Use commenting and respond to the following: Who do you think would benefit or be interested in reading this piece? Why?
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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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English, being my second language, this writing was very comforting for me to read. Therefore I believe, the audience would be someone like me, who came from another country and learned a new language. Aa well as someone like my mother, who is a very smart woman but has a similar communicative problem when it comes to speaking in English, just like Tan’s mother. However I believe hearing this story would benefit native speakers who often misjudge non-native, and this comes not only for English but really any language. It’s important to remind ourselves the other person has learned a new language later in life, and give that person the opportunity to express themselves the best way they can.
I believe that many who speak small amounts of english would benefit from reading this. Reading “Mothers Tongue” would allow many who don’t speak that much english to connect with the writer and letting them know there not alone in speaking so little english. I believe it will help cope with their feelings if they ever feel down about not speaking proper english.
I think everyone would benefit from reading this piece. Like many ethnicities or minorities we all relate and automatically understand when a person uses the phrase “code-switch”; its innate. Unfortunately there are a lot of black people like myself who really did take into account others hardships when having to function in America with another culture/tongue. Also group of people who would primarily benefit from this piece is the one I don’t even need to name; the can use this information if they didn’t know already by being more kind and openminded to those who are not primary english speakers.
I really found this piece refreshing as I can relate to it very much. Even though English is my first language I always spoke what is known as “broken English. “Like Tan as a Jamaican we were taught to speak “standard English” only in formal settings such as school but when we were around family and friends, we would speak broken English which was majority of the time. I too had to speak for my grandmother when she just moved here (America) because all she spoke was broken English and often times people wouldn’t understand what she was saying. I also believe that some native English speakers would benefit from this piece. They would realize that most of us who speak limited or “broken English “are not being “lazy” when we don’t speak the English language fluently. I would hope that by reading this piece they would be a little more patient and compassionate with us.
I believe that many different types of people would benefit from “Mother’s Tounge”. People who live in the United States who are, or whose parents are immigrants/ newcomers would benefit from this piece tremendously. As a Nigerian, even though I was born here in the U.S, my parents immigrated from Nigeria in 2000 which had massively affected our family. My parents speak a type of English that would also be classified as “broken”. Growing up, I usually felt embarrassed of the way my parents spoke and my sisters and I would constantly have to “correct” their English. Now, after reading “Mother’s Tongue”, it has taught me to not be ashamed of the way my parents speak. It provided me comfort and a new understanding of their type of English. I have learned that this is the way my parents comfortably express themselves, and I, and everyone else, should learn to accept the different ways different people communicate.
I believe immigrants or children of immigrant parents would be interested in reading this. Amy Tan wrote about a different type of Englishes she spoke and how her mother spoke “broken” English, something extremely common with people who came from a different country and something a lot of children of those parents could relate to, something she and a lot of children felt ashamed of. As she grew, she concluded that the “broken” English is just a different type of English, something that no one should be ashamed of.
I would be interested in reading this piece because I grew up with a family that only spoke Spanish, so that led to my first language being Spanish. This makes Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” relatable and more interesting to me personally. I have been through countless experiences where my English has also felt “weak” because in my writing or even just when I’m speaking with other people I make many mistakes with my English. Amy Tan also motivates me to do my best and improve my English language skills whether it’s writing, reading, or even speaking.
My assumption is that this whole article is for those who have a similar situation in life, because many immigrants come to another country without knowing their language, but over time they learn it, but still at home with their relatives, out of habit, people speak their native language . Amу tells how it was with her and how she uses her language to communicate at home with her mother and with other people, with large groups of people or with colleagues, she uses a cleaner and more correct language than at home with her mother who understands her no matter what. I think it all depends on how much you know the person and how long you live with him.
I feel like the audience that would be interested in reading this piece are immigrants coming to America or more like kids that are born in America but have parents that are immigrants .
Everyone can take a little something from Amy Tan’s text “Mothers Tongue”. For anyone whose first language isn’t English it gives a lot to relate to. And at that point be inspired to read her well written text knowing her background. And for anyone whose first language is English it gives a glism into someone’s whos isn’t life. Allowing people to be more aware and considerate.
I believe the intended audience that would be interested in reading this piece “Amy Tan’s Mothers Tongue” is everyone. The reason I say this is because Amy talks about when she would speak simple English which was with her mom. This would help someone like Amy’s mom understand the conversation better due to her not knowing English very well. Otherwise someone like her husband she was able to speak normal because he would understand her English. Amy says “Our Language” in the second paragraph which I agree with because we all talk a certain way depending on the setting we are surrounded by for example I say a lot of New York slang with friends but I speak more Professional at school.
Amy Tan said she uses simple English when she is talking to her mother, this would help her mother understand the conversation because if Amy were to use her normal English it might have confused her mother. The next type of English Amy used was watered down and she used this when she was translating her mothers language like when she was on the phone with the stockbroker. The watered down English allows Amy to take her mothers broken English and make it sound more appealing to others. After reading I believe this makes Tan feel like chinese people are forced into engineering because they are better at math and the English they speak at home differs from the English that they use at school.
I think people would are first english learner would benefit in reading this piece because it gives an experience to the read of how Mother Tougue went throw learning english in different perspectives. I suppose that reading this article can give positive support to people who are learning to speak english.
Many communities if not everyone could benefit. Either learn about the different Englishes a person can speak; or at least reminder ourselves that we are all different, therefore, we speak with a slightly different version of the language. It can be a few words or a whole different accent that we are not used to listen. Especially when native speakers communicate with people who learn English as adults and their mother tongue has a big influence in how they speak English.
