Mother tongue- Amy Tan

Mother tongue- Amy Tan

Everybody has his own mother tongue and his own definition about it. Am Tan in her essay “Mother Tongue” also has her own definition of her native language, which is “all the Englishes”.
            All the Englishes is that impeccable English with simple vocabulary and basic grammatical errors is used in speaking with her mother and the perfect English with formal manner is used in public settings. That is her description about “all the Englishes” and also a weird definition. English is not the first language of her mother. Therefore, that is probably reason why her English is not so good, or maybe she tries to translate her natural thoughts into English, whose manner is different with Chinese manner. The reasons probably make her English not easy to understand for other people. However, for Amy Tan, her mother’s English is so clear and understandable with “her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts”. Not fluency in English, she can still express her self-presence and her strong personality. That is why Amy Tan respects her mother and her language. For me, even we cannot understand the other people’s languages, we can still know what they want, what they think and what they feel if we are patient to listen and notice their voices, their faces’ movement or their gestures. That is the earliest way to communicate with foreigners a long time ago. However, some people today are so impatient or even impolite when talking with people who are less fluent in their language. For example, in Amy Tan’s essay, people just pretend that they don’t understand what her mother is saying.
            Being in another country is not easy as many people think. It requires your attempt to adjust to new environment and sometimes it takes a long time to do. However, my future is ahead. If I don’t make my best effort right now, one day I will regret.