it when my “accent act up” because it doesn’t fit my personality and it ruins my jokes.
November 10, 2009 at 4:37 am
Amy Tan essay about her mother’s tongue is similar to her book The Joy Luck Club. I enjoyed this essay because I like the author’s point of view of the different perspectives of mothers. I like how Amy is always mentioning women in her writing. This particular essay reminds me of my mother. I love my mother’s “tongue” as English as her second language. While I was reading the essay it made me able to imagine the same situations she had to deal with her mother I do with mines. Such as making appointments for her, acting like I’m my mother when she needs me to call for problems she has with her health care plan. I even call for her when she too sick to go to work that she needs to stay home and doesn’t like to embarrass herself. I don’t really speak to my mom in English and when I do she has her know way of saying certain words and I’m perfectly fine with that. I know the difficulties my mother faces when she hears me using big words in English. The only difference with me and Amy, math doesn’t come easy for me, I like the fact English doesn’t have an exact answer that the answer varies in different ideas and ways of different people. “Lately, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” or fractured” (292). This statement is true, because my mother does speak broken because she hasn’t gone too school to learn English like I have, she never really gave English a tried but she understands it and knows how to read it. My mother chooses not to express it with her tongue and I think that’s the only problem, but just as Amy when her mother finish reading her book she was happy to hear her mother enjoyed the book, I felt the same when my mother was proud of me getting into a advance English classes and receiving high English scores, by challenging myself.
November 10, 2009 at 4:51 am
I enjoyed reading this essay;in particular, I liked how Amy Tan incorporates how difficult it is to speak a foreign language. Especially since English is not her native language, Tan’s mother tries to speak English because it is the language people use most often in the society they live. I do find it embarrassing to listen to people speak in “broken” English because I find it difficult to understand what they are saying. I am;however, sympathetic towards them because I also find it difficult to speak in a different language. When I first attempted Spanish, the words seem like a combination of random letters. It was the same when I attempted French. Sometimes the grammar of a language is native to a person that he/she tries to incorporate it into the another language being spoken. When Tan wrote “I believe that it affected my results on achievement tests, IQ tests, and the SAT,” it reminded me of how difficult it was to take the Writing section of the SAT because people of multicultural backgrounds have a difficult time differentiating the grammar for English to another language such as Chinese ( 293). It is certainty difficult to communicate in a different tongue because we are more native to one language which conflicts speaking a different language.
November 10, 2009 at 5:05 am
This essay is good. Amy Tan reminds readers that not all people who speak the English language speak it the same way. In “Mother Tongue” she reveals the truth on individuals being identified as an outcast, and discriminated against. Amy describes the pain and shame she felt from observing the negative reaction her mother got from others in public places. “some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It’s my mother’s tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery.” (291).
November 10, 2009 at 5:19 am
I guess many people, including myself, can relate to what Amy Tan talks about in this essay. Many of our families are not born in the US and they speak with an accent or in “broken” English. My Mom and Grandmother are part of this group. My Mom tells me many stories about how she was treated and how she felt when she could not understand when people were talking to her and even worse when the laughed at her attempts to speak English with an accent and misspronounced words. I think that because of her experience, she has always insisted that I read a lot and write “proper” English. I read an article about a commitee in France that constantly reviews words beign used specially in English or on the internet and they translate them to French to preserve their language. They are having a difficult time agreeing with the translations because spmetimes the real meaning of the words is lost.