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3-2 Assignment: Writing Plan
ENG122
SNHU
MOTHER TONGUE e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e
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• In the article, the author Tan has spoken about the broken English language that her
mother was using while communicating in the English language with others. Very often
people judge a book by its cover. In other words, a person is judged by the kind of English
that he uses. But that might not give a true picture of his or her intent, passion and
intelligence (Tongue, 2003). She has given the example of her mother and stated that even
though her command over her English language was not very strong, but it did not restrict
her thinking process in any manner. On the contrary, the author has said that her mother
reads Forbes reports, listens to Wall Street Week and also converses on a daily basis with
her stockbroker who is based in New York. The author wants the readers to understand that
they must not judge others by merely listening to the English that they use for conversation
purpose.
• In the article, Tan has used a number of key points to support her claim. She has
claimed that if a person who uses limited or broken English it does not imply that his
knowledge, level of intelligence and passion is restricted. She has taken the example of her
mother and elaborated a number of past experiences. In the past, she was embarrassed
because of the poor English that her mother would use for communicating with others with
English. But then she realized that it never acted as a bottleneck and limited her willingness
to learn. In fact, the knowledge, intent and passion of her mother has played a key role and
helped her to become a capable writer that she is today (Tongue, 2003). Tan has come to
realize that there exist different kinds of ‘Englishes’ and the English that her mother uses is
also a part of Tan as she uses similar kind of English when she is interacting with her.
• The target audience of the work is the people who use broken or limited English.
Tan has stated that if people use such kind of English, it does not mean that their thoughts
MOTHER TONGUE e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e
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are imperfect. Many people do not take individuals with poor English seriously. In fact, her
mother has faced a number of challenges in various places such as banks, departmental
stores, restaurants, etc because of the limited English. She has stated that broken English is
also a form of English that must not be looked down upon. In the article, the author has
also targeted other people who use fluent English. She has stated that people should not
judge people with limited English in an inferior manner. Just because their command over
the English language might be limited does not mean that their thought process and
intelligence is also limited. e e
• In the article, the author tries to connect with the audience by giving an insight into
her childhood and how her mother’s broken English impacted her. She has given a glimpse
into how she was initially embarrassed because of her mother’s expressive command over
English and later how she came to realize that there was nothing wrong with the English
that she was using. The author has effectively captured the fact that she uses a diverse
range of “’Englishes’ that she has come across over the years. Thus while producing her
work as a writer, she wishes to use simple and understandable English that the audience
like her mother would be able to understand without any kind of difficulty.
• The claim that the author has made in her work is strong. She has stated that
generally, people who use limited English are treated in an inferior manner. In order to
support her claim, she has used evidence that shows that people in different places think
that limited English means imperfect thoughts (Tongue, 2003). She has further given her
real-life example involving her mother, which shows how people acted that they did not
hear her in stores, banks, etc. just because she used broken or limited English. They would
MOTHER TONGUE e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e
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pretend lie they did not hear what she was saying. Since the author’s claims are supported
by her real-life experience and concrete evidence, they are strong and relevant.
References
Tongue, M. (2003). Amy Tan. The World is a Text: Writing, Reading, and Thinking about
Culture and Its Contexts, 291.
