Mother Tongue & The Border of Words

Readings: Mother Tongue & The Border of Words
Authors: Amy Tan & Larry Smith
Analysis&Quote:

I don’t want to quote anything from either article although there are some lines that are my favorite. If I were to quote anything from the articles, I think my blog post would run to long.

Overall, I think both articles highlighted the importance of words and a word’s meaning. If you really think about what words are, they’re sounds that we’ve pushed beside each other and decided that that sound has meaning. Words don’t have meaning until they’re actually given meaning. And I feel most of the time it’s not the actual word that is important, but the meaning of each word and the meaning of that word in context to other words. Smith’s article talks about how words can separate people, but also bring people together. I agree with him. I think it’s not only the words that can separate or bring people together, but also and sometimes more importantly, the effect those words have. There’s a quote by Maya Angelou that says: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Initially, I never understand why this quote was important or why so many people like it. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that words don’t have an impact because their words. They have an impact because of the meaning they convey and how they make a personal feel. In a way words can be intangible as well. They can be written down on a tangible object, but you can’t physically hold words like “hope” and “passion” like you can “apple” or “cucumber”.

I think Amy Tan’s article also highlighted the importance of words and the different ways English can be interpreted. I felt I related a lot to Amy’s article because I have immigrant parents, but I don’t relate entirely because both of my parents speak English. However, when I was younger, I did equate my mother’s way of speaking with her intelligence unfortunately. I now realize that she is incredibly smart and what she says makes a lot of sense.  I thought because she didn’t know how to say certain words “right” or didn’t understand the meaning of certain words that she wasn’t smart, but I was wrong. In fact, I’ve been more embarrassed by my lack of knowledge in other languages. Whereas Tan talks of feeling embarrassed by her mother, I feel that my parents were sometimes embarrassed because my sisters and I didn’t know another language. A lot of my other family members speak Arabic, Swahili, or our tribal dialect, but I only knew English. When my parents would explain why we couldn’t they would be more understanding, but not being able to understand what was being said, upon further reflection now, helps me understand how language can be a big barrier.

Being here at Wellesley, I’m really starting to understand the importance of language and words. During the first week of orientation, Professor Hodge gave a speech on why students need to study a foreign language. He explained how it opens doors to new cultures and in a way, to new ways of thinking and new ways of life. I think he made really good points because knowing how meaning translates into another language helps you become a better person. You become a better person because you learn to better understand people who are not like you, and accept them instead of tolerating them.

I feel his speech ties into the article because they stressed the importance of words, language, and the barriers they can create or break down. I think the articles did a good job of exploring words and what they mean in a concise way. 

Stone Butch Blues 2

Story: Stone Butch Blues

Author: Leslie Feinberg

Analysis&Quote:

“It’s just incredible. I can’t believe you’ve given me a sky to sleep under. But I can’t tell if its dawn or dusk you’ve painted.”

…

Ruth rolled toward me and rested her hand on my chest. “It’s not going to be day or night, Jess. It’s always going to be that moment of infinite possibility that connects them.”

I found it interesting that in this scene, Jess had a hard time determining whether or not it was day or night. What I found more interesting was that the fact she couldn’t figure it out bothered her. I would have thought that someone like Jess, who doesn’t fit into one of two categories wouldn’t have a problem accepting something as simple as this. But at the same time, during this last part of the novel she seems to be undergoing her final change. She’s making a life for herself in New York, has a best friend, and has a steady job.

Perhaps, this unnerves her because although she knows that she fits as neither a man nor woman, she knows that she belongs somewhere. She knows that she has her own niched carved out for people like her. This is evident in the newspaper clipping she found from 1930, and the legendary Rocco. I think maybe Jess has come to an understanding that if you can’t fit your identity into one of two categories that you can create one for yourself. She even says at one point that “I was the only expert on living my own life, the only person I could turn to for answers.”

Additionally, I can’t expect Jess to be comfortable with not fitting in all the time. She did start taking the male hormones to try and fit into a place that society carved out but discovered she couldn’t do that to herself. This scene may seem insignificant but I think it’s important because it shows that Jess is still growing at this point. Even if she is finally learning to accept herself, it shows she still has learning and thinking to do about how she feels going against society’s binary system.