I believe that people that are moving from different countries can find this reading beneficial. They may find this beneficial because they would most likely be doing through the same thing where the parents English is considered broken and their children know both improper and proper English. I can sort of relate to this because my family is from Guyana and when they first enter the USA they didn’t have the best English. After a few months they got used to the proper english but still tend to speak broken english around family.
The people who would benefit or be interested in this piece would be all the immigrants, the people who move to another country with a different language than theirs. People who are unable to pronounce the accent correctly and even mix it with their native accent. This piece was very enjoyable for me because I identify a lot with Tan and her mother because my family and I speak Spanish, and it was very difficult for us to learn and perfect the English language, especially for my mother, who sometimes felt very awful. Amy tries to give us a very good message, which would be, you don’t have to be ashamed of how you speak, where you come from, or how you dress because that is your essence, that is you, you don’t have to get carried away by the negative opinions of other people, better feel proud because at least you try and you don’t give up.
I believe those who would benefit or relate to this piece would be individuals who have moved into the country at an early age with their parents, speak more than one language, or are first-generation in everything. This piece would serve as a comfort to the people who’ve had to lead double lives for both their parents and themselves. It would feel as though this is an unspoken tradition that travels through all immigrants or families that speak more than one language but English not being the strongest one. Reading this would be like having someone relate to and understand with a story of their own.
i think that this peice would benifit people from other countries moving to america or something and they speak decent english and their parents dont due to them not being from here and the child being the one to help them with things thats who i think it would benifit
I believe that reading “Mother’s Tongue” will assist a wide range of people. Those who would most gain from this piece are immigrants, those who have moved from another country, or people who speak a different language. My family is from Guyana, so they speak in what’s known as “broken English.” Growing up, and even sometimes now, my siblings and I would have to correct some of my parent’s phrases. My parents gradually became accustomed to speaking in proper English, but they continue to converse as they would normally with relatives and friends. Overall, this reading piece was intriguing, and it expresses the idea of how challenging it can be for individuals who are raised by parents who speaks “limited English. Amy explains that you should respect those who struggle with English, and feel pride in the way we speak because everyone is different.
I believe that a good target audience for this piece are children of immigrants who have had to switch between different types of English before. Personally, I’ve had to “simplify” my English to make it easier for my family to understand, or call a sales associate at a store for help because my mom couldn’t do so. I think this is a good read for children of immigrants because, in many cases, having to deal with parents who couldn’t understand the English language can be a source of shame, one that eventually turns to resentment. Tan does mention that she felt shame due to her mom’s English. She remembers times where her friends have told her that they can’t understand her mom at all. But toward the end of the piece, she writes about how she didn’t have to feel any shame, because she realized that every form of English is beautiful, not “broken” and definitely not something to be shameful about, which I believe is a positive and reinforcing message.
Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” would interesting to people language barrier or bilingual. Reasons for this are lack of education in ways like denied education and resources.
Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” was a great read. This piece speaks on the trouble Tan’s family had with language barriers. This piece could be beneficial and or interesting to people whose second language is English.
The first version was a mistake and incomplete. Here’s to the second version!
Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” was a great read. This piece speaks on the trouble Tan’s family had with language barriers. This piece could be beneficial and or interesting to people whose second language is English. Many people may experience what Tan’s talks about, for example in my family when I speak to my grandparents the language used there wouldn’t be what I’ll use if I was in my office with my coworkers. Also with my peers, I use a lot more slang, and as I call it a relaxed language when my boss I make sure I’m saying full words and full sentences to sound professional.
I think everyone would benefit from reading this piece for several reasons. It gives a different perspective on the topic of code switching so others can understand it from a different angle, it’s relatable to those who feel as if they’re speaking a language brokenly or incorrectly, and everyone changes the way they speak to different groups of people. People who don’t have English as their first language will resonate with these struggles while others who haven’t will get to understand what that’s like. Everyone has also been in different social settings which call for different ways to speak through word choices, tone, pronunciations, etc.
I feel like someone that would really benefit from this story is someone that is involved with immigrants. They could really read this piece and make them feel comfortable. It makes them feel like they know someone they can relate to. For example, my mother is not from here and if she read this story I would feel like she would be way more comfortable in New York. I already know her accident was super heavy and I just wanted her to feel normal.
Thank you all for your thoughtful engagement with the piece. I love Kristina’s and Anthony’s points that this piece would appeal to both those who are non-native English speakers and those that are, but that what each group would take away (that is, how the piece speaks to each group) is different! As Tabitha points out, reading about this unfamiliar experience can function to make those who do not understand the experiences of English language learners more compassionate and less judgmental. And Ishmael echoes the points made by Kristina and Anthony but also adds that this kind of code switching is not just encountered by immigrants or the children of immigrants but is applicable to all of us who change our tone and language according to the social setting we are in. And Aking gives us great examples of situations that might require a variety of Englishes and/or languages.
Brian makes a good point—echoed by many, including Nigel, Tyler, Alex, and Stephon — that this piece creates a community between the author and readers who relate to the author’s experience. As Sonia points out, Tan gives voice to the challenges experienced by many children of immigrant parents whose first language is not English. And Brian, Princess, Josseline, and Anaya point out, seeing the shared experience reflected in the piece can be comforting and empowering. Exemplifying this connection to the piece, Tameka writes that a more colloquial English was “taught” for the home environment. I would add that I really like the use of the word “taught” as it drives home the point that it is not that one English is better than the other. Both are learned—like two different languages—and each has its place and use.