This is not to say that people of other countries do not learn English as well, but generally there is a language specific to the place where they were born: this is their mother tongue. Tan acknowledges that, whilst she did well in maths and science, subjects with a single correct answer, she was less adept at English. "What argument is Tan making here about language and its connection to our identity in "Mother Tongue"? When writing about becoming an English major in college, Tan said that she had always been rebellious. She acknowledges that when she was growing up, she was ashamed of the way her mother spoke. Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. C q" You had agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn't arrived.". By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University). Her first novel, The Joy Luck Club, is a collection of related stories told by four mothers and four daughters and was later turned into a film. Tan wrote Mother Tongue in 1990, a year after her novel The Joy Luck Club was a runaway success. There can be one tone throughout the entire piece or many different tones. Tan says that her identity as a writer was originally separate from her identity as her mother's daughter. Her mother gave her praise that meant a great deal to Tan: I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: 'So easy to read.'. (para. -other peoples reactions; how it affected Amy (would make calls for her mom) ~"iW]JL^kP(K/N\' |! Du Zong father wasn't look down on him, but didn't take seriously, until that man big like become a mafia. But because she is rebellious and likes to challenge peoples assumptions about her, Tan bucked this trend. 6. "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan Flashcards | Quizlet She struggled with tests which asked students to pick a correct word to fill in the blanks in a sentence because she was distracted by the imaginative and poetic possibilities of other words. When Amy first decided she wanted to be a writer, she was not encouraged to do so: English was her second language, and the peculiarities of the language (which confuse native English speakers, such as analogies) often confused her. She is just as special a person, despite what language she uses or how she uses it. Discuss how Tan broadens the essay's relevance by going beyond just her personal experience and raising issues that would be germane to her audience. And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English -- lo and behold -- we had assurances the CAT scan would be found, promises that a conference call on Monday would be held, and apologies for any suffering my mother had gone through for a most regrettable mistake. 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. It is the simple difference between theory and practice. She had cashed out her small portfolio and it just so happened we were going to go to New York the next week, our very first trip outside California. Log in here. The Qin bureaucracy had civil and military divisions and a justekst\underline{\phantom{\text{justekst}}}justekst. 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. -uses quotes to give an example of her mother's English Tan believed that her mother's English reflected the quality of what she had to say-that the imperfections in her speech meant that her ideas were just as imperfect. Many of the mothers in The Joy Luck Club, such as Betty St. Clair in The Voice from the Wall, feel isolated from those around them, never at home in America, and hyper-aware of their outsider status, despite becoming legal permanent citizens in the country. while growing up, what assumption did Amy Tan make about her mother because of her mother's language skills? Review terms and definitions. She goes from being ashamed of her mothers speakingfeeling that other people will judge her familyto being proud of the rich culture behind her mothers English. b. eruption Explain the meaning of Tans title and how it relates to her own identity as both a Chinese American, a daughter, and a writer. First, she points out that she uses the same language with her mother and her husband. She says this because it could have impacted her in developing the English skills that were expected in school. /Title ( M o t h e r t o n g u e q u i z l e t a n s w e r s) She used all of the "Englishes" she grew up with, giving her more connection to her work, and with the audience as well. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. Tan grew up in Northern California, but when her father and older brother both died from brain tumors in 1966, she moved with her. Yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. To see how other students have handled their analyses, check out these example essays on Mother Tongue.. think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well. But Tans interest in language, both as a cultural marker and as a way of expressing thought and personality, is also a prevailing theme of the novel. 7) She is motivated to make this argument to explain her method as a writer and her intellectual, literary, linguistic, and personal progress in uniting her two identities and to show that these identities need not be separated. possibilities" for people in the United States today? Accessed 2 May 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB Mother Tongue Essay - 795 Words | Bartleby What is Amy Tans primary identity according to what she says in paragraphs 1-3 of "Mother Tongue"? Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. How does Tan avoid stereotyping Asian Americans in general and Chinese in particular in this essay? But now you have to do a literary analysis on itand suddenly its short length seems like more of a burden than a blessing. And my mother was standing in the back whispering loudly, "Why he don't send me check, already two weeks late. Now all you have to do is analyze them. . She said they would not give her any more information until the next time and she would have to make another appointment for that. And I believe that it affected my results on achievement tests, I.Q. I believe that there is a play on words with the title, "Mother Tongue." Tan seems to love and respect her mother despite her language boundaries. But those scores were not good enough to override the opinion that my true abilities lay in math and science, because in those areas I achieved A's and scored in the ninetieth percentile or higher. 