“Mother Tongue” Response Questions

1. What occasion caused Amy Tan to become “keenly aware of the different Englishes” she

used?

     Amy became aware of the different Englishes she uses when she was giving a talk to a group of people about her writing. The English she was using was not uncommon, but what made it different was that her mother was present.

2. The expression used in Amy Tan’s title, “Mother Tongue,” is also used in paragraph seven.

What does this expression generally mean?  What does it seem to mean in this essay?

     To me the expression “Mother Tongue” means a person’s native language. I think that the phrase means either the authors native language, cultural language, or family language.

3. Tan uses dialogue throughout the essay…why do you think she does this?  What purpose does

it serve?  Which sentences of dialogue do you find particularly effective, and why? 

    I believe that Tan uses dialogue throughout the essay so that the reader has a good idea of the English that her mother speaks, as well as the conversation between Tan and her mother. The dialogue helps the reader to understand why Tan would alter her English when speaking to her mother. She does it either to relate, or she imitates unknowingly.

4. In what ways did outsiders (like bankers and waiters) make judgments of Tan’s mother

because of her language?  Do you think the judgments where deliberate or unconscious on their

part?  Explain.

     Outsiders such as bankers and servers treated Tan’s mother as if she were less than them. They were rude to her, gave her terrible service, or refused to speak with her. Because of her limitations with English, Tan’s mother found it difficult to get other people to take her seriously. I believe that the bankers and servers that dealt with Tan deliberately chose not to understand because they put very little effort into the conversation. I have spoken with many different people whose primary language is not English, but I found that with patience it was easy to understand them.

5. Growing up, how was Tan’s perception of her mother influenced by the way she spoke?

     Growing up, Tan was embarrassed of her mother’s English. Because of her mother’s language limitations, Tan had to speak to adults about adult business because her mother was unable to get her point across or people did not take her seriously. I think when Tan was younger she was not proud of the way her mother spoke, but I think now she is very proud and thinks that her mother’s English is beautiful.