Language can Create Success - Essay Example

Omar Al-Dhuhli Prof. Sunjin ENGL 1004.03 February 15, Language can Create Success INTRODUCTION “Mother Tongue” is a story written by Amy Tan, where the narrator shows that having a limited language and being unable to speak English fluently can cause us many difficulties in life. The narrator attempts to demonstrate how people with limited language suffer, and how they are treated differently from the people who are fluent with the language. In the essay “Mother Tongue”, Tan talks about the difficulties she and her mother went through because of her mother’s limited vocabulary in English. Tan’s mother was undermined by the society because of her broken or fractured English. Many people including her friends would not understand her broken English, while others pretended not to hear her. At the banks, restaurants and department stores, the employees rendered poor services to her and they did not seem to take her seriously. If individuals are unable to express themselves to others with clear and understandable words, it can cause them embarrassments and difficulties in their social, financial and educational life. Tan states that language is powerful and it can evoke emotions, complex ideas, visual images or simple truths (Tan). (Poor English language has a profound effect on the relationship between an individual, the society and his family and it can influence one’s social, financial and successful life. Poor English language can affect an individual’s relationship with his or her family. It can have a negative effect in that family members may feel embarrassed or ashamed by an individual’s use of poor English. Amy Tan clearly demonstrates this as she says that she was embarrassed by her mother’s broken English when she was young. She says that, “my mothers "limited" English limited my perception of her” (Tan). This means that she thought that her mother’s inability to speak English fluently also affected her thoughts. This is also a belief that is commonly held by many people. People tend to believe that an individual, who is unable to use proper English in a conversation, also bears limited thoughts and a closed perception. Tan echoes these sentiments when she says that she “believed her mother’s poor English reflected the quality of what she had to say” (Tan). People do not understand that individuals can express themselves poorly but bear intelligent perceptions and thoughts. Her relationship with her mother also seemed to be affected by her poor English. Tan had to translate or speak for her mother so that people could understand or get a picture of what she was saying. She says that she used to argue with people on the phone while she was pretending to be her mother. This was due to the fact that the individuals on the other line would not have understood her mother’s language, therefore, forcing her to get into arguments as she passed her mother’s message. People who cannot speak proper English always seek assistance within their immediate family members, thus burdening them with the responsibilities of translating and talking in their behalf. The family members may feel burdened by this trend, therefore, viewing the individual as a liability. Tan also recalls an incident when she was giving a speech on her work and she remembered that her mother was in the congregation. She had been used to talking to her in broken English and carefully selecting phrases that she could understand (Tan). She realized that she had not used proper English around her. This shows that people who have poor language skills affect their family members’ ways of interacting with others as they have to consider their presence and use a language that they also can understand. Living and interacting with people who use poor English may also affect an individual’s performance at school, especially in some subjects such as linguistics. Tan believed that her “mothers English almost had an effect on limiting her possibilities in life as well” (Tan). She continues to explain that linguists and Sociologists believe that an individual’s language skills are significantly influenced by peers. However, her mother’s English influenced a significant part of her education especially in the English subjects. She was not very good in English because of her background that did not help much when it came to writing and thinking about the English language correctly. She had even been advised to pursue a career in accounting as other Chinese students have been encouraged to join Engineering. This shows that poor English can affect a person’s career and educational achievements. It shows that a person’s life can be affected by the family’s language; therefore, demonstrating that those people who speak in poor English can have a negative effect on one’s language ability. Poor language may also affect the relationship between an individual and the society. Many people may not clearly understand individuals who are unable to express themselves properly in the appropriate language. People will try to avoid holding conversations with individuals who have poor English because they may not comprehend what they are saying and they may have to ask them to repeat a couple of times. This may seem disrespectful especially when handling sensitive matters or when dealing with impatient individuals. In other situations, people tend to ignore individuals who they cannot understand. Tan says that her mother could read and write English perfectly but when it came to speaking, some people said that they did not understand anything she said while others said that they only understood half of what she said. Tan proved this since “people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her” (Tan). People who have poor language skills can easily be misunderstood. Their poor choice of words may bring about a misunderstanding at the workplace after an employee misunderstands the customer and renders incorrect services. This may affect the relationship between the customer and the employee, who may not feel obligated to issue an apology as he or she was carrying out the orders that the customer issued. Tan explains this situation more comprehensively as she talks about an incident that happened to her mother in the hospital. She had spoken in her broken English and seemed not to get along with the hospital employees, who had even refused to issue an apology. After Tan was called and they had a conversation in correct the English language, the hospital staff assured her that they would resume on her case immediately and they issued an apology (Tan). CONCLUSION Poor English can bring difficulties to individuals as it affects the way they interact with people in the society and their families. The paper shows the difficulties that Tan’s mother dealt with due to her broken English and the effects it had on Tan’s life. Although many of the effects discussed in the essay concentrated on the negative, there were some positive effects that can be seen from the situation. The fact that only Tan understood her mother helped her to stay close to her and offer assistance whenever she required it. Tan was also able to overcome the different stereotypes about the Asian community as she was able to concentrate on American literature, a professional that has very few people from the Asian community. Tan concludes by stating that she knew that she had succeeded where it mattered most as her mother had finished reading her book and claimed that it was easy to read (Tan). Work Cited Tan, Amy. "Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan." Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. http://www.olypen.com/pnkdurr/as/mother_text.htm Read More