The Language Barrier has always been a difficult obstacle to overcome in America. Amy Tan coming from two Chinese immigrant parents had a first hand experience of the effects of the language barrier throughout her life. The way people speak the English language is adopted by their family’s adaptation, and these adaptations of English are often perceived as being less intelligent. Tan explains how she would commonly use “broken” English depending on whom she was around. Tan uses logos, pathos, and ethos to scrutinize her mothers’ language in order to show society’s rejoinder to another persons speaking capability. Why should the way someone speaks, declare the service they receive? People with different versions of English get taken less
…show more content…
Tan is a writer who loves languages. She uses language to evoke emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Coming from her background Tan’s mother had a large influence on her writing. Tan was ashamed of her mother’s English. It bothered her to think that her mothers English is considered “broken”. She believed that her mothers English reflected the quality of what she had to say. When she expressed herself imperfectly her thoughts were also imperfect. Later in Tans life she acknowledged that her mothers thoughts were perfect, but the way she was able to express them was the problem. Tan becoming a writer she started out formal and proper. She wrote non-fiction as a freelancer, but it still didn’t feel right. Tan finally found her passion in 1985 when she began to write fiction. When she started writing fiction she began using witty crafted sentences, “sentences that finally prove I had mastered over the English language”(638). Tan from a writing standpoint; thought about whom she wanted her main reader to be. The stories Tan was drafting were stories about mothers. Therefore she decided to make her main audience her mother. Tan began writing these stories using the different forms of English she had grown up around. Despite what the critics had to say about her writing, Tan knew that she had succeeded with her writings. The only critic that truly mattered was her mother, whom said “so easy to read”
Tan is a writer who loves languages. She uses language to evoke emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Coming from her background Tan’s mother had a large influence on her writing. Tan was ashamed of her mother’s English. It bothered her to think that her mothers English is considered “broken”. She believed that her mothers English reflected the quality of what she had to say. When she expressed herself imperfectly her thoughts were also imperfect. Later in Tans life she acknowledged that her mothers thoughts were perfect, but the way she was able to express them was the problem. Tan becoming a writer she started out formal and proper. She wrote non-fiction as a freelancer, but it still didn’t feel right. Tan finally found her passion in 1985 when she began to write fiction. When she started writing fiction she began using witty crafted sentences, “sentences that finally prove I had mastered over the English language”(638). Tan from a writing standpoint; thought about whom she wanted her main reader to be. The stories Tan was drafting were stories about mothers. Therefore she decided to make her main audience her mother. Tan began writing these stories using the different forms of English she had grown up around. Despite what the critics had to say about her writing, Tan knew that she had succeeded with her writings. The only critic that truly mattered was her mother, whom said “so easy to read”