But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people's perceptions of the limited English speaker. Many of the terms, such as broken or limited, are too negative and imply her English is imperfect. Later, the gangster became more powerful, far richer than my mother's family, and one day showed up at my mother's wedding to pay his respects. In "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan uses people's inclination to assume as a way of exploring the subject of identity. One time Amy did this with her mother's stockbroker. She alludes to several instances where people, even a doctor, would not take her mother seriously because of the way she spoke. Chinese social life that way. 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. You had agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn't arrived.". Students in disagreement might point to Dove's consuming interest in reading, which seems largely uninfluenced by her family, and Cisneros's belief that her desire to write came from a "hunger" she felt, even with her family. In fact, Tan uses the same tone in the beginning and end of her storythe reader starts at a homebase, sees the journey Tan is leading them on, and returns right back to where they started but with more insight than before. What motivates her to make such an argument? Tan does a great job incorporating several different tones into such a short piece. Cite the text as needed to clarify and support your response. How would you characterize Tan's tone in the essay? It is not simply, as she first thought, that one type of English is correct and the other incorrect. Remember this quote as you read through and relate the rest of the content to this idea. You should know that my mother's expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands. I am going to show you a few of these devices and give you some awesome tips on how to incorporate them into your analysis of Mother Tongue.. 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 prognosishaving lost a husband and son, both to brain tumors. -talking to her mom "My mother was in the room", Tan quotes a "terrible line" she once wrote "That was my mental quandary in its nascent state." -describes how her mom influenced her writing and this is why her mom is the audience. She says it provides imagery and emotions that standard, grammatically-correct English cannot. What argument is Tan making here about language and its connection to our identity in "Mother Tongue"? Tan talks about a few different types of English and in what situations she uses them, but each English form symbolizes something different to her. possibilities" for people in the United States today? What is the context of Mother Tongue? This question is about the essay "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan. /Creator ( w k h t m l t o p d f 0 . I selected the article Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. In a country where English is the dominant language, all of the school lessons are taught in it. How does Tan feel about her mother's tongue, -her mother's "limited English" limited her perception of her mother. Students' writing should address the specific experiences and messages of the essays that they choose. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of languagethe way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.. (para. Why does Tan open her essay by stating, "I am not a scholar of English or literature" but then state, in the next paragraph, "I am a writer"? The only way I would have gotten that answer right would have been to imagine an associative situation, for example, my being disobedient and staying out past sunset, catching a chill at night, which turns into feverish pneumonia as punishment, which indeed did happen to me. Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. So I never did well on tests like that. Math is precise; there is only one correct answer. << Her mother's language is colorful, powerful, and direct. What strategies does she use to make this How did Tans teachers identify her when she was in high school? I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. 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. According to Tan, why are so many Asian Americans encouraged to study math and science in college? If too important won't have to stay too long. 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. 5) 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.'. 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. /SM 0.02 In Amy Tan's short story "Mother Tongue," explain the essence of what "mother tongue" signifies in the story. Now all you have to do is analyze them. 3) Tan describes in this essay? Psst 98% of Kibin users report better grades! Discuss how and why parents identities and personalities are often a source of embarrassment or tension when people are young. What does Tan mean when she says, "I think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well" (para. Do you agree that family members have the greatest effect on a child's intellectual development? What is Amy Tans primary identity according to what she says in paragraphs 1-3 of "Mother Tongue"? /Length 7 0 R The same was true with word analogies, pairs of words in which you were supposed to find some sort of logical, semantic relationship -- for example, "Sunset is to nightfall as is to ." 