22 terms. << nNSm`NO8 SL6x 9 tG%rzo=>ca3`!VW19>:HmoM!>? _E nYKyrO [%eLm ii+;t9xt;md/C?dSh[`N:)$9HAJI%i2. 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. ". 5. defining her mother's tongue and other's interpretations of it (their reactions) -defining her interpretation, others interpretation, and how it influenced her writing structure 1st part -1-7 -awareness of the diff types of English -nature of her mother's English And all of the ethnic and regional accents in between. 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. . Mother tongue is usually referred to the first language a person is taught, however I think Tans use of the word mother tongue is much more intimate in a sense that she feels that ere English or her mother tongue is unique to her, and that the variation of English she speaks to her mother is her mother tongue. Life Span 4 . If you believe she is guilty of some stereotyping, discuss examples. taylor_garrett36. She majored in English at college and began writing as a freelancer. 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 when listening to her speak. Describe how others (those who do not know her intimately) see Tan's mother versus how Tan describes her in "Mother Tongue." Her mother's "limited" English limited Tan's perception of her. 2. Amy Tan - Books, Short Stories & Movie - Biography Mother Tongue Summary - eNotes.com What is the author's purpose, style, and tone in the story? And my mother was standing in the back whispering loudly, "Why he don't send me check, already two weeks late. At one point, Tan writes about being embarrassed about her mother. Consider the story "Mother Tongue." Students are most likely to conclude that Tan and her mother do have a close relationship and should support their opinion with at least three of the following examples: a. I've heard other terms used, "limited English," for example. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. In this connection, it is noteworthy that Tan chooses to focus on the school tests she undertook before concluding that her mothers broken style of English has been misunderstood not just literally (by some people whove known her), but in terms of the misleading perceptions of her it has led others to formulate. 8, Tan)". This was understandable. But to me, my mother's English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. Where "mother tongue" usually refers euphemistically to someone's first language, here it refers to Amy's mother's second language: the English that Amy is familiar with her using, literally her mother's tongue. Latest answer posted October 28, 2019 at 10:43:03 PM, Latest answer posted May 19, 2020 at 7:56:33 PM, Latest answer posted November 08, 2020 at 3:49:32 AM. She adores her as any other child would adore their own mom. What is the author's purpose, style, and tone in the story? Students may conclude that Tan and her mother did not have a close relationship if they support this opinion with valid examples. a) her mother was speaking that way on purpose just to embarrass Tan b) Her mother had an undiagnosed mental illness c) her mother's spoken language was imperfect, so her ideas must be imperfect d) her mother wasn't intelligent "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan Flashcards | Quizlet "Mother Tongue" // Amy Tan Flashcards | Quizlet } !1AQa"q2#BR$3br Include in your discussion examples and observations from your own experience or Amy Tans Mother Tongue.. As the second generation of Chinese immigrants, Tan faces more problems than her peers do. In literature, tone is the feeling an author conveys to the audience. What strategies does she use to make this argument? You may also wish to discuss some of the emotions that a king in battle might be feeling. As a writer, she used the rigid, grammatical acrolect she had learned at school; as a daughter, she used the more forceful, vivid English spoken by her mother, for which she cannot even find a name, since she dislikes calling it "broken.". Those tests were constructed around items like fill-in-the-blank sentence completion, such as, "Even though Tom was, Mary thought he was --. I've heard other terms used, "limited English," for example. What organizational pattern does Tan use in "Mother Tongue," and how does she control her tone? Our experts can deliver a "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan essay tailored to your instructions for only $13.00 $11.05/page 308 qualified specialists online Learn more Main text This question is about the essay "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan. Get started for free! "Mother tongue," as it is used in the title of this piece, is a pun on the traditional idea. She reads the Forbes report, listens to Wall Street Week, converses daily with her stockbroker, reads all of Shirley MacLaine's books with easeall kinds of things I can't begin to understand. However, Tans mothers English also symbolizes the limitations of immigrants in America and the challenges they have to face to be accepted. She said they did not seem to have any sympathy when she told them she was anxious to know the exact diagnosis, since her husband and son had both died of brain tumors. Mother Tongue by Amy Tan - Essay Summary, Analysis, Review Mother Tongue Questions and Answers - eNotes.com d. Her mother is the audience (reader) for The Joy Luck Club, a book about mother-and-daughter relationships. Get inspiration from over 500,000 example essays. her mother How does the author describe her mother's English early in the essay limited spirituals. "Like others, I have described it to people as "broken" or "fractured" English. