Mother Tongue

Different Englishes

Amy Tans "Mother Tongue" is a look into the way some people, look to language as a way as a sign of how educated you are. According to Amy she did not realize how we use different languages or different tones when we are engaging in conversation with others. When you are talking with friends or close family you would use different dialect or slang, then if you were talking to your boss or teacher. The tone of your voice can also show's that if you are louder this might mean you are confident in your answer or opinion. If you speak softly and don't make eye contact or talk towards the desk you are less confident. In the beginning she was embarrassed by her mother not being able to speak English.

Relationship with mother

Fate or faith, Chinese ghosts or Christian God and a thanksgiving of nightmares—these are just a few of the provocative themes that shape the emotional geography of acclaimed novelist Amy Tan's life. Tan spoke about her life last night and how her childhood memories and the tumultuous relationship with her mother helped her hone her skills as a writer as part of UB's Distinguished Speakers Series in the Center for the Arts Mainstage theatre. Before diving into the past with very moving and at turns extremely funny recollections of growing up as the American-born daughter of Chinese immigrant parents, she noted that she had that day made the requisite pilgrimage to Niagara Falls and found it breathtaking (Hundt, pp. 55)..

We had a perfect sunny day we could see all the way to Toronto. There is no way to imagine something as spectacular as Niagara Falls, she said. Tan, who as a child believed she had been born into the wrong family a Chinese family described ...