Abstract:

For our first assignment, our class was tasked with reading, analyzing and summarizing different pieces of literature about accent, language and discrimination in regard to the way people speak. We wrote an essay, the goal of which was to analyze the rhetorical elements of one of our readings. For this assignment, I chose Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue to analyze. My argument that growing up with immigrant parents that are not accustomed to traditional English is difficult because of generalizations and stereotypes by outsiders is supported by Tan’s rhetorical use of diction, oxymoron and a personal anecdote. My audience was indeed similar to Amy’s, speaking to those who go through these experiences firsthand such as immigrants, first generation, and all speakers of multiple languages. From this unit I furthered my learning of academic writing and practiced my rhetorical analysis and summary techniques. This writing broadened my views on language and the discrimination that people endure due to harmful preconceptions. 

Cover Letter Reflection:

This assignment has had a positive effect on me and led me to gain a plethora of meaningful insights regarding language and biases. I have learned about the existence of a “double consciousness” for those who are taught how to code switch, utilizing different dictions of the English language in different settings. I have also learned the importance of rewriting this practice to include code meshing, interconnecting different accents of the English language and using them in professional, educational and daily life. In addition, I have learned that immigrant and black communities go through similar experiences when it comes to language and they face constant discrimination for the way that they speak English. Social barriers are created by ignorance and in order to overcome these issues, we, as a society, must educate ourselves on the topic and take time to understand others’ various accents and dictions. The context of the pieces that we have read in class have most impacted my learning experience. I have absorbed countless new pieces of information such as the history of English and its grammar, and how the English language is constantly changing in format, structure and its spoken standard. Even during Shakespearen times, grammar that could’ve been considered correct back then may be considered incorrect by a modern standard, however it is still used by people today. This assignment taught me how to revise for meaning and effective communication. Through our peer assessments, I asked many questions and left thorough commentary of my partner’s writing, which allowed me to gauge a deeper understanding of the meaning and exigence of her essay. I was also able to analyze and revise my own rough draft based on the questions and responses I gave my peers during review, allowing me to further my understanding of the text I chose, and expand upon my rhetorical analysis. 

Rhetorical Analysis:

Amy Tan, the daughter of Chinese-immigrant parents is an accomplished writer and language lover. In her career, she has written twelve novels. In her piece, “Mother Tongue”, published in 1990, Amy asserts that being raised by ‘English as a second language’ speakers was a challenge for her and her family. Tan maintains that, although some immigrants, like her mother, are not accustomed to traditional English speaking, it does not mean that they are unknowledgeable or incompetent, but people will still treat them as less than. 

She backs this claim using a number of rhetorical devices including diction, anecdotes and oxymorons. In this personal essay, Amy allows her readers to step into her shoes by providing real life experiences and stories of what it was like to grow up in an immigrant household.

 In her writing, Amy uses diction to show readers how her mother developed a different form of English in order to communicate. She includes conversations between her and her mother in order to set an empathetic tone, showing how she relates to her mother and how Mrs. Tan’s diction plays a large role in how she is treated in society. This type of language, Amy explains, is more intimate and is referred to as “family talk” because she only uses it with those she is closest to. Her mothers way of speaking, although non-traditional, is perfectly natural for Amy. However, it is often that outsiders, people who are inexperienced or ignorant to alternate vocabulary, do not understand her diction and this creates language discrimination and social barriers for Amy’s mother. It became a frequent occurrence for Mrs. Tan to call her daughter if she were in a situation where people would not take her seriously because of her diction. In one of Tan’s anecdotes about her mother, Amy describes a scene where her mother is belittled for her English and not given fair treatment. Her mother was in the hospital after a benign brain tumor was found in her CAT scan. When she requested to see it, the hospital told her, without a smidge of sympathy, that they had lost it and she would have to make another appointment. Her mother told them that she would not leave until they talked to her daughter, and when they did, the hospital became apologetic and gave her “assurance[s] that the CAT scan would be found”. This anecdote displays the kind of mistreatment that non-traditional English speakers suffer on a day-to-day basis simply because people don’t want to take the time to understand them. In a similar scene, Tan uses an oxymoron to better convey the underlying message, that accents do not define one’s competence. Amy refers to an instance where her mother had a financial issue with her broker in New York because she wanted to retrieve her funds and her broker was already two weeks late with the payment. She says to Amy, “What he want, I come to New York tell him front of his boss, you cheating me? (p.420)” Mrs. Tan had Amy speak to the stockbroker over the phone, so he would take Mrs. Tan seriously, and she threatened to come to his office in order to retrieve her money. Mrs. Tan did exactly that and in her “impeccable broken English ”, she gave the broker a piece of her mind. Tan portrays the anger that her mother feels in this instance by the use of this oxymoron, allowing the audience to envision what it must have been like to exist in this scenario. Although her English is not standard, Mrs. Tan thoroughly understood the situation at hand and was able to get her point across very well. Through these rhetorical devices, Tan was able to convey her claim that her mother’s English was not indicative of her true intelligence. Unlike those who looked down upon or disregarded Mrs.Tan because of her way of speaking, Amy was able to gauge exactly what her mother needed to say and they created a special form of communication the two of them were comfortable with. 

