Alanna Shulyak
Professor Loucks
English 50
September 28, 2013 The purpose and power of Language Amy Tan was born of February 19 1952 in Oakland, California. To two parents that are Chinese immigrants. She went San Jose State University and University of California at Berkeley. She finished her schooling and became a very successful American writer of many pieces of literature including Mother Tongue and The Joy Luck Club, which was written in the year 1989. Based on Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” it is evident that language has an effect on our lives. Language defines the type of person I am generally and it has had an effect on my choices as well as my lifestyle. Language has become my way of seeing life in a different perspective. In “Mother Tongue”, Amy Tan discusses the many ways in which the language that she was taught affected her life. I can definitely relate to Tan’s story because I too came from a bilingual home. Like Amy Tan I have intelligent parents I always honored they language they spoke, I am the main avenue of communication with people who do not understand them. I believe the main idea of Tan’s “ Mother Tongue” is to stress that just because someone cannot speak the English language to perfection that does not in any way make him or her less intelligent than someone who is born in the country and understands and speaks English fluently. However, what makes us different is that it is rare to find two people who speak the same exact English. Although Tan and I both helped our parents and came from non-traditional homes, Tan came from a Chinese family while I came from a Belarusian family. We both had similar ideas about language playing a major role in our families, and it was also a big challenge for both of us while we were being raised by immigrant parents who spoke “limited English” (Tan 78). The first reason I can relate to Amy Tan’s “ Mother Tongue” article is that I am a natural-born citizen of the USA. I too, have parents who have their own way of speaking and understanding the English language. Another reason is how similar her personal stories are to mine; they reminded me of my very own memories with my parents, who are both bright and intelligent individuals. I have been my parent’s translator for as long as I can remember. Amy Tan that “ like others, I have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” English (Tan, 78). Having to constantly be present for any appointment with my parent’s always made me wonder how other people viewed my parent’s. Did they think them inferior or not educated? I have to admit to be there was annoying or embarrassing. I