If you are writing about Amy Tan, please post what you see as her argument on this page.
9 thoughts on “Amy Tan’s “Argument””
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If you are writing about Amy Tan, please post what you see as her argument on this page.
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the argument the author is trying to portray as those that speak broken English shouldn’t be considered as less of a person, they may not speak English perfectly but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t smart they can be very smart in their own language.
I think that Amy Tan argument is trying to tell us about the struggles she faced with the english language because her and her mother talk their own form of English and the ‘proper’ way of speaking English is different.
The author’s argument is how society generally looks down upon ‘broken’ English because when a language is not up to standard it is not worthy to be listened to. It is implied and delayed in the text.
Amy Tan’s main claim is accepting that language is not limited to a certain context and through language of not only yours but others change your perception on the world that makes the world colorful and not black and white and with that can makes the world one step closer to acceptance in everyone. The argument is upfront and is implied, it can already be seen in the first paragraph “I am not a scholar of English or Literature” (Tan, 1) She also repeatedly mentions several time throughout her narrative about the argument she makes such as in paragraph 2 “I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language-the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all – all the Englishes I grew up with.” Also, in paragraph 3 “Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use” and all throughout her narrative to get her idea across to readers.
Tan argues the effect of different English languages that can impact someone in society. The main idea is the influences of different Englishes that the author has opinion on. The stance she take is that she accepted the different Englishes as part of her life. It is explicitly implied throughout her essay. She is more upfront about the problems she came across.
Amy Tan argues that language, in general, can be morphed into many forms through which it can still make sense and carry many complex elements(description & emotion) and that many people are ill-treated because of their unique way of communication. I believe that this argument is implied because Tan continues to reflect on events that showcase where her mother was not respected and when she realized that she was speaking different forms of the same language. This argument was uniform throughout the text as she discusses multiple life experiences and how they connect to the unique nature of language and discrimination towards those who don’t find it normal.
The author is making the argument that speaking a language in a different way or using a dialect divergent from standard English demonstrates the range of one’s humanity and identity as an individual, contrary to the social stigma that solidifies standardized English as the ‘correct’ norm for life.
I think the main claim that the author is trying to communicate is that there are many variations of English which is okay and that society should try to help each other come past the differences of the English variations in a positive way. It is stated upfront.
The argument is that those who speak broken English should not be seen as less intelligent or as having less quality thoughts, ideas and words; but that it doesn’t matter how one speaks English and that shouldn’t determine the above characteristics of what they say.