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. So I never did well on tests like that. Use Tan's ideas about different kinds of English from "Mother Tongue" as a basis to consider the kinds of English you encounter every day. Mother Tongue is an essay by Amy Tan, an American author who was born to Chinese immigrants in 1952. Why? "Mother tongue," as it is used in the title of this piece, is a pun on the traditional idea. How could I go about writing four pages about the essay "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan, citing two or more different authors to support my claims? . Fill in the blank spot in the following sentence. After youve written your literary analysis, and you dont feel very confident in it, pass it along to one of the Kibin editors. -Informal - conversational; "So you'll have some idea.." Her mother's language is colorful, powerful, and direct. The talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. 11th Grade - Poems by Emily Dickinson: Chinese social life that way. Explain the meaning of Tans title and how it relates to her own identity as both a Chinese American, a daughter, and a writer. What is the context of Mother Tongue? (Hint: Think about how she defies modern language standards and refuses to call her mothers language broken or limited without putting those terms in quotation marks.). In this respect, if the parable Feathers from a Thousand Li Away acts as preface to the novel, Mother Tongue, in effect, acts as a kind of postscript. Test. Tan talks about growing up with different forms of English and how that affected both her childhood and adult life. The difference is in the application of the phrase, which is between general and specific. Amy Tan begins her essay by offering her personal opinions on the English language. It literally means one's first language. Give at least three details from the essay to support your opinion. Discuss the way stereotypes or bias affect how we see ourselves and others. /AIS false Describe what the fighting is like and what you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of your army. The phrase "mother tongue" refers to the language people learn to speak first. Economics Semester 2 SG 40-60. I selected the article Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. What is your response to Amy Tan's point about the value of different languages? Latest answer posted March 28, 2020 at 9:26:15 PM. This point leads on to Tan's presentation of the virtues of her mother's way of speaking. -she uses four types of English (the English she grew up with) Works have been adapted for film, opera, and TV mother tongue first language Whom does the author focus on in this narrative? defining her mother's tongue and other's interpretations of it (their reactions), -how other's react to her mother's tongue - pretended not to understand her or hear her, did not take her seriously, and did not give her good service. But where Tan really gets to something deep, is this idea how we acquire language. Interesting Literature is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.co.uk. When this occurred, everyone was much more cordial with Amy than with her mother: promises were made and apologies graciously extended. /SM 0.02 Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Mother Tongue (by Amy Tan) Flashcards | Quizlet All of these questions will help you pinpoint the essays effectiveness. When she began to write fiction, she made a conscious decision to write to a specific audience: she decided to write to her mother; as she was writing about relationships between mothers and daughters in her stories. Theyll help you make Amy Tan proud by assisting with proper language and other editing. It's my mother tongue. Do you think her idea is valid? How do they differ? For example, people with European accents may be perceived as "snooty" or "uptight", while those who speak in AAVE (African American Vernacular English) can be seen as "ghetto" or "thuggish". Identify the message of Tan's essay, "Mother Tongue." Accessed 2 May 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. Log in here. %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz In Amy Tan's short story "Mother Tongue," explain the essence of what "mother tongue" signifies in the story. Psst 98% of Kibin users report better grades! This establishes ethos as she admits that her specialty is in being a writer. Apart from what any critic had to say about my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: "So easy to read.". The argument Tan makes is that she has become a better writer by fusing these types of language than she was when she used the acrolect alone. She then contrasts this with a moment when she was walking down the street with her mother and she used the more clipped, informal English she naturally uses with her mother, and her husband. How do these resemble chapters? It is not simply, as she first thought, that one type of English is correct and the other incorrect. 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, the lowering of a curtain of stars.And all the other pairs of words --red, bus, stoplight, boring--just threw up a mass of confusing images, making it impossible for me to sort out something as logical as saying: "A sunset precedes nightfall" is the same as "a chill precedes a fever." It is evident that Tan wants to avoid stereotyping in her essay. To what extent do you think that speaking a non- standardized English (through grammatical differences or an accent) "limits . Along with her BS in marketing from Florida State University and MA in museum studies from Johns Hopkins University, she has spent the past 7 years learning how best to reach and teach people using the power of words. Describe how others (those who do not know her intimately) see Tan's mother versus how Tan describes her in "Mother Tongue." We used a similar routine just five days ago, for a situation that was far less humorous. 