Flashcards on Mother Tongue: Language and Identity
Mother Tongue: Language and Identity Summary & Analysis – Amy Tan
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Education and Evaluation
8 cards
Card 1
Question: How did the language spoken in the author's family affect their performance on standardized tests (achievement tests, IQ, SAT)?
Answer: The family language (his mother's limited English) had a negative influence; the author believes this impacted his scores on achievement tests, IQ tes
Card 2
Question: Why did the author believe his English scores were lower than his math and science scores?
Answer: Because in math and science, he earned A's and scored in the ninetieth percentile, whereas in English, he received B's and scored in the sixtieth to s
Card 3
Question: According to the author, what is the key difference between math and English tests?
Answer: Mathematics is precise, with a single correct answer; English tests involve subjective judgments, based on opinion and experience.
Card 4
Question: What types of items does the author use to illustrate why he struggled on English tests?
Answer: Examples include fill-in-the-blank sentences and word analogies, where the correct answers required specific and "soft" semantic relationships.
Card 5
Question: What problem did the author have with fill-in-the-blank sentence items like "Even though Tom was—, Mary thought he was—"?
Answer: He couldn't accept the semantic restrictions intended by the test; his mother would suggest more open-ended combinations, which didn't match the expec
Card 6
Question: How does the author describe the relationship between correct answers on English tests and real life or his family experience?
Answer: Correct answers on tests were often neutral and limited combinations, whereas his family experience allowed for more varied and imaginative responses,
Card 7
Question: What word analogy example does the author mention, and why did he find it difficult?
Answer: He mentions "Sunset is to nightfall as — is to —" and options like "red : stoplight" or "yawn : boring"; he struggled to think of abstract semantic re
Card 8
Question: According to the text, what influence do peers and family have on language development, according to sociological views and the author's experience?
Answer: Sociologically, peers are said to have more influence, but the author argues that the language spoken in the family, especially in more insular immigr