Power of Language

Power of Language

The first cry of a newborn baby marks the rest of the child’s speech in his/her life. The infant cries to communicate that he/she needs something either sleep, food, etc.The only people who can understand this child are the mother, father, brother, or sister close to the infant. The child’s crying is a language that has an enormous impact on those who are around him. People who are not always near the child are not able to understand why an infant is crying. They use their judgment and try to soothe the baby to sleep or to stop crying. In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan describes the way her mother spoke “broken” or “fractured” English. Most of her friends (not her mother’s friends) had difficulty understanding her mother’s English. But Tanxplains that she understood her mum “limited” English like speaking pure English. This signifies the essence of understandable language in life.

Language plays a significant role in expressing how we know the world, expressing our deepest feelings and the most inner thoughts.Like the idea of saying how you feel about someone either being angry, love, and intimacy toward another person.If language is not used correctly, the message’s main point will not be understood, and thoughts will not be effectively expressed to others. Amy Tan explains how her mother used her in expressing her anger toward a stockbroker who was supposed to send her a check but did not. Tan’s mother feels that she will not tell her wrath due to her “limited” English and uses Tan as her intermediary.

Different age groups, communities, couples, and families have different ways of communicating that may not be able to be understood by other people or have a different meaning to others. How they speak can be used to describe their nature, culture, and values. People can invent a language, the language will create a community, and the community will consist people. It’s like a never-ending cycle. Sociologists and linguists say that peers will mostly influence a person’s speech.

Tan says that the English language is a broad subject, and the answers to an English question may be broad and comprehensive; the English answers are based on a judgment call or an experience. In school, one can only express his words based on rules and regulations of writing in a formal language. When one is limited to only a specific path, it isn’t easy to bring in the ideas that may help you speak your mind Due to theserules, one is limited to the only words he can use. Differentstories that don’t align with the terms are penalized. Limited use of a specific language will put a constraint on your thoughts. Imagine having a conversation with someone who only allows you to use a particular set of words; it isn’t easy to express your mind. Probably you will end up having a short conversation or no conversation at all since you’re limited to only a range of words. In “Mother Tongue,”Tan explains why many of her fellow Asian Americans do not follow the literature path since their English may be termed as “broken.” Most of them decide to stick with Mathematics and science subjects where answers are precise and to the point. Amychooses to break the norm of using formal language to writehernovel; she uses both formal and informal vocabularyto speak her mind in her book. This ensure a better understanding of her novel for both poor and good English speakers. When her mother reads her book, she congratulates, saying,”so easy to read.”

In “A Question of Language,” Gloria Naylor explains how the language used by different people can have different meanings. She describes how she heard the word “nigger” and how people can react to it. When the termwassed by African Americans while speaking, they did not respond or seem offended. But it was considered inappropriate for white people to use the term on an African American. Naylor states that words are harmless, and that it is the people’s cultures and behaviors that givewords the real power to inspire, teach, offend, and brighten any individual’s life. Words affect any person who hears it or speaks it; the bible talks about the tongue’s power and how it can destroy or empower any individuals’ life. Word usually have effects based on every person point of view, for example; when I am with my friends, they use the word “that is my bitch,” for us who are close friends, we interpret it as “that is my girlfriend,” to another person who is not relative to our group of friends may think that we are using foul language to express our minds.

The novel explores Tan’s interaction with the English language, her mother and writing. The novel tries to outline the limitations that imperfect English can inflict on the society, while bringing richness to writing. Tan expounds this idea by examining her own English, her mother’s English speaking and responses of different people on the English language usage. People should not be treated differently just because they have limited English speaking capabilities as depicted by Tan, whereby the stockbroker does not take Tan’s mother seriously due to her limited English-speaking capabilities.