20 terms. How do you think Kemal Ataturk would have responded to later Islamic modernists such as Sheikh Kabir and perhaps Saira Khan? Many of the terms, such as broken or limited, are too negative and imply her English is imperfect. But I do think that the language spoken in the family, especially in immigrant families which are more insular, plays a large role in shaping the language of the child. Find examples of peopleincluding Tan herselftreating her mother. ______ to influence. Tan uses it with this definition, but also utilizes it to refer to the language her mom spoke (Chinese). Tan elaborates this idea by scrutinizing her mother's language, her own use of English and society's response to different people's English usage. Include details from the text. How does she use language in the rest of her story to portray this rebelliousness? How did railroads help boost industrialization? /Subtype /Image Tan calls this clipped informal language her mother tongue, because it was the first language she learned and it helped to shape the way she saw the world and made sense of it. Mother Tongue by Amy Tan questions & answers for quizzes and worksheets - Quizizz Find and create gamified quizzes, lessons, presentations, and flashcards for students, employees, and everyone else. Cite the text as needed to clarify and support your response. eNotes Editorial, 28 June 2020, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-argument-is-tan-making-here-about-language-2353688. The difference between them not only lies in how they sound when spoken, but which one you speak can impact how others treat and perceive you. /ca 1.0 And here you would be presented with a list of four possible pairs, one of which showed the same kind of relationship: red is to stoplight, bus is to arrival, chills is to fever, yawn is to boring: Well, I could never think that way. What argument is Tan making here about language and its connection to our identity in "Mother Tongue"? So she said she would not leave until the doctor called her daughter. Tan uses it with this definition, but also utilizes it to refer to the language her mom spoke (Chinese). Latest answer posted March 29, 2020 at 1:00:09 PM. Tan refers to how much language impacts/changes our lives. Tan, author of "Mother Tongue," explains that her mother's language had the greatest influence on her understanding of English. Stephen Crane Amy Thompson Amy Tan Anne Tan 2. /Length 7 0 R Two Kinds Summary - eNotes.com Explain why Tan calls herself a rebel in "Mother Tongue" and how this identity led to her becoming a writer. She says even her husband started speaking this kind of English together and that it has come to represent intimacy. Mother Tongue Quiz Flashcards | Quizlet And how they tend to excel in mathematics and science due to language barriers. On what were these descriptions and perceptions based according to paragraphs 15-16 of "Mother Tongue"? 62-67. The difference is in the application of the phrase, which is between general and specific. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people's perceptions of the limited English speaker. Tan explains, "This was understandable. Chinese custom. 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. stream c. rout Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Find examples of peopleincluding Tan herselftreating her mother disrespectfully. She recognizes that her mom is in fact able to comprehend complex sentences in English, but just struggles to express herself clearly in the language. In Amy Tan's short story "Mother Tongue," explain the essence - eNotes Who is the intended audience for "Mother Tongue"? Mean gives lots of respect. Her mother attends a lecture that Tan is delivering, and Tan realizes that her mother is hearing Tan speak a kind of English that she does not use at home. What strategies does she use to make this argument? I came up with the idea that the author's claim is that one's use of language does not indicate their amount of knowledge or worth, but I am not sure if I am thinking of the right answer. Underline the verb in parentheses that correctly completes the sentence by agreeing with the subject. Edit. 2. As for accents, it's usually a stereotype of some sort. A scholar would push to discover and learn about their particular subject, while the writer is to take their findings and put them into practice. 1. 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. Award-winning novelist, short story writer, and essayist. 4 0 obj vN'p3:OKjd;C~_O>V0 9G^_`*:?*zr Tan was born in Oakland, California, two and a half years after her parents fled China's Communist revolution and settled in the United States. Tan notes the difficulty of finding a term to describe the style of English her mother, as a Chinese immigrant to the United States, speaks. Tan. My mother was in the room. All together, we expect forty or fifty volunteers to work on the project. Take a practice test. In "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan explains that she uses multiple "Englishes" in her daily life. But Tans language, or tongue, has been shaped by her actual mother, whose first language (or mother tongue) was not English, but Chinese. Indeed, her mother read drafts of her work. That man want to ask Du Zong father take him in like become own family. Symbolism is when an author uses an object, person, or place to represent a deeper concept. While my English skills were never judged as poor, compared to math, English could not be considered my strong suit. A Summary and Analysis of Amy Tan's 'Mother Tongue' By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) 'Mother Tongue' is an essay by Amy Tan, an American author who was born to Chinese immigrants in 1952. How does she establish ethos by this juxtaposition? What Tan is classifying in this essay is the different kinds of English she uses. Mother tongue commonly means the language first learned by a person, but for the author, Amy Tan, it has a special meaning. Answers will vary but should include points similar to the following: a. Tan includes the story to give readers an example of just how her mother's English sounds and how expressive it is.