Reply to this post. 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?
Prof. Jessica Penner | OL33 | Fall 2021
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The different Englishes Amy Tan uses is proper when she is in a group of people who speak English as like a first language, for example when she is in the audience giving a lecture. The other English she speaks is broken when she is with her mom because that is what she grew up with and comfortable speaking with her mother since her mother speaks in the same “broken” way. The other English she speaks is a bit of a slang, something that she uses with her husband. This piece shows that Tan feels obligated to be on the same speaking stepping ground for whatever group she is talking to. She does not even really notice at first when it happens she was automatically doing it. She figures it out later when she gives that speech with her mother in attendance.
Amy Tan expresses that she was speaking to a large group of people giving a speech about her book and how she was speaking English in a way her mom has never heard before. She later referred to her mother’s English as “broken” and how she has to speak to her mother in a certain way for her to understand. Tan also mentioned how switching between her personal forms of English is a natural occurrence. She doesn’t necessarily plan out how she’s going to speak/respond to her mother or an entire group of people. Consequently, I believe Tan respects her mother’s way of speaking the language nor does she express any kind of embarrassment toward it.
While I was reading, Amy would often speak “broken” English to her mother because it would be easier for her and her mother to put up with a conversation and it’s what she was most comfortable with when speaking to her. She would also speak differently compared to others with her husband and there wouldn’t be much of a difference but it’s way different compared to when other people speaking it formally or informally. One thing I noticed while reading was that ‘English’ would be limited depending how she would speak it to her mother or to someone else. It’s spontaneous when switching the words, more of a natural thing when speaking to another. Tan mentioned that students at school would often get higher grades in math rather than English.
Amy speaks “broken” English to her mother because it’s easier for her and her mother to understand and makes her mom comfortable. Amy also mentioned in her writing how when she speaks to a large group of people, her English is way different from speaking to her mother and how her mother wouldn’t understand that type of English. Amy realizes there’s different types of English’s she speaks when she speaks to her mother and to the audience with and without her mother in the crowd watching and how differently it is.
The english that Amy Tan uses with her mom differs from the english she uses when speaking to audiences or friends. Amy Tan’s mom uses the english that comes natural for her and Amy is able to understand and communicate with this english. She also states that others don’t really understand her mother when she speaks. I feel like Amy feels like she has the responsibility of making her mom feel heard by being able to speak her way of english.
The different Englishes she uses would be the english she uses when speaking to her friends and what she uses when writing “Mother’s Tongue”. The other english she uses is with her mother, which can be considered “broken english”. An example of when Amy Tan uses “broken english” is when she quotes her mother, “Why he don’t send me check, already two
weeks late. So mad he lie to me, losing me money.” I believe that this piece illustrates how isn’t embarrassed about the way her mothers speaks and how she sometimes speaks.
These different Englishes are the ones she speaks depending on who she is talking to. The English her mom uses, which could be called “broken English”. “Simple English” which is how she talks back to her mom. she uses it for her mom to understand better. Also, “Complex English” is how she talks in front of a group of people when she gives speeches.
As I was reading this article I realize that Amy tan had a lot of respect for people, especially her mother. We can see how she speaks differently based on the type of environment she is in. Adopting her environment, when she is with her mother, she makes sure to speak in a proper way so she can fully understand which is her broken English and she uses slang when she’s around other people she knew would understand what she’s trying to say. When that happens, she doesn’t even realize she was doing it on her own. When she delivers her speech in front of her mother, she figures it out afterward.
The phrases Amy Tan uses is “Broken” or “Fractured” to explain her thinking, one example can be when Amy was on the phone pretending to be her mother getting her point across because her mother wasn’t taken seriously at her working environment because her mother would be speaking “broken English”. This piece can illustrate that Tan’s had a lot of responsibilities growing up and also how different communities are quick to judge people based on their way of speaking.