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. Mother Tongue is an essay by Amy Tan, an American author who was born to Chinese immigrants in 1952. Do you feel that people's abilities can be judged fairly by these kinds of tests? So she said she would not leave until the doctor called her daughter. -Informal - conversational; "So you'll have some idea.." Chinese way, came only to show respect, don't stay for dinner. From guilty to gracious, annoyed to appreciative, Amy Tan uses a few different tones throughout Mother Tongue. Identify these tones and explain how they are employed (the language used to convey the tones), and what effect it has on the reader. Write a journal entry from the perspective of Richard the Lion-Hearted during the Crusades. Envisioning her mother as the reader allowed Tan to write with more fluidity. 17) that Tan claims accounts for her high performance on math tests but not on English tests specifically, analogies? What is so terrible about that line, -she wrote sentences that she thought to be wittily crafted sentences, sentences that would finally prove that she had mastery over the English language indiiigo. Just because there are several tones throughout Mother Tongue doesnt mean that there isnt one overarching tone. /Height 155 But once Tan had arrived and upon hearing her perfect English, the staff had taken the case up with more urgency. Already a member? I had to get on the phone and say in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, "This is Mrs. How do you think Kemal Ataturk would have responded to later Islamic modernists such as Sheikh Kabir and perhaps Saira Khan? Focus your studying with a path. -the piece is about how Amy's mom speaks (original language); Amy's mother had a different language then her own. What incident in "Mother Tongue" makes Tan aware of the different Englishes that she speaks? What is the author's purpose, style, and tone in the story? Explain the meaning of Tans title and how it relates to her own identity as both a Chinese American, a daughter, and a writer. Tan notes in paragraph 21 that she thinks of her mother as her audience when she writes stories. 16, Tan)". Answers will vary widely, depending on students' personal experiences, situations, and viewpoints. The nature of the talk was about my writing, my life, and my book, The Joy Luck Club. Writer discussed: Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" (Link to story) Amy Tan is speaking of writing her book "Joy Luck Club" (there's a scene below), so in that sense it works as a good example of a literacy narrative in that Tan writes about writing something. She observes that her mother is treated differently because of the way she speaks. Even though the focus of the essay is the author's experiences with languages and her mother's influence on her writing, an underlying theme of the essay is the identity of a first-generation American. while growing up, what assumption did Amy Tan make about her mother because of her mother's language skills? This is the sociological aspect of language. In the essay, Tan discusses her relationship with language, and how her mothers influence has shaped her use of English, as well as her attitude to 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. Latest answer posted March 29, 2020 at 1:00:09 PM. "In Amy Tan's short story "Mother Tongue," explain the essence of what "mother tongue" signifies in the story." Omitting one of these stories would get rid of one of her key points in the way language can affect a person's life. To see how other students have handled their analyses, check out these example essays on Mother Tongue.. 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. Tan speculates that because Asian Americans score so much higher on math achievement tests than on English tests, they are encouraged to pursue math and science in college. . She mentions the figure that most Asian students in schools are not enrolled in artistic courses, such as creative writing. 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. What is Amy Tans primary identity according to what she says in paragraphs 1-3 of "Mother Tongue"? It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than "broken," as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. That man want to ask Du Zong father take him in like become own family. 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. 11th Review / Critical Thinking Questions. nNSm`NO8 SL6x 9 tG%rzo=>ca3`!VW19>:HmoM!>? _E nYKyrO [%eLm ii+;t9xt;md/C?dSh[`N:)$9HAJI%i2. endobj I believe that there is a play on words with the title, "Mother Tongue." Tan is making the argument in "Mother Tongue" that she became a better writer when she began to use both the types of English she spoke to write books her mother could understand. Mother Tongue questions & answers for quizzes and worksheets - Quizizz English Mother Tongue Deleted User 87 plays 15 questions Copy & Edit Live Session Show Answers See Preview 1. Why or why not? So mad he lie to me, losing me money. But to me, my mother's English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. My mother had gone to the hospital for an appointment, to find out about a benign brain tumor a CAT scan had revealed a month ago. Accept any answers that address the concern of the question and are elaborated by examples or details from the literature or from life. One time it was a call to her stockbroker in New York. Works have been adapted for film, opera, and TV mother tongue first language Whom does the author focus on in this narrative? It is the simple difference between theory and practice. -influenced Amy's writing (four Englishes) Cite the text as needed to clarify and support your response. c. Her mother relies on and trusts Tan to talk to the doctors about the CAT scan. It's my mother tongue. Here is the text: http://www.umsl.edu/~alexanderjm/Mother%20Tongue%20by%20. 