Steven Pereda

Dr. Wiggins

English 110 

November 2, 2022

Cover Letter:

This essay was intended for those who encounter a language barrier, which primarily occurs to immigrants from outside countries with vastly different dialects or different languages in general. I try to make it as simple as I can to make it easy to understand and follow, though at times it can be a bit wordy and too much to digest. Some insights I have gained is the need for clarity, as both this essay; and the assignment’s description require more clarity along with less needless wording that can cause confusion and stress. Some of the things I learned from this phase from the assignment itself was the techniques such as pathos, logos and ethos, where these genres are now more apparent in my writings and other works that I have encountered and will encounter in the future. Knowing this, I can find reasons why the author writes a specific piece, and understand it in more depth than I would before. This assignment helped me to understand the use and of rhetorical strategies to analyze certain parts of writings that can help me better understand the thoughts and intentions of the author’s work in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.

Rhetorical Strategies in Mother Tongue

Mother Tongue, written by Amy Tan, is a personal essay regarding their personal experience with the English language; and what it was like to grow up with a mother who struggled with the language. This essay was published in 1990 by Amy Tan, a piece that describes her experience of being an Asian American going through the struggles of language barriers in the United States. She claims and argues that depending on the proficiency of a person’s ability to communicate in a given language, like English; they are judged for their lack of ability to speak the language, which can have an effect on the perception of other Asian Americans. Amy Tan uses the rhetorical strategies, pathos, logos and ethos to help support her claim throughout the text; and deliver her experience to other Asain Americans who struggle with language barriers. In this essay, I will describe the three lines that exhibit these strategies, and why I find them intriguing.

Pathos is a rhetorical technique that an author uses to develop feelings of empathy and draw on the heartstrings of the readers One line that I believe is an example of pathos was on paragraph 13, where the author’s mother was unable to receive the results of her medical examination in the form of a CAT scan, that could potentially be life threatening if left unchecked; which shows the rhetorical strategy pathos. In the text, it states, “. She said they did not seem to have any sympathy when she told them she was anxious to know the exact diagnosis, since her husband and son had both died of brain tumors.”(Tan, page 2). This is an example of pathos that I found intriguing, because the text here develops the feelings of empathy with the reader, and shows the reader how the author and their mother struggled with a language barrier. This line likely resonates with readers who experience similar situations of not being taken seriously, resulting in challenges that can be difficult to overcome. It is human nature to feel overwhelmed when encountering issues that cause stress, and that example of human nature is why we can relate and understand their frustration. For the author’s mother, this could have been an important piece of information that could have probably cost her life if she were to not be informed. 

The next strategy that Amy Tan uses is ethos, a strategy used to show how credible/reliable and appealing an author’s argument is to the reader. Another line that I found interesting was in the first paragraph, where the author states that this text is merely an opinion piece regarding the English language; displaying the rhetorical strategy, ethos. In Mother Tongue it states, “I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English language and its variations in this country or others.”(Tan, page 1). This is an example of ethos, where the author incorporates the feeling of sincerity; because the nature of this text is nothing more than an opinion on a certain topic, and shows how honest the author is to the reader. Although it is not a paper with a great amount of statistical analysis and studies, this text does have some credibility, as it contains the author’s experience and views on the topic.

Finally, the last technique the author uses in her work is logos, which is a rhetorical strategy used to support an argument by using pure statistical analysis and facts.The last strategy is delivered on paragraph 17, stating, “But I have noticed in surveys — in fact, just last week — that Asian students, as a whole, always do significantly better on math achievement tests than in English. And this makes me think that there are other Asian-American students whose English spoken in the home might also be described as “broken” or “limited.”(Tan, Page 3). This statistical analysis shows that Asian Americans tend to perform well in math tests compared to English tests, which the author uses to support their argument by claiming that there may be other influences to perform better in math courses over english courses. This is probably because math courses in college can lead to careers in STEM fields, which tend to pay more; and can raise the status of the individual and their family. Pursuing a degree in English is not something that is guaranteed to pay well, and so Asain American families tend to disregard it and focus on other subjects. This is probably where the stereotype for Asians being good at math comes from.

Amy Tan Uses the rhetorical strategies ethos, pathos and logos in her essay Mother tongue to support her argument that people who aren’t proficient in a given language such as English are judged for it and where the stereotypes are derived from. These strategies not only support their argument, but also establish a connection with the reader using empathy to convey their feelings; and using their sincerity to build trust with the reader regarding the validity of the essay. I believe that this essay is aimed towards Asian Americans and other immigrants who also struggle with language barriers; and resonate far more with them in contrast to people that don’t often encounter a language barrier, or at all. That said, this essay is made to also be empathized with those who don’t encounter language barriers, perhaps to attract more readers and not drive away people who are also as passionate as Amy Tan on the topic.

In the text, Mother Tongue, Amy Tan, the author, expresses her feelings and opinions regarding her experience with the English language. Within the text, Amy Tan illustrates the struggles she and her mother faced throughout daily life with a language barrier, and describes their frustrations in her account. Amy Tan points out that depending on how proficient one is with the spoken language in a country, people will treat one another differently to how effectively they communicate with others; and judge those who fail to speak the language proficiently. Because of her experience as a Asian American, Amy Tan is very passionate regarding the effect of how communication can affect how people in a society perceive and think of you. I believe that her intended audience would be people who struggle with language barriers, and use techniques to relate and sympathize with them on the matter. Amy Tan uses anecdotes of her own personal life experience to support her opinion on the topic, to both connect and relate to the intended demographic. I also believe Amy Tan wrote her piece to communicate to the general population as well, because of the technique she uses to gain the empathy of other readers who don’t struggle with the issue, and to bring awareness to the matter.

