Communication and Language - Mother Tongue - Essay Example

 Communication and Language - Mother Tongue Communication is essential for almost all living things; it lets us warn others of danger, share experiences, express feelings, and opinions. Human beings by the nature are innate communicators, they rely on it to teach and to learn. In the world there are many different ways of communicating, gestures, facial expressions, body language, certain sounds, and, of course, our words (Shukla). However, languages are differnt all over the world. Here in the United States when someone does not speak English well or speaks a broken version of the language many tend to think less, enforce stereotypes, and not take them as seriously. The two essays “Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan, and “Talk about Editing,” by David Shipley do not have very much in common. They are both relevant and important but approach communication from two completely different sides. Tan’s work is a serious discussion about the way people perceived her as a young Asian American and how her mother is treated for her broken English. She gives multiple examples at how differently her mother’s business would be handled when she pretended to be her mother on the telephone as opposed to how they, generally, treated her mother. She mentions being discouraged by teachers not to pursue writing; it was suggested she enter the math or sciences. She understood that this was a stereotype in action; people of Asian descent are naturally good at math and science, but seldom good at English or writing. (Tan 270-?) However, of course she became a writer despite their views. However, one can appreciate the hard ship that her mother went through. Also, she touches on the important subject of how people speak differently within different environments. There is some truth to this. There are actually a number of English dialects, slang, and regional terms being used that mean little outside of that region. That said, the language used and words chosen differ when we talk to friends, teachers, parents, and employers. These language issues should not be allowed to ever overshadow the value of a person or of the information they hope to share. The Amy Tan essay speaks to the perception a woman watching her mother struggle with this issue and the ways that the outside world reacts to it. Her desire to defy the stereotypes that were presented and continue to pursue her goal is inspiring. In her case she is asking for the poor words her mother uses, as with all immigrants working to learn a new and difficult language, to not mean more the intention, wisdom, or meaning behind each of them, perfectly spoken or not The second essay, “Talking about Editing” is a much more structured essay explaining the point, purpose, and function of an editor. Apparently people have an impression that editors make harsh and often uncomplimentary choices in a writer’s work and have overall say in the perception or vision of the actual work (Shipley 303-?). In fact, the author of any work has the final say in the final work that they will put their name one. According to experts good editors, should always be able to pick up on the grammatical errors, typos, and spelling mistakes, but never to make an overall judgment of the artistic or scholarly work. Their responses to the writer’s work should always be suggestions and never demands (Rafter). However as we move into the ever-changing and technological futures the value of writing and reading may be slipping away. In discussing these two essays there is an interesting irony present. If Amy Tan did not speak or write in fine and proper English, would a publisher consider her work, would an editor even bother? If it is the errors in the writing that makes the writing unique then correcting it would eliminate that quality. Editors are trained and bound to make certain that all of the rules of the English language are followed, punctuation, and grammar, as well. However, it should be known that today with the self published “blogs,” face book, postings and twitter messages writing has become a brief, abbreviated, slang all of its own. Today the language we use involves abbreviations of ideas and expression, like LOL (laugh out loud) and BRB (be right back). Anyone can be a writer, anyone can have their opinion published. This is wonderful for all of the people out there that would “technically” not be considered good communicators who can now express themselves without fear of too harsh of criticism. Today, anyone can be a writer and editing is not as relevant in the modern era as it once was. From a traditionalist stand point, in order for someone to be a good communicator, particularly in written formats, you must have mastered grammar, spelling, and the understanding of the best ways and approaches to take depending upon the topic one is discussing. However, being a strong communicator does not necessarily rely solely on the grammar and spelling aspects. What people have to say is slowing but surely starting to outweigh there typos, language choices, verb options, or pronunciation errors. Again communication goes deeper than just words and language, it is expression, feeling, and connecting with others, which is an essential facet to being human. Contrasting these two essays is not difficult, it would be easy to set them against each other. One argues for a lack of discrimination in her mother’s broken English and the other works to support the editing industry that sets the literary boundaries that all writers must conform. Shipley’s article is informative and explanatory, while Tan’s essay is an emotive and autobiographical memoir about her experiences with communication and being Asian American. Editing for grammar is becoming antiquated, again, one can be published online without having to comform to these rules. The first article speaks out for those who are not masters of the English language and that they should not have to speak or write in perfect English just to have their message respected and received as intelligent and worth consideration. While the other speaks to the necessary conforming to literary rules that can be hard for second-language English speakers to conform to. When it comes to communicating through oral or written forums the most important aspect should not, simply, be the ability of the speaker to tackle the language flawlessly, but more so to say something important, something relevant, something that can educate, inform or inspire others. In a day and age where everyone’s ideas and opinions are in your face all over the internet would it not be better to listen to someone communicate a meaningful message in poorly spoken and broken English, than to listen to someone who speaks in perfect and eloquently composed English and, yet say absolutely nothing at all. Communication is something that is essential to humanity as whole, regardless of what country you were born or what land you were raised, every single one of us presently needs, and will always need to communicate (Shukla). We need to communicate our thoughts, our wants, our fears, and to make our way in the world. I think that the Tan essay was a very accurate when she pointed out that there is multiple means of communication depending upon the environment. There are several different versions of “English” being spoken every day, like the online and texting language, for example. In the end, these essays were very interesting but, I think the message being shared in the Tan essay speaks more to the value of what we communicate than how we do it; that is a valuable message worth taking away. Work Cited Rafter, Michelle V.. "Top 10 qualities of a good editor." Word Count. Word Press and Hybrid, 16 Jul 2012. Web. 13 Nov 2013. . Shipley, David. "Talk about Editing." Trans. Array The Longman Reader. . 10th Longman, Inc. , 2011. 303. Print. Shukla, Ishani Chatterjee. "Importance of Communication." Buzzle. Buzzle, 19 Aug 2011. Web. 13 Nov 2013. . Tan, Amy. "Mothers Tongue." Trans. Array The Longman Reader. . 10th Longman, Inc., 2011. 270. Print. Read More