Mother Tongue by Amy Tan.

Andrea Orozco
Anicca Cox
English 100A
January 31, 2010


I find it quite amazing how language has the power to shape up the person you might become someday in the future. In the memoir, “Mother Tongue” Amy Tan shares with us that her mother’s “broken” English impacted Tan’s life greatly. I believe that this might be one of the reasons why Tan believes in the power of Language.

I thought her memoir was actually very touching, especially if the reader like myself is able to somewhat relate to her past experiences. Like Tan, I myself a few times have had to disguise my voice and pretend to be my mother. In my case, having parents who are immigrants and speak no English can be a bit difficult especially when it comes to translating. Transitioning from one language to the other can also be difficult, so difficult that at times I find myself speaking Spanglish.

Many people don’t take the time to realize how empowering language can be and how important it is as well. In my opinion, Tan’s purpose was to show the importance of tongues and the positive impact it can have on a person like herself.

When comparing Tan’s memoir to Sante’s memoir you can see the similarities that each writer has in their piece of writing. For example, as the reader you notice that each writer is very appreciative of their tongues. I can also point out the fact that each writer notices the transition in languages as they speak and the way it differentiates depending on who they are speaking with.

Living In Tongues by Luc Sante

Living In Tongues by Luc Sante Andrea Orozco
Anicca Cox
English 100A
January 21, 2010

After reading Sante’s memoir, a person can instantly connect with what he is talking about especially if they speak in more than one tongue. For instance, I myself speak in two tongues and sometimes have trouble juggling back and forth two languages. This tends to happen to me a lot especially when I’m translating for my parents. The primary language here in the United States is English, which can be a challenge for people who migrate over here because they must enable themselves to learn and to speak it in order to better their lives.

Once Sante began American schooling his parents attempted to preserve his European heritage by tutoring him in French grammar and vocabulary. Sante’s parents have a great appreciation and devotion to their heritage, which is why I can see their desperate need to preserve it. Constructing a version of Belgium for Sante was a way of preserving his heritage, but by doing so they came across some struggles. For instance, the environment was way different from that of their homeland; they also couldn’t get a hold of some foods they desired.

In his memoir, he tells us how he speaks three tongues which are English, French, and Walloon. The Walloon dialect continues to affect him emotionally because it possibly shows Sante how people who have ancestors who spoke Walloon are slowly losing their roots and not putting much importance to the situation. The language Walloon was mostly spoken by his grandparent’s generation, so having to hear people speak in Walloon must bring a sense of satisfaction to his life. Especially if now a day, that language is considered to be rude for modern day people.

Letter of Introduction.

Andrea Orozco Letter Of Introduction
Anicca Cox
English 100A
January 23, 2010

Dear Anicca,

I’m pretty positive that every now and then everyone looks back at their high school memories and remembers all the clicks that were made up of different types of kids. For instance, there was the jock with sweat drops running down his forehead from practicing in the field every afternoon, the cheerleader who bounced up and down cheering on the football team at every one of their games, the skater who would get sent to the dean’s office for skating through the school’s hallways at high speed, the class clown who was unable to sit still and have the whole class shouting in laughter, the nerd who would hide his face behind a book in the library at lunch time, and of course the shy person who would prefer to listen and observe rather than having to talk in front of the class. This list is definitely ongoing, with many more types of people to describe like myself. I myself was the shy person and possibly still continue to be. I would say that I’m not your typical California 18 year old girl who enjoys partying every Saturday night; I’d say I’m more on the quiet side.

I was born and raised in South California, in the city of Coachella which has drastically grown over the past years. I was named after my great-grandmother Andrea, who happened to pass away not too long ago. I come from two hard working parents, who have worked their lives away in harsh labor just so that my siblings and I can have an education. I was granted with a family who happens to adore animals which is why my family consist of many pets. For instance I have three dogs with amazing personalities, a cat who is always being sneaky around the house, four birds who chirp their day away, a guinea pig who is a nonstop eater, a hamster who loves to sleep throughout the day and run in her wheel at night, and last but not least a handful of large goldfish.

School has always been my first priority and continues to be till this day. Since I’m very attached to my family, I still find it quite hard to believe that I’m currently attending Humboldt State University, which happens to be so far away from home. Like myself, I’m sure that the rest of my family didn’t expect me to go study so far away from home. Well thankfully I’m surviving in this whole new environment in which I’ve learned to adapt. I’m thankful for this college experience because I’ve become much more responsible paying bills and all, I’ve matured and I take things seriously now, and also my cooking skills went from zero to average. Aside from those changes, I have also noticed that not only have I grown as a person but also as a writer.

Before English 100A, I was placed in English 40 which happens to be a remedial class. The thought of having a remedial class was somewhat of a disappointment to me because back in high school I would score A’s on my essays. I basically considered myself a good writer. It was just last semester when I realized that I was lacking many writing skills just like my other fellow classmates. I’m grateful for having been placed in English 40 because I’ve seen major improvement in my writing and I’ve also grown to like it.

There’s no doubt in my mind that in order to write a successful paper, the essay must contain a clear thesis. Without a clear thesis, the paper will most probably go down the drain. When first writing a paper, I always tend to go blank and that’s when brainstorming comes in. Using this brainstorming method allows me to gather ideas and thus enables me to create a clear thesis as well. Another method that I use is glossing, which helps organize my essay and also allows me to see if each paragraph contains one separate idea. Having the first draft done definitely does not mean I’m finished. On the contrary, there’s a lot more revising to be done. The more you revise an essay, the better it will become and having a professional revise it as well, makes it much more reassuring for me.

I’m quite aware that I continue to lack some writing skills, but I’m hoping to improve them in this course. I know that this class might be a challenge, but overcoming these types of challenges is what makes a person improve. In this case, I’m looking forward to becoming a better writer by the end of the semester.

After taking the learning styles quiz, I found out that I scored highest in the read/write section. I’ve taken this quiz before and it seemed pretty valid to me then, so in other words I do agree with it. Knowing what type of leaner I am, does help me out in a way because, I have an idea of the methods that I should perform in order for my writing to improve.

Sincerely,

Andrea Orozco