Mother Tongue and Language Use in Family and Society Essay

Mother Tongue and Language Use in Family and Society â€Å"Mother Tongue†, by Amy Tan and â€Å"Language Use in Family and Society†, by Lee Thomas and Linh Cao, are two examples of how language is important in communication, even if the members of the family may be speaking a language other than English. Language is important to these two authors and it is what brings each family member closer to another, however, they approach the language differently. For Tan and her mother, language is very special. It is what brings them closer and is something that is unique for the both of them. Thomas and Cao also believe language has power to strengthen relations, but for Cao’s family, language is keeping them apart and not as close as†¦show more content†¦Tan is saying any form of English, can be spoken as long as the other person can relate to it. On the other hand, Lee Thomas and Linh Cao feel that â€Å"Families can be separated by language use and by changes in cultural perspectives† (Thomas and Cao, 61). Caos family comes from four different language backgrounds (Hainese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and English), and it is very difficult for family members to communicate with each other, especially when the Caos’ brother and sisters have to speak to their parents and grandparents because both of them have very little knowledge of the English language. Therefore, in order to communicate with one another they tried combining words from the four types of language they have, hoping this could be a way for them to have a conversation. However, eventually this just made the conversation even more difficult because there would be a lot of words being said the wrong way. Therefore their communication was just not working out and it made it hard for the family members to get close to one another. Tan and Thomas/Cao essays are an example of how language plays a major role in communicating with their family members. It can either be a way of becoming closer or departing from your loved ones. For Tan, she is well educated in the English language and at the same time she can still speak and relate to her mother’s â€Å"broken language†. For example, when theyShow MoreRelated Native issues Essay1150 Words   |  5 Pages A reason to learn and preserve the language that is used in your community is to keep a culture alive, be unqiue and different from other cultures. Have a language to speak and some way of communicating back and forth with other people. The elders of our communities have used our language throughout their lives, they were forced to learn the English language, and now we should be forced to learn our native language. With no if and’s or buts about it. 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