Blog Post #2
Tan Amy paved a road for herself in terms of language when discussing her comparisons between speaking at public events vs. at home. Throughout the reading, Amy mentioned how her speaking at home with her mother had forced her to subconsciously judge her as well. She also spoke about her acting as her mom while on the phone with people in order to feel like they are taking her seriously. While Amy grew up and attending school, she began to refer to her mother’s form of English as “broken”. At the same time, some of her teachers had been steering her towards fields of math and science because they felt that those were her only strong suits. At the end, she mentioned how everyone has their own version of “English” and she works to implement that into her writing. I feel as though Amy made other good points as well, when mentioning the treatment of people with “broken” english. For example, when addressing a very serious medical condition with the staff at a hospital, it took Amy to step in and use “proper” English before the situation was properly approached.
I’ve personally witnessed it where customer service decreases when servicing a person using broken english. In a way, immigrant families thrive off their “broken” english in the sense it keeps them together as one. Their form of english is something only they can understand in their own households. After reading Amy’s writing, I noticed that I also am a part of the “broken” english users which goes beyond my parents and siblings but into my cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents and etc. Yet on the other hand, I can say English has been my strongest subject for as long as I could remember. Honestly, I think “broken” english helps me write better in the case I have a higher selection of words. I also feel as though I can writeBlog an essay or story with words everyone would know without needing a dictionary. No one person should feel like they are subjected to one career because of their lack of language skills. In reality, every immigrant comes in with their own way for English to sound. This factor makes them no less human and only shows their courage for coming into a new place and learning a new language. If we were to all sound the same and use the same word structure or vocabulary, where would the “flavor” be. Every successful author can be called so because of their writing style or technique. One persons “broken English” can be another persons ability to feel like they were really present when being told a story or reading.
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