Use commenting and respond to the following: Amy Tan writes, “Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use.” What are these different Englishes; when, where and how does she use them? What does this piece illustrate about Tan’s responsibility to and feelings about her different communities and the way she moves between these groups?
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Professor: Dr. Ruth G. Garcia
Email: RGarcia@citytech.cuny.edu
Office hours: Monday 11:00am – 1:00pm
An advanced course in expository essay writing that includes a required library paper. This course further develops research and documentation skills (MLA style). Demanding literary and expository readings are assigned for classroom discussion and as a basis for essay writing.
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Ursula C. Schwerin Library
New York City College of Technology, C.U.N.Y
300 Jay Street, Library Building - 4th Floor
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This course is based on the following course(s):
One of the basic social skills is reading the scene. Amy Tan understands that, she uses different levels of complicity or diversity of English language depending with whom she is speaking. With her mom, there’s no need for lengthy sentences because her mom uses her tone as a substitute for her “broken” English. However, when it comes to Tang’s audience, she uses detailed sentences to evoke an image or idea in the crowd. Similarly, she speaks to her colleagues in professionally toned and mannered English. This adaptation to various uses of the English language shows Tang’s linguistic intelligence. She understand the intricacies of the dialect and has learn how to maneuver with it.
In the reading Amy Tan writes, “Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different English’s I do use.” What she means by this is she became aware of the form she talks to when talking to certain people and groups. When speaking about her mother she describes her mothers english as broken and felt their was no other way to describe it. She also noticed that their no difference of how she talks to her husband as well and describes it as broken english. She hates to have to describe it like that because it sound as she needed to fix it or it was imperfect. Which on the other hand when she talks to other groups and gives speeches she usually says long and and detail sentences, which her mother never heard her talk this well
The Author Amy Tan made aware of her different English’s when around her different life settings. She first acclaimed that she uses one set of English which is a more watered down use with her mom or other immediate relationships while her more profound and well thought English during more upscaled events. Switches when around different people so she can more relate to them or make them feel comfortable; she didmd state buts pretty obvious; around her. When she realizes, it doesn’t sit to well because to her it seems as if one English superior than the other. She then accounts for her own wring doing and tries her best in her literature and daily life to un-barrier the barrier by using her “native” English she uses with her move with everyone.
Throughout her years of living, Amy Tan has noticed that she uses many different types of Englishes in order to speak to the different types of audiences that she wants to reach. While speaking to her mother or husband, she uses a type of English called “broken” English or “water down” English. Amy Tan does this because she wants her family to understand her in the easiest way possible. On the other hand, while Amy Tan speaks to people outside of her family, for instance, readers of her writings, stockbrokers, bank tellers, and more, she found herself speaking in a more “sophisticated” type of English: an English that uses much more advanced types of words than what she usually speaks to her mother with. On both sides, Tan wants her family and outsiders to understand her in the fullest way possible, without any confusion. Overall, Tan understands that her mother’s type of English is not degrading, but unique, and that is why she continues to speak “broken” English to her family and through some of her writings. Tan wants people to understand that any type of English is special in its own way, and we should learn to appreciate all types without any judgment.
When Amy Tan writes, “Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use.” The different englishes she means are the diverse ways she speaks the language to different people. When Tan is around her mother, she uses tries to keep what she is saying as simple as possible, and when she is talking people like her who has more experience with the English language, she used more complex and detailed words and better grammatical structured sentences. The last type “Englishes” Tan spoke is when she writes The Joy Luck Club it’s what she imagines her mother’s Chinese sounds like translated into perfect English. Her writing The Joy Luck Club was her trying to express her mother’s native language while keeping the true essence is her Chinese. In the writing Amy Tan sees language as a way of expression and uses each of her Englishes as she sees fit for the situation and for the people she is around.