Tan hopes to convey to readers what it is like to grow up in a Chinese-American household and to explain the societal differences between her English, or ‘Mother Tongue’, and the standard English. Her goal is to eliminate biases for the Chinese community, as well as other immigrants, about their understanding of English. Because of the author’s emotional tone, it seems as though she writes for other first generation kids and those who are a part of the Chinese-American community. Amy’s intended audience includes those who have firsthand experiences like Amy’s, immigrants, children of immigrants, multi-language speakers and those who have experienced being discriminated against for the way they talk. Others who are most likely to be able to relate to her writing are those who support the topic of removing biases for those who have accents, or speak different varieties of English. 

Works Cited:

‘“Mother Tongue” By Amy Tan.’ Researchomatic. 2012. https://www.researchomatic.com/mother-Tounge-By-Amy-Tan-112333.html.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” The Threepenny Review, 1990. 

Revised Essay:

Amy Tan, the daughter of Chinese-immigrant parents is an accomplished writer and language lover. In her career, she has written twelve novels. In her piece, “Mother Tongue”, published in 1990, Amy asserts that being raised by ‘English as a second language’ speakers were a challenge for her and her family. Tan maintains that, although some immigrants, like her mother, are not accustomed to traditional English speaking, it does not mean that they are unknowledgeable or incompetent, but people will still treat them as less than. She backs this claim using a number of rhetorical devices including diction, anecdotes and oxymorons. In this personal essay, Amy allows her readers to step into her shoes by providing real life experiences and stories of what it was like to grow up in an immigrant household.

In her writing, Amy uses diction to show readers how her mother developed a different form of English in order to communicate. She includes conversations between her and her mother in order to set an empathetic tone, giving the audience a relationship that they can identify with and showing how she relates to her mother and how Mrs. Tan’s diction plays a large role in how she is treated in society. This type of language, Amy explains, is more intimate and is referred to as “family talk” because she only uses it with those, she is closest to. Her mother’s way of speaking, although non-traditional, is perfectly natural for Amy. However, it is often that outsiders, people who are inexperienced or ignorant to alternate vocabulary, do not understand her diction and this creates language discrimination and social barriers for Amy’s mother. It became a frequent occurrence for Mrs. Tan to call her daughter if she were in a situation where people would not take her seriously because of her diction. In one of Tan’s anecdotes about her mother, Amy describes a scene where her mother is belittled for her English and not given fair treatment. Her mother was in the hospital after a benign brain tumor was found in her CAT scan. When she requested to see it, the hospital told her, without a smidge of sympathy, that they had lost it and she would have to make another appointment. Her mother told them that she would not leave until they talked to her daughter, and when they did, the hospital became apologetic and gave to Amy, “What he want, I come to New York tell him front of his boss, you cheating me? (p.420)” Mrs. Tan had Amy speak to the stockbroker over the phone, so he would take Mrs. Tan seriously, and she threatened to come to his office in order to retrieve her money. Mrs. Tan did exactly that and in her “impeccable broken English ”, she gave the broker a piece of her mind. Tan portrays the anger that her mother feels in this instance by the use of this oxymoron, allowing the audience to envision what it must have been like to exist in this scenario. She wants the audience to understand the struggle of watching your own mother be ridiculed because of something that she could not control. Although her English is not standard, Mrs. Tan thoroughly understood the situation at hand and was able to get her point across very well. Through these rhetorical devices, Tan was able to convey her claim that her mother’s English gave her “assurance[s] that the CAT scan would be found”. This anecdote displays the kind of mistreatment that non-traditional English speakers suffer on a day-to-day basis simply because people don’t want to take the time to understand them. The stockbroker undermined Mrs. Tan’s intelligence simply because her dialect was not similar to his own. It is because of unfair stereotypes that this occurrence is so constant in the lives of immigrants. In a similar scene, Tan uses an oxymoron to better convey the underlying message, that accents do not define one’s competence. Amy refers to an instance where her mother had a financial issue with her broker in New York because she wanted to retrieve her funds and her broker was already two weeks late with the payment. She says it was not indicative of her true intelligence. Unlike those who looked down upon or disregarded Mrs. Tan because of her way of speaking, Amy was able to gauge exactly what her mother needed to say, and they created a special form of communication the two of them were comfortable with. She is telling us this because it is a relatable factor for other first generation and immigrant children, to have a more intimate language that you share with your family that incorporates a different dialect or multiple languages in order to adapt to the changing linguistics within the family unit. 

 Tan hopes to convey to readers what it is like to grow up in a Chinese American household and to explain the societal differences between her English, or ‘Mother Tongue’, and the standard English. Her goal is to eliminate biases for the Chinese community, as well as other immigrants, about their understanding of English. Because of the author’s emotional tone, it seems as though she writes for other first-generation kids and those who are a part of the Chinese American community. Amy’s intended audience includes those who have firsthand experiences like Amy’s, immigrants, children of immigrants, multi-language speakers and those who have experienced being discriminated against for the way they talk. Others who are most likely to be able to relate to her writing are those who support the topic of removing biases for those who have accents or speak different varieties of English.