Mother Tongue and Newman Those who immigrate into the United States from other countries are encouraged to adapt to the culture of the majority population, namely white males of European descent. Language is the component of culture which is first targeted by those who try to force assimilation. When a person comes to the United States, they will feel compelled to learn English and be able to read and write in

Mother Tongue Rhetorical Techniques in Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" As anyone who has ever been in an argument can tell you, what you say is often far less important than how you say it. Even in other less-aggressive circumstances, perception is generally far more important than substance -- this is certainly the case when it comes to politics, and often the case in more personal situations and relationships. When it comes to

When she began writing, she chose to envision her mother as the reader because that was how she could capture the real beauty of language in its various forms: "I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts." Amy Tan's essay is definitely an effective and powerful statement not only on

Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan [...] how the author uses rhetorical strategies to make her argument, while critiquing cultural standards. Amy Tan writes of the different forms of English she uses in her life, while illustrating the myriad ways that people express themselves depending on their audience and their needs. Everyone uses different phrases and expressions depending on their surroundings and their goals. Tan's essay applies to all of

Tame a Wild Tongue Language and Identity in Anzaldua How to Tame a Wild Tongue How to Tame a Wild Tongue is a fascinating internal expose of the evolution and development of language among immigrants of Spanish linguistic heritage. Gloria Anzaldua recognizes herself as a "blended" individual who speaks and contributes to a myriad of native and blended languages that are all varied and regionally expressive of both native Mexican and

Anzaldua Like our genes, our native tongues are both unique and passed down from generation to generation. Native tongues are integral and inescapable parts of our personal and collective identity, like skin color or gender. Therefore, language can be a stigma, an indicator or race, ethnicity, and culture. In the book Borderlands: La Frontera, Gloria Anzaldua explores expressions of Chicano culture in America through an analysis of the language she calls