Opinion Column for "Mother Tongue"

From “Asians can’t drive” to “all Asians are smart,” the worst has got to be generalizing and stereotyping Asians – or anyone – based on their accents. Just because a person speaks a specific way, it doesn’t give the right to any white-born American, or God forbid a colored “American” (passport holder, of course) to racially profile an individual based on their ability to speak English and thereby, treat them condescendingly. Hell, this person might be more educated than you. I find this stereotype highly common in my daily life and no other experience besides “Mother Tongue,” by Amy Tan, does justice to exemplifying and crushing all the categorizing of non-native English speakers.

The issue regarding Asian stereotypes is not fleeting, but rather is a pressing present issue. For example, just a few days ago I came across this article written in The Globe and Mail by Willian Pang, where the author was rejoicing over the fact that a new television program finally was released excluding the typical Asian stereotypes. But let us look past my input on this situation. One writer, Su Yeong Kim, refers to a 2002 study of Asian Americans. These people are often “perceived as strangers in this country no matter where they were born or how long their families have resided in the U.S. Those who do not speak English well are especially likely to be stereotyped in this way.” This truly stresses the importance of crushing the lingual categorizing of non-native English/ Asian America. In fact, when English is spoken with a non-standard American accent and a lack of English proficiency, it is believed to contribute to the specific markers of a “foreigner,” or an “outsider” status. I don’t actually believe this abundance of evidence wont compel you to take a stand against this problematic issue. However, I will still supply you with an additional instance.

Considering the aforementioned text, “Mother Tongue,” Amy, the author, shares experiences she and her mother face with “people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants,” who did not “take her [Amy’s mother] seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.” This frustrated her mom, who knowing quite well why these people treated her with disdain, couldn’t gasp a way to deal with this situation. This, in turn made Amy feel her mom’s English was “broken,” or “limited.” Upon reflection, Amy concluded that just because people perceived her mom’s English as “broken,” it didn’t mean that her thoughts were broken or infracted. This poignant conclusion of Amy reveals how our attitudes should be, instead of just going along with the social “norm.”

Hold up. I’m not claiming that each and every Asian American, or immigrant can be understood. Amy even relates a videotaped conversation of her mother and I, being a native English speak couldn’t comprehend what she was saying until I read it multiple times. That being said, it isn’t always easy to understand people of different cultural backgrounds because of their accents, but it shouldn’t be a determining factor in whether a person gets privileged treatment.

No one actually understand how it is to be a victim of stereotypes of non-native English speakers, unless you are, in fact, a non-native English speaker. Amy understands. I sympathize. My only hope is that you to with take a stand and raise awareness for this wrongful treatment and stereotyping of individuals.