Review of the Article 'Mother Tongue'
The article, “Mother Tongue”, written by Amy Tan, is her account and experiences of the difficulties her mother as an immigrant endures for not comprehending and speaking the English language clearly. Main claim is the difficulties her mother endured for not speaking English clearly. Amy Tan expresses how one’s intellect should not be judged upon the amount of knowledge or spoken words of the English language they possess. She clearly indicates in the header of the article. She says, “Don’t judge a book by its cover… or someone’s intelligence by their English.” This statement is supported throughout the article. Tan reveals how her mother’s limitation should not be looked upon as a hindrance but rather an advantage to show how resilient her mother was when communicating. Furthermore, she expresses how growing up she learned to speak different types of English and how that impacted her later on in her adult life. The continuously emphasizes how one should not be judged based upon how you see or hear someone. Tan does so by including personal experiences, the experiences her mother faced, and proves to be a great author. Although, she incorporates her native tongue into her writing to make her interpretation to show her originality and how transparent she was willing to be; which I thought to be very witty. The simple truth is that language is powerful and formulating the precise words in order to communicate an emotion, image, or idea is hard and not as easy as one imagines it to be.
There are several key points found within the article that supports the author’s claim within the article. Tan stated how her mother was acutely aware of her limitation of speaking English and her ability to obtain information, speak her mind, or get her point across. One key point Tan makes that she does not agree that her mother’s intelligence should be based off of how much she understands within the English language. Tan talks about all the things her mother can accomplish that involves the English language. This claim is supported when Tan states that her mother “reads Forbes report, listens to Wall Street Week, converses daily with her stockbroker”. This highlighted example shows that even though Tan’s mother knew little of the English language she is still able to understand and accomplish tasks. Therefore, if her mother can accomplish tasks which includes reading and talking using the English language, she must have good intelligence. Being able to understand stocks and have conversations with someone about them shows that she has a good understanding of what is going on. The goal of getting this task presented with the evidence provided was met. Tan was able to get her point across that her mother was able to achieve tasks with being able to speak limited English.
The second key point Tan makes is that she too, at one point, began to believe the perception others had about her mother. Even though she described her mother’s English as “broken” or “fractured” it still bothered her. When describing how Tan feels about her mother’s broken English she says, “It 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. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions of the limited English-speaker. This passage shows that Tan understands that her mother’s English may sound broken to others but that doesn’t mean that her mother’s perception is strained or broken. There was a point Tan began to think of her mother’s English as fractured too. She began to believe the judgments of others. She also knew deep down that her mother had great perception but could not express it through her English. Tan met her goal in letting her audience know that she understood why they may call some spoken English broken. She did this in a way where she was able to make a connection to those who may be judgmental but also expressed her opinion on individuals who spoke broken English such as her mother.
Another supporting point was that she was able to use different styles of English she shared with her mother to connect in her writing. She also wanted to be able to use her writing to reveal to others what the English language could not. Tan discusses in the article how she notices the differences in how she communicates with her mother compared to how she communicates with everyone else in her everyday life. While growing up she had to deal with the feeling of being ashamed of her mother due to her mother not being able to speak English as well as her or anyone else. Tan said, “I was ashamed of her English. I believed her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfect, her thoughts were imperfect. She discussed how there were times in her life that she had to translate or pretend to be her mother while talking on the phone to other people due to her mother not being able to communicate well and people having issues not being able to understand her mother. Tan’s mother to place that type of burden on her child more than likely was not something she was proud of. Although, at the time it may have seemed she had no other alternative; surely, it’s not what her mother would have preferred to handle her financial or personal affairs.
She discusses several examples of how the English language has many different variations when spoken and how her own English has evolved over time. Tan explains by interacting with others during her life she developed an awareness of how the accepted version used by Americans is far different than her mother’s broken English. Due to her mother’s fragmented English, she faced a lot of criticism and prejudice that affected her day-to-day life. To Tan her mother’s English is an example of the limitations of immigrants in America and the challenges they have to face to be accepted. It is unfortunate that society has this innate behavior to cast judgment upon someone without having a full understanding on who they really are or their background. This article reflects how powerful language is and how it should not be measured by one’s ability to speak English fluently. In essence, according to Tan there is no right type of English, and that English comes in many different styles and forms.
In conclusion, the article, “Mother Tongue' is a vivid description of how an immigrant is faced with difficulties and challenges communicating, learning English, and overcoming cultural barriers. We live in a society that has a tendency to judge individuals on their traits, characteristics, beliefs, and one’s ability to communicate with one another. Tan captured what language test could never reveal about her mother’s intent, passion, and nature of her thoughts. The author does a great job of describing the way her was treated by her stockbroker and as a customer strongly supports her claim concerning how unjustly her mother was inaccurately judged. Additionally, the intent of the article is to show that language can be used to convey oneself and their thoughts. Tan did describe how she was ashamed of her mother’s English but in the end turned into appreciation for her mother’s struggles and accomplishments. This article is a very powerful message that can inspire just about any audience to accept that casting judgement, prejudice or assumptions in the end can hinder us as a society and community.