The different englishes that the author uses are standard English or “perfect English “when speaking to an unfamiliar audience or in a formal setting whereas the English she speaks with her mother and in her household is simpler which is considered “broken english”. It was brought to her attention that she uses different types of englishes based on the settings she is in and who she is conversing with. Tan realizes that she does this because it is necessary to relate to the persons she is speaking to in those different settings. Tan must speak the type of English that the audience she is speaking to understands because if she speaks the English that she grew up speaking with her mom they wouldn’t be able to relate to her or understand her. Growing up Tan was ashamed of the English that her mother spoke but she now realizes that, that was the English that shaped her made her into the writer she is now.
I feel like the different “englishes” the author is talking is the small amount of words in english she knew how to speak with. The way she uses them is by showing emotion, a visual image, telling a truth, or even having a complex idea. What this piece does to illustrates tan responsibility is how much shes dedicated to helping her mom with dealing anything that deals with speaking english.
I feel like the different “englishes” the author is talking is the small amount of words in english she knew how to speak with. The way she uses them is by showing emotion, a visual image, telling a truth, or even having a complex idea. What this piece does to illustrates tan responsibility is how much shes dedicated to helping her mom with dealing anything that deals with speaking english.
In Amy Tan’s reading “Mother Tongue” she says that she uses different English’s. What this means is that through her writing and real life experiences she uses more of an improper/ broken version of English. She uses this kind of improper language when she’s speaking to friends/ family, and also to explain how they understand her. She also uses “proper English” in her writing, an example of this is when Amy Tan in Mother Tongue says “And at first I wrote using what I thought to be wittily crafted sentences, sentences that would finally prove I had mastery over the English language.” This shows that Tan is very smart but also she feels free to express herself in ways that she can like her language.
In the reading Amy Tan writes, “Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different English’s I do use.” I think mean is that depending on whom she addresses and how she does it, the structure of her sentence changes. For example, when she speaks to her mother, she uses a language that is more familiar to her, as it will be easier for her to communicate than she will speak with colleagues or a group of people, then she will use a more correct manner of speech. I think that the whole point of this article is to show the reader what a difficult situation can be when a child grows up in a family if the parents themselves do not know the language and do not use it correctly or do not use it half, like her mother, because of her ignorance language, other people treated her badly, if they speak another language at home, it is very difficult to learn a new language or the language of the country in which you live, because you always need practice. It also shows that language is the main key in a person’s life to communicate with everything and in different ways.
Throughout the text The author Amy Tan speaks on all her different ways she uses her english. She is a writer so language is a tool of her trade and being a writer she understands all the different ways to use it. Her first relizations was when she was giving a speech, she spoke lengthy sentences with proper grammar and past perfect tenses but her realization was when she saw her mother in the crowd. In that moment she said she started to notice that her mother never sees that side of her. It’s more direct and straight to the point, taking out all the filler. Which alot of people call broken English. Tan likes to think of it as simple English since broken English makes it seem like her mother is wrong and needs to change. After this realization she also notices that she does this with her husband so they speak to each other with more intent than speaking “proper”. Even though it’s not touched on in the text this is code switching, she changes how she act or in this case speaks to get the most emotion and engagement from her audience.
In the story Mother tongue, She claims “Recently, I was made keen aware of the different englishes I do use.” This is true because as she claims when speaking to her husband. For example, “My husband was with us as well, and he didn’t notice any switch in my English”. Her husband makes her comfortable and is with each other for so long to a point where this is normal english to him. She can sound like the smartest person in the room and her husband would understand her because that’s how they talk to each other every day. In addition, She feels like her mother speaks just fine. But in reality, people claim that her english is terrible which some people could call it “broken english”.
The author Amy Tan is referring the different Englishes she uses to interact with diverse groups of people. When she is giving a speech to an audience, or in setting with unknown people she speaks an articulated and well-spoken English, so, everyone can understand the message she is giving. Meanwhile, when she is speaking with her mother or her husband, she feels comfortable to use broken or simple English, because they can understand each other, even, if the words don’t make much sense. The author feels conflicted at times because she uses a unique English for each group, but she is aware that this is necessary to have an effective communication with her different communities.