While I was reading the essay I seen how Amy changes the way she speaks to the people she is around. when its a professional person she will speak using big words and speaking fluently
but when she is around her mom she speaks like her mom will speak broken English so she can understand her mom and her mom can understand her. This makes Amy a very respectful person she can communicate with people who use different English’s. tan also stated that student get bad grades in English and get good grades in math .this could mean that students can be struggling in English because there teacher speaks English fluently and the student speaks broken English
Amy Tan use broken English with her mother but she speaks in English different way with large group of people and her mother never heard her speech. She used code switching between her mother and large group of people. Also, She used code switching because that her mother can understand her and her mother don’t know better English so she always use broken English with her mother. Her some of friends don’t understand and some of are little bite understand her mother language but for her her mother English was perfect and clear. Also, she respect her mother language and so “Don’t judge a book its cover”
When Amy Tan was giving a talk to a large group of people about her writing, her life, and her book she realized she never talked like that to her mother. She was using “broken” English with her mother but when she was with the group of people, she used a formal kind of English. Her mother was little bit surprised by that. It shows how she changed her way of talking in separate places. I think she did that to be comfortable with situation and to respect her mother language as well.
Amy talks about the different ways on speaking English in this piece of writing. When she talks to a crowd or audience, she speaks English in a way where she describes it as using “wrought grammatical phases” and “normalized forms” where on the other hand she doesn’t talk that way with her mother. She talks with her mother the same way her mother talks to her and she describes this as speaking in “broken” english however she despises using the term “broken” because it makes it seem as if that way of speaking needs to be fixed or is damaged and that is not how she sees it as. Sometimes her mother would put her on the phone to speak to people for her and pose as her because her English is more understandable to representatives than her mothers. Also this was because she noticed the poor customer service her mother would receive growing up whether it was at banks or restaurants.
Different Englishes Amy Tan May be speaking about, is how we code switch. For example the way we speak to our friends isn’t the same way we will approach our elders. We are more respectful towards our elders, teachers, and boss. But to our friends we use slang and certain words to express ourselves. Amy Tan spoke about how she speaks simple English to her mother for her to be able to understand. Unlike when she’s speaking to an audience she uses “normalized form” as she states.
Amy tan speaks in more than one English, when she’s with people who only speak English in her career she uses standard English, she makes sure her grammar is correct and uses “perfect tenses” she speaks this English when she was in her lecture. when she is with her mother she speaks in “broken English”. she speaks in broken English with her mother because its what she grew up with listening her mother speak and its easier for her mother as well. she goes on to say that she even speaks that kind of English to her husband as way of being “intimate” and vice versa with him. this shows the responsibilities tan had which when she was using her standard English language she was helping her mother be respected and understood by the people who would mistreat her and couldn’t understand her. she had a responsibility to her mother to be understood by her and have the world understand her too as well as a responsibility for Amy tan herself to be understood by the world when she speaks standard English.
The different types of English Amy Tan use are Broken English, Formal, and causal tones. Broken English is to communicate to family/loved ones who don’t truly understand the English language. Formal is to professional people as her boss or co-worker. Lastly, casual is when she is speaking with her group of friends. Like slang and other ways to communicate. This shows that Amy is respectful of the way she speaks and knows when to switch when needed. I believe in other words, good at communicating. She knows the right time and place to switch from Broken English, formal or casual when she is outside in the world.
Amy Tan uses broken English at home, formal for work and professional settings and casual with her friends. This illustrates that Tan used her responsibility that once made her embarrassed as a means to be understood in better ways by different people, as well as categorize the meaning people have in her life by the different kinds of English she uses. Everyone knows their role in her life by the way she speaks to them.
Amy tang different English is that she refers to are broken or proper, she uses the term code switching to show how she talks to other groups of people like work and friends versus her mother. She uses “broken” English with her mother and proper with others. Amy tans responsibility illustrates to us as she has to make sure when to code switch through different people. She might have responsibility then but not so much or none now, since it’s now a natural thing she does and would barely notice when she does it.