Analysing Mother Tongue by Amy Tan
Tan uses logos in her essay to gain the attention and sympathy of the audience by talking about her personal experiences with the language English. An example is when Amy’s mom would call her to help her with banks, department stores, and restaurants because they wouldn’t take her seriously. As someone who helps their mom translate calls and messages, I sometimes feel the hostility of the person I’m speaking to because my English is imperfect. Amy does a good job of illustrating the varied treatment you will get based on your level of English skill.
Tan utilizes ethos to show that the English language standard shouldn’t call into doubt someone’s integrity. Additionally, to the discrimination Amy’s mom suffers for her “broken” English, also at school those who do not speak perfectly aren’t given the same opportunity. She addressed beforehand with a rhetorical question “Why are there few Asian Americans enrolled in creative writing programs?”. It is difficult as someone who was raised in a different language, I wasn’t given the opportunity to move on to an advanced English class in middle school. Amy
The author uses Pathos to evoke emotions in the audience, she deliberately uses certain words and anecdotes about her mom. One of them was, When Ami’s mom went to the hospital for an appointment, she didn’t receive an apology/reassurance for losing her CAT Scan from the hospital until Ami talked to the doctor with her “perfect” English. People who do not speak the language perfectly are frequently disrespected, I believe Amy Tan uses her mom story to draw the attention of the audience to the discrimination her mom and others frequently encounter for their “broken” English.
The author uses different arrangements of phrases to give us an idea of how her mom would speak in her
“Not waste money that way.”
“Why he don’t send me check, already two weeks late. So mad he lie to me, losing me money.”
Using various phrase combinations can be persuading because it gives the reader a more accurate and vivid understanding of how Amy’s mother interacts with the English language. The reader can get a sense of Amy’s mother’s personality, way of thinking, and cultural background by presenting the words and phrases in the way she actually speaks. By doing so, the mother of Amy can become more relatable to the reader and become more than just a fictional character.
Raise Your Voice
When prompted to choose a piece of rhetoric to analyze, one of the first arguments that came to mind was “Why I keep speaking up, even when people mock my accent” by Safwat. This video was created to break the pre-existing norms of what’s normal and the constant mockery people with accents go through every day. The poster I made and Safwar’s video were created for people with accents as the main audience. I chose a poster as my genre because it generates a strong visual impression on the audience immediately. Additionally, the phrase “Raise your voice” is better portrayed on a poster since it is bolded and capitalized, making it the first thing you glance at. This piques your interest in learning more about the context.
First, the poster employs pathos. To establish pathos I used the phrase “Raise Your Voice” to grab the audience’s interest as well as character expression to evoke emotions of sympathy. The usage of phrases like “Am I broken”, “What’s wrong with me” shows how unbearable having an accent could be for an individual with an accent. The implications of not sounding white/European include: Didn’t learn English fully; You are less intelligent, And therefore not given the same opportunities. Which are stated by her classmates, and are disrespectful to a majority of people. The frequent ridicule discourages many others from speaking, and the insulted girl exhibits frustration and uncertainty, this doesn’t only build up the sympathy of the audience but raises awareness of what constantly occurs in our surroundings.
Second, I used ethos to establish the credibility of my poster. I establish myself in the poster as a person with an accent who finds accentuation normal and makes the individual unique because it sounds beautiful and makes them stand out. I want to connect with people, and for my audience to find peace in themselves, not think there’s something wrong with them and their accent, because people stay silent since they don’t want to be judged, so I think me putting myself as a person with accent in the poster, could be the person to guide them to talk.