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. Tan divides the essay into three sections. The difference is in the application of the phrase, which is between general and specific. Lately, I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. A good literary analysis might explain these transitions, and how they affect the structure of the piece. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English language and its variations in this country or others. "Like others, I have described it to people as "broken" or "fractured" English. Latest answer posted March 28, 2020 at 9:26:15 PM. On what were these descriptions and perceptions based according to paragraphs 15-16 of "Mother Tongue"? What does Tan mean by "the power of language" (para. 6) rather than paraphrasing what she said? The class tests at school which reduced English proficiency to an ability to recognise a correct answer are thus contrasted with Tans resounding final words of Mother Tongue, which see her seeking to capture the passion of her mother, the nature of her thoughts, and the imagery she uses: all things which her daughter has clearly inherited a respect for, and which school tests fail to capture or observe. Because of her broken English, Amy's mother was told by the doctors that they lost her scan and did not apologize nor care about it. Tan is very attached to her mothers English to the point that she doesnt want to refer to it as broken. To her it symbolizes home because its the English she grew up with. 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. How is Amy Tan's use of the phrase "mother tongue" ambiguous? When she's not working, she's constantly trying to expand her creativity through music, writing, art, and animation. 1. Here's what she said in part: "Du Yusong having business like fruit stand. Why? 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. Tan was born on February 19, 1952, in Oakland, California. This text is a great starting point for discussions on culture, language and more. Find and create gamified quizzes, lessons, presentations, and flashcards for students, employees, and everyone else. This is a key part of Feathers from a Thousand Li Away, and it helps us to understand Tans conflicted attitude towards her mothers use of language as explored in Mother Tongue. Be sure to consider the anecdotes regarding Tan giving a speech, the stockbroker, the CAT scan, and Tan's experience with the SATs. << Her mother's "limited" English limited Tan's perception of her. 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 contexts. Edit. endobj And my mother was standing in the back whispering loudly, "Why he don't send me check, already two weeks late. -wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal "her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts." 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. How many subjects does Tan explore in the essay? She said she had spoken very good English, her best English, no mistakes. 2. Symbolism, structure, and tone are only a few literary devices you can use for your analysis, but they are the ones thatll help you get the most out of your analysis. But many people who hear her mother speak can only partially understand what she is saying, and some even say they can understand nothing of what she says, as if she were speaking pure Chinese to them. 1 0 obj -allows Amy to go in to saying how she was effected by her mother's tongue. What argument is Tan making here about language and its connection to our identity in "Mother Tongue"? Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. Chinese age I was nineteen. When describing the wording for people who cannot speak English fluently, she makes sure the audience knows of her feelings toward the most common terms. At one point, Tan writes about being embarrassed about her mother. 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. How do these resemble chapters? 3. Here, Tan alludes to the concept of the "mother tongue": a child's earliest language, often used with a primary caregiver, who in many instances is the mother. Tan. Unlike most of the other literature youve read for class, Mother Tongue by Amy Tan is short and pretty easy to breeze through. spirituals. /Producer ( Q t 4 . /SMask /None>> Log in here. At several points in her essay, Tan related anecdotes. 3 0 obj Latest answer posted March 28, 2020 at 6:52:46 PM. What are some good things Andrew Carnegie did? "Mother tongue," as it is used in the title of this piece, is a pun on the traditional idea. Amy Tan says that she has come to realize that something unusual goes on with languageat least her own, based upon the Chinese her mother grew up speaking, the English her mother uses as her "second language," Amy's use of this special version of her mother's English, and her own perception that her mother's English was somehow "broken"at least this is how Ms. Tan used to feel. I was giving a talk to a large group of people, the same talk I had already given to half a dozen other groups. Find examples of peopleincluding Tan herselftreating her mother disrespectfully. Sociologists and linguists probably will tell you that a person's developing language skills are more influenced by peers. "How Poetry Comes to Me" TPCASTT // Gary Snyd, "Common Ground" TPCASTT // Judith Ortiz Cofer, SpringBoard English Language Arts: Grade 10, myPerspectives: English Language Arts, California (Grade 9, Volume 1), Glencoe Literature Course 4: The Readers Choice. $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ? Mother Tongue is a story that describes how Amy Tan's mother was treated unfairly because of her "broken English". Tan does illustrate each category she identifies 4. Eliasib. her mother How does the author describe her mother's English early in the essay limited eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Tan seems to love and respect her mother despite her language boundaries. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. 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. "9 [5 1. I am not a scholar of English or literature. Why does she divide the essay into three parts? department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her. Jing-mei's mother quizzes her on various topicsincluding state and national capitals, complicated mathematics, and weather predictionin hopes that she might possess a talent like the children. Every piece of literature, whether its an epic novel or a haiku, has some sort of structurewhich is simply the organization of the material. 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. Like other children of immigrants to America, the perceptions of her language abilities almost limited her career path in math or science, yet Tan eventually realized her own American Dream of becoming a full-time writer. Respect for making big celebration, he shows up. An overarching theme of Tans novel is mothers emigrating to America in the hope that their daughters will have better lives than they did. Already a member? 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 Much of Tans 1989 novel The Joy Luck Club is about daughters and their relationships with their mothers. Tan highlights this dichotomy when she writes about giving her speech, saying the proper English words that she was using felt strange to say when her mother was in the room. I hesitate to use the word plot in the case of Mother Tongue because it doesnt seem to have much of one, at least not in the traditional sense that most fiction stories do. With the stockbroker, Tan was the one who would step in for her mother over the phone in order to express her mother's thoughts for her. Tan, author of "Mother Tongue," explains that her mother's language had the greatest influence on her understanding of English. 1 2 . 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. Because there are quite a few different tones in this short story, they transition from one to the other. \text { Who was John Wilkes Booth? } endobj Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use. -she explains that the stories she writes are about mothers It is their "language of intimacy," even though he is a native English speaker. She is just as special a person, despite what language she uses or how she uses it. Tan uses it with this definition, but also utilizes it to refer to the language her mom spoke (Chinese). The phrase "mother tongue" refers to the language people learn to speak first. There can be one tone throughout the entire piece or many different tones. "The S, The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Lawrence Scanlon, Renee H. Shea, Robin Dissin Aufses. Near the beginning of Mother Tongue, Tan says, I am fascinated by language in daily life. Mother Tongue. The McGraw Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. 2. >> Include details from the text. 3. 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. Be sure to focus on specific language, punctuation, and imagery used to create the overall tone. Life Span 4 . /Width 625 I've heard other terms used, "limited English," for example. Explain the meaning of Tans title and how it relates to her own identity as both a Chinese American, a daughter, and a writer. Why? How does this story help you better understand the point Tan is making in her essay? She is the second of three children born to Chinese immigrants, Daisy and John Tan. Its not about how long a story is, but rather about its content. Who is the intended audience for "Mother Tongue"? Language is thus more than just a cultural marker: Tan reveals, in Mother Tongue, the extent to which it is a tool of power (or, depending on the use, powerlessness), particularly for those from migrant backgrounds. Students' essays will probably address slang and jargon that they use, standard English that they use for most of their school experiences, and possibly formal English that they may use with relatives or in work situations. Tan mentions several different emotions when talking about her mothers English. It has always bothered me that I can think of no other way to describe it other than "broken," as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. Amy Tan, in full Amy Ruth Tan, (born February 19, 1952, Oakland, California, U.S.), American author of novels about Chinese American women and the immigrant experience. 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.". 20 terms. But because she is rebellious and likes to challenge peoples assumptions about her, Tan bucked this trend. Tan even says that her mother was one of her draft readers for her own book series. How did railroads help boost industrialization? 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.
Kirkham Cobra For Sale In California, Articles M