In “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan she talks about the different types of English. There is broken English where the English is not considered proper and she speaks like this to her mother and her husband. Her husband know both proper and improper English but her mother doesn’t and it really affects her. Amy talks about how in the past she had to talk on the phone pretending it was the mother because they wouldn’t understand her English. But when Amy is not with her mother she speaks proper english meaning have proper grammar. Amy doesn’t want her mother to be looked at differently because of this but because of her improper english people may take advantage of her.
the different forms of English is the little amount of words that she knew how to speak wit and use . she uses them is by showing emotions, visuals, and honesty. this piece shows tan responsibility due to her dedication to helping her mom speaking English
The different Englishes consist of simple, broken, limited, and proper. The use of these types of Englishes depends on the context of the situation. Simple English would be used when outside either around friends or for brief interactions. Broken English is used around her mother, in between translations. The same goes for limited English, with either her mother or her husband. Proper English is used for work and professional settings. The text communicates that Tan feels obligated to share her experiences with a wider spread audience. She feels that more time should be taken to understand the difficulty in having to go through such experiences without having outsiders understand what it’s like.
Amy Tan’s “Different Englishes” refers to the different types of English she uses depending on who she’s talking to. For example, she uses “broken” English with her mother to make it easier for her mom to understand. She does the same with her husband. On the flip side, when she needs to make a long speech, talk to colleagues and friends, or write, she uses a different English. She describes it as “standard” English. English that one might conventionally use everyday, the one she was taught in school. Tan was made aware of this many times throughout her life, and at one point she was ashamed of her mom’s “broken” English. But this shame turned into pride, because Tan realized that her mom’s English wasn’t exactly “broken” or incorrect. The switching between languages with different groups of people was more to do with Tan’s inner responsibility to make herself as easily understood as possible.
In the reading “Mother’s Tongue”, Amy says that she was made keenly aware of the different English’s she uses. What I believe that she means by this is that depending on who she is talking to, the wording of her sentence changes. When she speaks to her mother, she uses a more familiar language, compared to when she speaks with a group of people then she will use a more proper manner of speech. An example of when Amy was aware of the different English’s she uses is when she was giving a speech and was speaking in an educated and proper way. After seeing her mother in the crowd she realizes that her mother is hearing her speak a kind of English that she does not use at home. When she speaks to her mother or her husband, her conversations are more simple. Whereas, while speaking about her book, she communicates through a more educated language.
The different kinds of Englishes are all determined by word choice, grammar, tone, etc. An example for this would be Amy Tan’s speech about her book, life and writing. She has already given the same speech before to half a dozen other groups of people and then her mother was part of that crowd. She made sure to speak formally with no grammatical errors, no slang, and great use of past tense which her mother was not familiar with, Amy even states that this burdened her so it’s definitely out of character for her. This piece shows that she feels like she has to inform others about the struggle of others having a hard time understanding her no matter how she speaks. Communication is one of the most important things in the world to have, it helps us understand each other and Amy knows this and feels as though people should take the time to be more patient to get the message that’s trying to reach them
For this question, I am only going to highlight a handful of responses, not because they are the only correct ones but because they tie together nicely to develop a point about what Tan is doing in her piece with regard to language and why she feels the need to do this. To this end, we can start with Tabitha’s great point that Tan is using her writing to break down the hierarchy or boundaries between different kinds of Englishes. As Anaya explains, Tan feels an obligation to share her experience and bring awareness to the variety of Englishes that exist. We might ask why and here, Princess helps us understand the answer when she explains that Tan wants to change the way we view other Englishes by showing us that her mother’s English is unique, and I would add powerful. As Tameka points out, Tan’s writing is shaped by her mother’s English, Indeed, Tan writes her very successful novel for her mother and in a voice that her mother would understand. This is the ultimate way to give value to her mother’s English and to show her pride (which Kenny calls our attention to) in her community and her mother in particular.