Amy Tan and Richard Rodriquez both grew up in Northern California, to immigrant families. Amy Tan became famous for her book, “The Joy Luck Club” that later became a movie. Richard wrote “The Hunger of Memory.” Before they became famous though, they both struggled to learn English. In “Mother Tongue.” and “Public and private Language,” they describe what it was like trying to learn English, while holding on to their native language. It wasn’t easy for either of them. School wasn’t easy for either of them either. Richard and his siblings had a difficult time learning English. Richard didn’t think he was privileged enough to learn it. Even though the teachers tried to encourage him to “Stand up… Speak up. Speak to the entire class.” (513). His …show more content…
Amy found that same comfort but not until she was an adult. As she was speaking with her mother one day, she says “Not waste money that way.” (507). It dawned on her that it was so natural that not even her husband had noticed. Richard recalls a similar experience. He came home from school one day, his parents were talking. It wasn’t until after they had switched to English that he realized they had been speaking Spanish. Now you would think having been born to English speaking parents, here in the United States, that I wouldn’t understand a language barrier. Growing up I watched my cousin struggle to communicate with others. He lost his hearing when he was 5 years old. He was alone in his world of speak. Even I didn’t know how to communicate with him. I would sit in awe as I watched his mom and brother sign with him. Their hands moved fluidly in their motions. I wanted to do that. I did eventually teach myself enough sign language to get by. I had some friends when I younger, their parents could speak very little English. I can remember the oldest daughter doing as Amy had to do with her mother. Rosie would make all the ‘adult’ phone calls for her mother and the son spoke for his dad when needed. I grew up in southern California, they have a language all their own. I moved to Texas, which also has its own language, when I was 15 years old. I felt as if I was learning a new language. I went into a fast food place right after I had
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is primarily an autobiographical piece about her experiences growing up in a household that chiefly spoke “broken” English, and a reflection on how this gave her a unique perspective on the transformative properties of language. Yet, it is no way an academic analysis, a deliberate choice, Tan even includes a short disclaimer in the beginning concerning this, and the excerpts she includes come from her own background, her personal observations, something which I found quite refreshing. As someone who comes from a mixed family and identifies as Asian-American, I related a great deal to her upbringing, and in many instances down to the exact circumstance. For example, she details an incident in which she
That is why Mexicans have trouble accustoming because they are pressured to speak fluent English and Spanish at the same time and be both accustomed to the cultures. It is an incredibly hard thing to do because people identify with both however, people and society are telling them that they are only one and must choose only one. Language is also the first thing you learn as a human and so it is apart of us, a necessity and an imperative. Ironically, in the essay she talks about how she got in trouble for speaking Spanish, however, in reality it is essential. Her English is just as important as Spanish is.
In Barbara Mellix literacy narrative “From Outside, In”, she took us through her life as an outsider to eventually getting in. A young Mellix, along with her family developed public personas that spoke standard English. In public, Barbara's enunciation, articulation and grammar changed dramatically from how she spoke at home. She felt uncomfortable when she puts on this persona and felt like she was basically betraying herself. After couple years of putting on this front she became this front.
Tan couldn’t speak English fluently. She was made fun of so, Tan wanted to learn English due to the stereotype said about Asians. She became an English major and eventually became a writer to prove that despite how she spoke, she could still master the English language. Tan believes that language spoken in immigrant families plays a huge role in creating a language for children and it will affect their lives in the future. Just like Rodriquez, Tan describes the language she spoke at home, which was “broken English” as a language of intimacy.
Up until I left Michigan, I was basically raised by my grandmother and aunt on my father’s side and they were the ones that taught me Spanish at a young age. When I left them though, I lost it because my birth
A language other than English in the U.S. can be a real barrier to effective communication for migrant children. Many are of Hispanic origin and their primary language is Spanish. If the caregiver doesn’t understand or speak the language, the communication may become broken, hindering the learning process. Cultural differences can also be a barrier to effective communication. Some cultures do not believe in the Western way of life and how we do things.
Spanish was my first language and neither one of my parents knew english. I would go to school and just listen and try to learn every little thing I could get my hands
Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” These limits are apparent in David Sedaris’ essay Me Talk Pretty One Day, where he addresses the challenges associated with learning a second language through personal experience. Although Sedaris breaks Orwell’s rule, “never use a metaphor…which you are used to seeing in print,” he does so effectively throughout the text. Additionally, an easy to follow method of organization and his appeal to Ethos and Pathos allows the reader to easily relate to his experiences. Sedaris uses a variety of dying metaphors throughout his essay to convey numerous ideas.
A week before school started my kindergarten student moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic. He came to school on the first day only speaking 3 words in English. It was very hard for me to communicate with him, and I could see he was very frustrated because he could not communicate with me or other students in the class. I quickly used the technology that was in the classroom and communicated with him through google translate. I would type in English and translate my directions, questions, and conversation into spanish and the I-Pad would talk in Spanish..
My Mother came from central America, only arriving to America when she was around 12 or 13. As a result, she knew no English, and faced difficulty acquiring employment. The only job she was able to find was the typical immigrant jobs, working as a maid or waitress. As my brothers and I grew up, we used English to our advantage, speaking in English whenever we didn’t want out mother to understand. We weren’t aware of it at the time, but our mother was secretly learning to use English.
At an early age I was diagnose with a speech compartment problem where learning to pronounce words was difficult. Spanish a language with several pronouns and nouns in speaking made it much more harder for me to learn and eventually I gave up learning. My parents blame the American culture for brainwashing me about not caring about my native tongue. As a young boy I did not understand the value of bilingual it was not until my
Since childhood, I never stayed in one place for too long. At the age of five, I left my hometown in the Philippines to live in a new but similar culture in the Middle East. At the age of 13, I left for the United States and, unlike my prior experience, encountered a completely distinct culture. During these travels, I felt an increasing necessity to gain a proficiency in writing and speaking in certain languages, particularly English. As a result, I learned English and its vocabulary and grammatical rules.
Amy Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships and the Chinese-American experience. Her best-known work is The Joy Luck Club, which has been translated into 35 languages. In 1993, the book was adapted into a commercially successful film. Tan has written several other bestselling novels, including The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter's Daughter and Saving Fish from Drowning.
I was seven years old when I heard the news that my family was going to serve as missionaries in Africa. The news startled me to say the least, but I did not realize how drastically my life was going to change. As a child the experience shocked, exhilarated, and frightened me all at once. Once my family arrived in Zambia, Africa, we slowly began adjusting to life there. We quickly fell in love with the Africans and their culture; however, soon our time was finished and we came back to America.
In 8th grade, my school brought back Spanish after not having it as part of the curriculum for several years. A lot of my classmates including myself didn’t do too well and I remembered one of my friends asked our homeroom teacher to come in to observe Spanish class. I just couldn’t grasp the language. Our school year was divided into trimesters.