Language and speech, communication, and interactions all come together to make a
complex but efficient way for humans to express themselves; this leads to all negative, neutral,
`and positive perspectives on the topic. The essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan and “If Black
English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” by James Waldin fall under the same
language genre. These two essays might convey similar arguments but lead through different
paths; We can further analyze these two essays by comparing the two using the conversation
method.
The essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan expresses Amy’s experiences growing up and
having to deal with obstacles because of her mother’s inability to speak “proper” English. Amy
beat the odds because she grew up to be an Asian writer; She mentioned how Asians produced
the least amount of writers among any other race because of their language barrier. Amy explains
how she perfectly understood her mother’s broken English, but others were usually unable to
understand her mother well. Amy grew up indirectly affected by the discrimination her mother
had to deal with because of the broken English her mother used to express herself to others. The
author’s main argument is that society generally judges and reacts to others based on how they
speak, but your unique way of speaking English still has its positives even if it’s “broken.” Amy
states, “She said they did not seem to have any sympathy when she told them she was anxious to
know the exact diagnosis since both her husband and her son had both died of brain tumors. She
said they would not give her any more information until the next time… And when the doctor
finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English—lo and behold—we had
1
assurances the CAT scan would be found, promises that a conference call on Monday would be
held, and apologies for any suffering my mother had gone through for a most regrettable
mistake.” This quote conveys a clear example of linguistic discrimination; the mother was being
treated differently simply because of her inability to speak proper English. This type of
discrimination affected not only the mother but also Amy. Amy stated that she would have to
deal with this on multiple other occasions. While her English was proper, she watched her
mother tongue be blatantly disrespected throughout her life. To support the second half of her
argument, she states, “I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent,
her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech, and the nature of her thoughts. Apart from
what any critic had to say about my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my
mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: So easy to read.” This quote shows
the reader Amy’s English capabilities; she turned her and her mother’s struggles into motivation
to write things that individuals who struggle with English can understand. Amy chose to envision
her mother as the reader of her essays; her goal was to express the emotions that her mother
couldn’t speak in this language. Instead of keeping grudges against her mother or anyone else for
everything wrong that happened, she instead chose to appreciate all the different types of English
she learned while growing up and used them in her writing. The “Mother Tongue” essay itself is
a perfect example of a “simple” paper because it is “so easy to read.”
In the essay “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?” James Baldwin
describes the role of language and how it defines each individual; He uses black English as an
example of what language plays to minorities and people of privilege. James Baldwin goes into
depth on why black English became a thing and how the cruel nature of black slavery was its
primary cause. The author’s main argument is that language can be perilous and used to
2
manipulate and mistreat others with the inability to understand it. To support his claim, James
states, “The brutal truth is that the bulk of white people in America never had any interest in
educating black people, except as this could serve white purposes. It is not the black child’s
language that is in question, it is not his language that is despised: It is his experience”. This
quote conveys that as enslavers, white people never felt like educating blacks for anything other
than their gain. Enslavers would only teach enslaved people how to communicate for work
purposes; this way, enslaved people could be more effective at only working and nothing else. It
was easier to understand the enslaver’s orders when you understood the words coming out; It
shows the cruelty of what educated white people did to manipulate the uneducated blacks. He
also states, “A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the
language are dictated by what the language must convey.” By this quote, James explains his
reasoning as to why black English came to be. Black English was a necessity, not just a choice,
and blacks hid and educated themselves so they could communicate with each other and find a
means of escape. Black English allowed them to communicate secretly, an advantage the white
enslavers did not expect. James Baldwin believes that language is a powerful thing to have no
matter the place or time, and even to this day, we are judged and treated differently by others
based on how we speak.
When we take Amy’s and James’s essays and put them next to each other, we can
simplify them to a similar theme. Language is essential and diverse and has given individuals
status and power for hundreds of years. The differences between the two essays are simply in the
context from which these two themes came. James’ writing and ideas are justifiably described in
a deeper and more serious tone. James’ linguistic discrimination does not come from just a lack
of speaking proper English; instead, it’s centered more around blatant racism and what his black
3
ancestors had to deal with, which has led to black English. On the other hand, Amy talks about
her mother receiving different treatment from others for how she spoke. Still, unlike James, Amy
centers her essay around what she was able to do because of her mother’s struggles with speaking
English. Amy uses her ability to speak multiple types of English to show that it’s okay not to be
fluent in a language as long as you can express yourself. Neither essay directly states the
diversity involved with linguistic discrimination. Still, after reading both pieces, we can conclude
that being discriminated against for the way you speak does not pertain to one race or ethnicity.
James states, “There have been, and are times, and places, when to speak a certain language
could be dangerous, even fatal. Or, one may speak the same language, but in such a way that
one’s antecedents are revealed, or (one hopes) hidden.” This quote shows James talking about a
broader situation, where one might be able to speak the same language and still be in danger
because of the accent that comes with it. It can be related to Amy’s mother’s CAT scan situation,
where she states, “She said they did not seem to have any sympathy when she told them she was
anxious to know the exact diagnosis since both her husband and her son had both died of brain
tumors.”. Despite Amy’s mother telling the doctors about previous family deaths, they never
changed their attitude until the mother put Amy on the phone, which magically solved their
issues. James’ quote directly correlates to the Amy CAT scan event because, just like James
implied, if any emergency happened where Amy’s mom needed medical assistance, she might
have to depend on her “broken” English to save her life. In critical situations, your way of
speaking may be the deciding factor in a life-changing case. These two quotes convey the Idea
that despite both of these texts being unrelated in terms of context and tone, they are still
agreeing on the Idea that your way of speech is an essential product of the reactions you get from
others.
4
When comparing the two essays, as readers, we realize that language by itself can define
a person in multiple ways. The way of speech is incredibly diverse, connecting us with others
who speak our language. Although, If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves being
discriminated against by others because of how our language represents us. Amy Tan and James
Baldwin essays were unique; Neither against each other or too alike, each author had their own
way of expressing language.: Comparative Essay
Categories
