Amy Tan, an American author of Chinese origin, in her essay “Mother Tongue,” highlights her understanding of the difference in language depending on the subject and the field of application. Interestingly, in her life, she uses one English with her mother, another in work situations, and the one her mother uses to communicate stands out as entirely different. Such a classification is due to the background experience that shaped each language in the appropriate form and sound. The essay’s main idea is to describe the multifacetedness and moods of one language under the influence of various factors.
Speaking about the classification of Amy Tan’s English, it is worth noting that not only she formed them during her life, but on the contrary, different Englishes largely determined her development as an author. First of all, she singles out her mother’s “broken English,” her own “watered-down,” and “simple” English (Malikovna & Mirsharapovna, 2022). The author notes that due to the peculiarities of her mother’s communication, she needed to be taken seriously in life or business situations. Although this does not indicate a limited intelligence, since her mother read a lot and understood absolutely everything, it is a confirmation of the prejudice of society. Thus, when discussing different Englishes, Amy Tan talks about semantics, more profound psycho-social phenomena, and emotional attachment. Origin, peculiarities of communication with her mother, and academic success shaped the author’s ability to use and compose the English she wrote about in her essay.
In conclusion, language, in any case, means more than a set of signs and sounds. It is formed under the influence of many factors, including culture, origin, environment, and intelligence. The essay “Mother Tongue” tells about the vision of English from the point of view and the perspective of the experience of its author Amy Tan. Accordingly, different types of the same language reflect the emotional state and coordinate correspondence with life situations and people.
Reference
Malikovna, K. R. N., & Mirsharapovna, S. Z. (2022). Amy Tan and literary specification of her works. Academicia Globe: Inderscience Research, 3(4), 1-6. [PDF document] Web.