Mother Tongue - Amy Tan

     Mother Tongue

[alert-success] Mother Tongue - Amy Tan

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        In her essay Mother Tongue, Amy Tan, a Chinese-American author, offers an unconventional interpretation of the term "mother tongue," which typically refers to the language of one's birth country or origin. Instead, Tan suggests that the title refers to her mother's pronunciation rather than her mother's actual language. Through this piece, which she first presented as a discussion at the State of the Symposium in 1989, she describes her personal experience of growing up in a xenophobic nation with a mother who speaks a language that is indefinable to local speakers.

 Recently I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use.

        Tan begins her speech by explaining the various English dialects she has to deal with in daily life while she watches her mother from a seat in the audience. When she was with her mother on the streets, she had to use a different, more casual language, and when she was with her husband, she had to use a different accent. Now that she is in front of the public, she must speak in a formal manner. She has discovered a variety of English accents. Additionally, she sees herself as a writer… someone who has always loved language.

         Amy Tan has a desire for the English language because she struggles to master it because of the barriers associated with her native country. Tan has experienced the same destiny as many other Asians, who typically favour studying math and science since they lack the arts. However, she follows a different path than most because she is passionate about the English language.

You should know that my mother’s expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands.

        Despite having a deeper understanding of literature than Tan herself, Tan's mother, who is Chinese, has always been treated unfairly. She once visited a doctor, and after having a CAT scan, the hospital appeared to lose its mind. Despite this, they were unkind to her because she was unable to explain herself to them. Additionally, they felt regret for their errors when Amy Tan went there to ask for her mother's assistance. Tan's mother is capable of producing flawless, vivid images and thorough observations, but her local community does not give her the necessary attention. This reveals how the populace feels about immigrants.