Tommy

Introduction My goal for this paper was to discuss the way ‘less than perfect’ language is perceived in professional settings. I am proud of my ability to connect the literacy relevant stories we read, to my scene, creating a cohesive format. I would like to improve on my ability to draw meaningful conclusions throughout my writing. Advanced Essay The literacy relevant narratives; Mother Tongue by Amy Tan and If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is by James Baldwin, challenge the conventional viewpoint of literacy. Mother Tongue displays the difficulties faced by author, Amy Tan, as a result of her mother’s ‘broken english’ and the separate lingual lives she lives in. If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is is an analytic piece that argues the historical and general significance of black english as a language and dialect. One highlighted concept between these two pieces is the presence of english dialects and ‘unconventional’ english and their conflicts in systems of education or the workplace. The education systems frequently can lack in language areas and successful education is often dependent on specific viewpoints. In Mother Tongue, the following is said regarding American test-taking for a student with a mother whose speech is influenced by another language: “Whereas, for me at least, the answers on english tests were always a judgement call, a matter of opinion and personal experience.” (Tan, Mother Tongue, 3). This demonstrates the difficulty that non english speakers and speakers of different dialect face in the American education system. She states that she believed the questions appearing on an english test to be matters of opinion and not of universal lingual sense. Tan faced lingual issues as a result of the english her mother speaks at home as opposed to what was expected of her at school. In addition to this, her Mother’s english has a varying effect in other people. In Mother Tongue, the author, Amy Tan, writes about her mother: “Yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent. Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese.” (Tan, Mother Tongue, 1). In this she reveals that her mother spoke a version of english that was more to the essence of the meaning and was difficult for people besides her to understand. Her mother speaks in a simplistic way, however Tan can understand her perfectly and knows her true intelligence. This raises the question: what is necessary in speech? “I almost was not able to come” In 7th grade my previous school began a pen pal program with a handful of Costa Rican students, because we would later visit them in Costa Rica. That year I visited Costa Rica with my class, meeting him and having an extensive cultural experience. The following year, a few pen pals, including my own; Javier, were selected to come to the United States and stay with our families. Javier stayed with my family and myself for about a week, accompanying me to school and through the day. This was his last night at our home and in America. “My english grade was not good enough, I usually get c’s and d’s” Shocked, my mother replied; “What? Your english is amazing.” Javier had the best english of any of the Costa Rican visitors. In Costa Rica I had the easiest time communicating and relating with him, and everyone-including our Costa Rica born spanish teacher thought that his english was great and that myself and his family had made a significant connection. “I’m just not good at the work, I need to study more.” At the time it seemed like he was beyond this excursion to the U.S., that his english ability was already very developed and he was confident in himself, but his grades almost did not allow him to come here. When I visited him, I met his father, who happened to be an ex-english professor. Despite Javier’s extensive experience and skill in the english language, he received poor grades and was denied an important experience. In my scene, my penpal from Costa Rica, describes his issues with not adapting to a new language, but what was actually required of him to pass his english class. This differs from the issues faced in Mother Tongue and If Black English Isn’t a Language…, but it contributes to the same issue of speech literacy. If Black English Isn’t a Language explains the importance of black english in America, while also analyzing the importance of language. If Black English Isn’t a Language…, states the following: “What joins all languages, and all men, is the necessity to confront life, in order, not inconceivably, to outwit death: The price for this is the acceptance, and achievement, of one's temporal identity.” (Baldwin, If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is, 1) This quotation simplifies what the core purpose of language and the ability to converse. Both Mother Tongue and If Black English Isn’t a Language… corroborate the societal conflicts caused by ‘less than perfect english’. These issues arise and negatively impact the individual in school settings, prevent individuals from receiving employment they are qualified for and much more on an internal level. This opens the question of; how do we measure intelligence and qualification? Works Cited Tan, Anmy. “Mother Tongue.” Google Drive, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Cvq7ioloJpZGNkYTM0ZjUtNDczZC00NWE2LWEyMTQtMjgzZDRhYTAzNTBi/view Baldwin, James. “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?” New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/29/specials/baldwin-english.html