Isi Luna
Molly Mosher
FIQWS 1002- WCGI History & culture- Composition
October 13, 2021
Rhetorical Analysis summary:
Amy Tan “Mother tongue”
Amy tan a Chinese American writer and novelist. In here essay, “Mother tongue” published on the three penny review a literary magazine in 1990, on this essay Amy Tan addresses the fairly many unique ways she really managed to code switch depending on the people she was surrounded by; throughout this essay she talks about how her mother’s English affected their lives in a particularly major way. she also points out how hard it really is to grow up and be raised by parents who really struggled to speak English or did not know anything to begin with as they used relayed on their kids to communicate with others. basically, using their kids as a method of communication with others; Amy delivers this argument by using personal anecdotes of her mother’s English and how she struggled and was treated by others, Amy convinces readers that the validity and value of a person’s ideas does not change due to the way they speak whether they mostly are using perfect or broken English in a major way. This essay is personally directed to those whose English is not they’re first language.
Some anecdotes Amy tan uses to deliver her message are when she tells her mother’s story. When her mom was on the phone with the stockbroker “why he does not send me check, already two weeks late. So mad he lie to me, losing me money” Amy tan quotes her mother’s exact words to show us the difference between the way her mother was talking compared to how she was interpreting it over the phone to the stockbroker technically not in a way that isn’t understood but in a non-casual way. Amy tan also starts the essay by saying “I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English language and its variations in this country or others.” she includes this at the beginning to emphasize with the reader and have them understand that she isn’t a genius in English language herself.
Tan really is also upset at various points during this essay this being one of them along with when she shares about her teachers “steering away from writing and into math and since” Tan was terribly upset at this stereotypical claim that was done towards her even though she knew she specifically was the best at writing math and science kind of was nowhere her was interested, which specifically is quite significant. All these pretty little anecdotes provided throughout the essay confirms Amy tans claims about how spoken English varies and to explains what variations had affected her life in a subtle way. the start of her essay Amy states “I am not a scholar of English or literature., which mostly is quite significant. I am a writer” she does this to prepare the reader for a kind of more very personal essay and her qualifications for writing about a language. Amy also states “I am a writer. And by that definition, I am someone who has always loved language. I am fascinated by language in daily life. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language — the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all — all the English’s I grew up with.” This is important because it shows Amy’s admiration for writing and thinks about how language influences everything. She also speaks “proper” English, but she also speaks her childhood English.
Worksite:http://www.umsl.edu/~alexanderjm/Mother%20Tongue%20by%20Tan.pdf
