The United States is a multicultural country that has many variations of its official language. For example, according to Britton (2021), more than 20% of the American population have a mother tongue language other than English. An increasing number of international students in the U.S. created “ethnolinguistic diversity” (Britton, 2021, p. 425). The English language is perceived by migrants as privilege and opportunity, while their native languages represent nostalgia (Lim, 2019). The short essay Mother Tongue by Amy Tan reveals various stages of fear and acceptance of their native languages by the second generation of migrants. For example, Asian Americans were stereotyped to have broken English because many of them used other languages at home (Lim, 2019). Indeed, widespread stigmatization was one of the main reasons for Asian children to be ashamed of their parents who could not speak proper English. It appears that language differences, in addition to the political issues, created alienation between immigrants and the native population. Tan’s article’s central claim is the power of language that can develop a sense of unity and separation because society negatively responds to foreigners’ usage of the primary language.
Amy Tan opens her essay with the statement that she is not an English scholar but a writer accustomed to using different variations of the primary language. Indeed, as a child, she admits to being ashamed of her mother’s “broken” or “fractured” English because it required fixing in the child’s mind (Tan, 1990, p. 7). The author could not tolerate her mother’s limited language because society did not want to understand her dialect (Tan, 1990). Sadly, Tan’s well-read mother was treated with less respect by native speakers because of the use of non-standard syntax (Britton, 2021). Another reason for Amy to have a challenging relationship with her mother was that the girl had difficulties getting to excellence on English quizzes in school due to the standard thinking of test writers (Tan, 1990). However, the author’s perspective changed dramatically during adulthood because she realized the uniqueness of various “Englishes” (Tan, 1990, p. 7). This essay shows the dilemma of Asian immigrants children who dreamed of having parents who use standard language and who wanted to be accepted by the native speakers.
Mother Tongue is also an essay about the acceptance of linguistic individuality. When Tan became a writer, breaking the stereotype about Asian students who preferred choosing Mathematics and Physics because they were believed to lack aptitude for the English language and literature (Tan, 1990). Indeed, Tan learned to apply perfect grammar and syntax rules and Chinese dialect in her writings and speech over the years to tell “stories about mothers” (Tan, 1990, p. 8). Furthermore, she became proud of her mother tongue language and was never ashamed of using the same broken English when communicating with her mother. This acceptance seemed to result in the disappearance of judgment from standard language speakers or made it unimportant for the author. Indeed, it demonstrates a critical step towards freeing herself from social stigmatization and becoming a writer who primarily utilizes English. The author understood that non-standard English is part of the history of Asian American immigrants; therefore, it could not be a source of embarrassment. Although proper grammar and syntax are critical in any language, people who learn a new language should receive sympathy and support, encouraging them to improve.
Primary language users’ negative attitude seems to be the major source of anxiety for non-native speakers. Although the author of this essay came to a peaceful conclusion, many immigrants suffer from a negative attitude toward the native speakers because of generational memory of previous political conflicts (Lim, 2019). Moreover, as Tan (1990) indicated, native speakers, preferred to ignore or pretend that they do not understand their mother’s questions. This attitude limited her ability to interact with Americans and would always be a barrier to creating an alliance between the native population and immigrants (Lim, 2019). Therefore, it is essential to cultivate tolerance for non-standard English speakers to reduce the gap between these groups.
To sum up, Tan’s Mother Tongue is an essay about societal and personal conflicts. The author strived to illustrate through the story of a lifelong relationship between an immigrant and her child. They had challenges with communication in a language that was foreign to both of them. The writer admits that she, probably like many other immigrant children, was ashamed of her mother’s broken English during childhood. She could observe that traditional American society is reluctant to accept and tolerate non-standard ways of using their native language. One of the main reasons for such resistance is historical conflicts between Asian countries and the United States. Although Tan used proper English since childhood, her writer’s fame came after she admitted uniqueness non-standard English that brought her to tell stories about immigrant mothers. Finally, the author concludes that she no longer feels anxiety and shame about her mother’s broken English because it became the primary source of inspiration in her writing.
References
Britton E.R. (2021) Using critical language awareness to disrupt global English hegemony in US higher education. In Lanvers U., Thompson A.S., & East M. (Eds), Language learning in Anglophone countries (pp. 425-443). Palgrave Macmillan.
Lim, J. (2019). Bilingualism in Asian American literature. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature. Web.
Tan, A. (1990). Mother’s tongue. The Threepenny Review, 43(7), 7-8.