  The author, Amy Tan, incorporates the feeling of sincerity and authenticity in her work by disclosing her authority and position. She disclosed that she is an asian American writer who has also written other works, and is a professional in the field of writing. She also clarifies that although is a professional writer, she is not a scholar of English literature or an expert, and that this piece is nothing more than an opinion. In the text, Amy Tan states, “I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English language and its variations in this country or others.”(Amy Tan, Page 1). Because of the nature of this text, even if this piece is nothing more than an opinion on a certain topic; Amy Tan shows sincerity, and how their reputation as a writer gives them greater credibility than a non-specialized writing an opinion piece. Although it is not a paper with a great amount of statistical analysis and studies, this text does have some credibility as it contains an experienced, professional writer’s experience and personal anecdotes on the topic she argues. Because of her position in her career, Amy Tan’s writing carries greater influence, both as a writer and an Asian American making accounts of her personal experience with language barriers and stigmas surrounding it.

The author supports the idea that language barriers can be a hurdle in everyday life by recounting her mother’s experience. She notes how her mother had long since realized her limitations with limited proficiency with the English language, so much so that her mother asked to be her stand in for situations that require a higher proficiency with English. As Amy Tan describes the event, she emphasizes her mother’s frustration and anger with how she is essentially powerless to do much without help. The author recounts the time where her mother was having issues regarding finances with their stockbroker. Because of their mother’s broken English, she had a hard time communicating effectively with other people. The text states, “My mother had long since realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on the phone to pretend I was she. In this guise, I was forced to ask for information or even complain and yell at people who have been rude to her.”(Amy Tan, Page 2). By using a situation that most would understand to be irritating, the author connects with the audience by relating to a struggle that most already find infuriating; and making it even more difficult with a language barrier. People who can’t communicate effectively need people to do it for them, which may not always convey one’s thoughts accurately. 

Later throughout the text, Amy Tan and her mother experience even more turmoil that depict how powerless Amy Tan’s mother felt; all because of her broken English leads to people not taking her seriously, and makes more problems for her. Amy Tan’s mother knows her limitations, and requires her daughter’s assistance; but they are not always available, and must do what she needs to do on her own. Being unable to communicate with others effectively makes it hard to get anything done, and as Amy Tan’s mother experienced; you can be ignored, pushed away and not be taken seriously. In the text, it states, “She said they did not seem to have any sympathy when she told them she was anxious to know the exact diagnosis, since her husband and son had both died of brain tumors”(Amy Tan, page 2). Amy Tan uses this account to build feelings of sympathy with people who are disregarded by others for their lack of proficiency in the English language. People are also able to empathize with the mother because they understand the anxiety medical diagnosis can cause, and the idea of being ignored for something that can be a life threatening diagnosis is something that would be too cruel to do to another human being.

After analyzing the text, Amy Tan’s essay provides a perspective for those who do not struggle with language barriers, and sympathizes with those who do. Her purpose for writing this essay was to convey these thoughts and feelings to people, and bring awareness to the issue of differential treatment based on one’s proficiency of the English Language.

In these past few paragraphs, I had incorporated two rhetorical strategies into this piece, in an attempt to articulate and deliver the feelings within the original text, Mother Tongue. I argue that the author uses techniques to relate and sympathize with those who also struggle with language barriers. I used two main examples to make my point, particularly the events where the author’s mother had encountered several problems with communicating with people, which had made tasks exponentially harder and needlessly caused them turmoil. In both instances, the author’s mother had not been able to successfully convey her requests and thoughts effectively. Under these instances, the mother had to have their daughter, Amy Tan, speak on their behalf; as a solution. I used these instances to convey the feeling of helplessness and dependance of others that the author’s mother had felt, which I believe resonates with those who cannot bypass the language barrier. Immigrants from another country are typically the ones who encounter these issues, and as such, struggle from the sudden language change. Normally, people who immigrate from another country do not prepare by studying and learning the language; which is problematic since the first thing people need before money when in a different country, is to understand how to properly convey thoughts, ideas and concepts. Knowing how to speak the language comes before knowing how to read, which is vital for knowing how to navigate in a society; and proficiency for that language comes before learning to read. If a person skips the proficiency aspect, then communicating your thoughts and demands effectively becomes more difficult in correlation to one’s proficiency in that language; and the author’s mother perfectly portrays its effects. In these events, the author had to step in place for them; speaking on their behalf of their mother. When the author’s mother demanded information and filed complaints, the daughter substituted for her; and when she was denied service in urgent matters, her daughter spoke for her. In both cases, the author’s mother was helpless to communicate with people, until her daughter spoke for them. Almost as if she were a child, her daughter had to speak for her to have anyone take her demands seriously, which is humiliating for some; and is needless turmoil. These examples that I used convey the feelings of sympathy and empathy from the readers, which are examples of pathos and ethos techniques the author used in their piece. Feelings of sympathy, sincerity and the down to earth nature is what I believe the author intended to convey, and are why I used them to support the idea that language barriers can cause pain and turmoil for the individuals who struggle with them.