People never really seem to think about how they speak but, instead people only think about what exactly we are speaking. Compare how we are heard by people to what exactly is being said. The meaning or point behind what we are saying is something that us ourselves understand no matter what language or aspect in which we speak it. But others do not grasp that concept since they are more conscious of how exactly you are speaking something rather than what you are actually saying. People seem to speak differently based on their surroundings and their company, your alliteration or subjects you speak being different with when you speak to your friends, teachers, and bosses than what you speak to your family.  Within the passage Mother Tongue by Amy Tan it goes through what we define as “proper” English and going on to talk about what we then see as “broken” English and how exactly those terms can affect people’s lives in a certain culture. It also is showing that it is a timeless thing that has occurred for many years now. 

I chose the article, Mother Tongue: The Language of Heart and Mind by The Fountain Magazine as my outside source to be compared to the passage Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. This article breaks down “mother tongue” in to three different sections. The first section in the article talks about your mental and emotional growth being directly related to your first language - your mother tongue. This paragraph talks about the importance of the first language and how it directly relates to and impacts your psychological and personality development. Then going on to say that a child’s whole existence, everything they come to know begins with a kid’s mother tongue – the language a kid is born in to hearing and brought up speaking.  This mother tongue forms a bond between the child and family, especially with the mother. Your characteristics and personality are also hidden within your mother tongue. Certain things within your language can cause certain triggers and emotions. Proverbio says, “Our mother tongue is the language we use to think, dream and feel emotion.”

 Then the second section within the article goes on to talk about how a person’s mother tongue is their own cultural identity. In this paragraph it shows how a child connects to their family, culture, identity, and religion throughout their mother tongue. With knowing your home language and identifying with your culture within it the article says it helps to shape your identity. It lets you connect with your family on your own academic level and understanding. Let’s you have and show appreciation for your own culture and lets you be yourself. 

Finally, in the last paragraph in this article talks about your mother tongue providing you with the basis for learning and gives you a hand in learning other new languages. An example from this paragraph is, “Children who come to school with a strong foundation in their mother tongue develop stronger literacy abilities in the language used at school. When parents or caregivers are able to spend time with their children and tell stories or discuss issues with them in a way that develops their mother tongue vocabulary and concepts, children come to school well prepared to learn the language of their immigrant country and succeed educationally” (Jim Cummins). The skills kids learn through language with things as simple as literacy knowledge can help kids out in many other aspects of life. 

My next source I used in the annotation and comparison of Mother Tongue by Amy Tan is the article Attitude and Behavior toward Bilingualism for Chinese Parents and Children written by Chien-Huei Wu. He explores the world that is Chinese Americans; exploring the attitudes and behaviors within families and the school systems. The article begins with acknowledging that English is the dominant language in America today but, it is not the sole language that is in America, never has been. Throughout generations now generally being within the third generation studies have shown there being a language drop off; this being a minority groups main language and even culture now shifting or converting over to English. Breaking down the generations the article gives an overview of what each generation usually consists of from the information they found in studies. The first generation is usually the first born (foreign born) being the one who is immigrating into the United States. The second generation then being the child of the first generation so people see them as the “native born” they have been born in a mixed parentage. Their parent is fluent in their home language but their kid (second generation) is born mostly speaking their home language in the family setting or home settings while then when being out in the world they will be converted into speaking English. As for the third generation from a minority group they are mostly born into speaking   English primarily it seeming to be their primary language with the child having no recollection or knowledge of their mother tongue.

 A big fight many have brought up about losing your mother tongue which is also fought in this article is that yes you are losing the home language but that isn’t all people are losing with this shift in English, you are also losing parts of your culture and heritage. Losing your heritage and culture can affect your home life and the relationships with your family. Especially when you are a kid your culture forms a special bond between you and your family, especially between children and parents.  Your mother tongue ties you too your home roots, it gives you a special bond which other do not have. 

Another issue which is brought up within this article between the language barriers would have to be language within the school systems. All kids no matter what their background are all thrown into a single school system where you all learn the same exact things in the same exact manner. Kids then who are from another country or who grew up in a certain heritage group are forced to learn and speak English which ruins their mother tongue and breaks a certain relationship they have with their cultural identity. Kids are made to learn certain things in particular ways which may not suit all students especially those students who are not born English. Then when the students are attempting to be taught about their home country or speak their mother tongue they struggle since when growing up it has been stripped from them within the school system. This then causes a stress on families for them to decide what language to speak and in what situations they can speak the certain language.

 If you speak your mother tongue in the US nowadays people look at you like you are from another planet. School systems and society force minorities to learn and speak English or they are not seen as “acceptable” in society. People will not help people who are seen speaking a language other than language, they look down upon you for being from another background.

With all that is being said in the paragraphs above I believe it all relates back to Amy Tan’s writing of Mother Tongue. I believe the argument made with this passage and using the articles above would be that people may refer to your language as “broken” but it should always be a part of importance to you and your culture no matter what it may be. It is part of your culture, your heritage and that is what really matters. The research I did on this passage to find this article changed my opinion or perspective in some ways I have to admit. Those ways being such things as me not seeing how your first language or how you hearing what you do when growing up really does impact you farther down the road in life. For my passage I do not really see it relating back to a historic point in time or a specific background though, these issues within society about looking down on people and cultures have always been here I believe. Mother Tongue was written in the early 1990’s and I believe all the issues Amy Tan points out are still relatable today in society. Language has just always been around even if just in different forms. So I couldn’t exactly peg it to one specific time to compare it on. When people refer to “broken” English they are not referring just to one culture in particular it would just be the one in which they are mentioning in that moment in time. So this passage deals mainly within the Chinese American culture but the information in the passage and both articles doesn’t just solely relate to that one certain culture. I believe all of this can go for all cultures in society. Both the passage and the article are based on the same topic just one explaining more on why your first language, your “broken” language is of most importance to you. Tan herself was a second generation in the Chinese heritage meaning her mother was the foreign born solely speaking Chinese. So Tan was then born as a mix: being native born with a foreign parentage; so Tan grew up at home speaking her mother tongue while at school and in society she was forced to learn and speak English. Amy in her writing of Mother Tongue says and gives examples that relay to the topics brought up in the articles about minority groups within the school systems and within society. With this Tan relays back to school systems to what the article had said about teaching a particle way and that being the only way. She saw it from her own experience teachers would be steering students away from their mother tongue as much as they could because their language was “broken”.  She also experienced what the article touches base on as to people and society judging or looking at you differently for speaking a language other than English, even if you were to be speaking English but it was “broken”. Tan recalls these times when she would have to speak and settle arguments for her mother because people would not give her mother the time of day saying “I cannot understand what she is saying” and much more. So Tan even being a kid people would listen to her over her mother because she spoke English and her mother did but did it so poorly. All things about the Chinese culture being judged in society as spoken about in the article Amy proves in her writing of Mother Tongue. All things in the article prove the cultural barrier we have in society not only today but also dating centuries back. This will really help my essay by showing the cultural side and how it affects home life and how school systems have a hand in destroying a mother tongue not just in today’s society but also dating centuries back. 
