Matthew Rodriguez

The English language played a specific role in Amy’s life because growing up she didn’t like the way her mother spoke English. The Chinese accent overpowered the English words and Amy was bothered by it. Amy said, “I was ashamed of her English. I believe that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say…she expressed them imperfectly, her thoughts were imperfect.” Amy’s mother having what she agreed was “broken English” pushed Amy to learn the standardized format of the English language. Through this transition in language Amy’s language bias is recognized as she abandons her native tongue for a language that is more modern and recognized.

English shaped Amy’s perception of herself because she used English as a way to manifest the lifestyle she wanted to live and the goals she wanted to set for herself. Amy not liking her mother’s version of English allowed her to learn the “correct” way to speak the language but it also revealed to her the people in society that treat her mother negatively because of it and I think it opened her eyes to be more empathetic towards her mother and actually support her and no longer be embarrassed but more of an advocate for her mother at the store, over the phone, in the hospital when she wasn’t getting her MRI scans and even at the bank when they wouldn’t provide the mother her check. All results of English speakers not taking Amy’s mother seriously due to her lack of English skills.

Amy acknowledges societal perception of the English language and states how people act as if there is only one right way to speak English other than “the English I do use with [my mother].” Through once scene in particular when Amy is talking to her mom in broken english and realized that it’s natural for her to speak to her mother in that native tongue it seemed that she noticed her own language bias of not wanting to hear her mother speak it, but how she automatically speaks in that tongue consciously when speaking to her mother. Amy said “It’s my mother’s tongue. Her language as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. This was the language that helped me shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world.” Here we see the importance of language that is taught to us growing up and how it molds us into the people we are today. She shows how language can play a vital role in one’s life and upbringing and helps to shape your identity.

I think that many people who learn English as a second language are constantly aware of the way language is used around them because they are trying intensively to learn the language. Non-English speakers seem to have more of an urge and passion to learn English because it is the most common language in many parts of the world and people that know English tend to have more advantages than those that don’t know English. There are many people in my family where English is their second language and it wasn’t easy for them, but in order to work they were more motivated to grasp the format. Learning the English language also helped to shape them as individuals because it took them out of their comfort zone and allowed them to experience a whole different world revolving around the English language. Non-english speakers are very aware of the language being used around them because they are also aware of the biases they face not knowing the language and even the educational and societal disadvantages that come with not knowing. 

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