The document discusses language acquisition and acculturation, emphasizing the role of language as a medium of communication and cultural expression. It highlights Amy Tan's experiences with code-switching between her native language and English, and Marjane Satrapi's portrayal of culture shock due to the Islamic Revolution's impact on students. Both authors illustrate how language shapes identity and the importance of adapting communication to different contexts.

1. Language Acquisition and Acculturation
Language is a medium of communication and a carrier of culture because all that people
know about their origin is communicated to them using language. In most cases mother
tongues are suitable in expressing ones way of life. The native language is the best in
expressing basic societal affairs. Language is the key medium of communication and it should
be used in its simplest form because the simpler the language the easier the communication
(Diyanni 633-639.)
‘Mother Tongue’ a story by Amy Tan tries to take us through the different events one should
change the manner in which he or she uses language with the listeners. As the speaker, one
should use the appropriate language for the right audience so as to avoid circumstances in
which language barrier can occur. The language which Tan uses with her mother is quite
different from the one she uses with her listeners when engaging in public or official talks. It
is quite evident that when Tan was confronting the stock broker who wanted to con her
mother she changes her diction which matched a sophisticated language from the one her
mother used. Language becomes hectic when one is trying to fit in a language he or she can
hardly talk (Diyanni 633-639.)
In the story ‘The Veil’ by Marjane Satrapi, the writer expresses how she experienced culture
shock due to the veils that were introduced in 1980s due to the Islamic revolution (Satrapi).
They were hot to live with and the students said that they made them resemble dark monsters.
Acculturation is very important in language acquisition meaning that when speakers of a
language fails to acculturate with the set social norms of the second language, they will be
lost and will form a language of their own like slang because they try to modify their
language to fit in the second language (Diyanni 633-639.)
Code switching is the most important thing to do when one feels that the language he or she
uses is not in line with the listeners. Tan changes her language to fit that of her mother and
husband. When at home, there is a simpler language that she uses to communicate with the
family members (Diyanni 633-639.)
Language is influenced by the people who surround someone and also affect the manner in
which one applies his or her grammar. Tan finds difficulty in being proficient in Language
because the kind of English they speak with her mother is almost native and it is the same
language she uses in her first novel until her mother says it is easy to read. Tan says that she is
efficient in working out sciences and mathematics than English. This is because the kind of
English she talks limits her in articulation of ideas because she first interprets in her native
language then tries to fit the words in English hence losing the meaning and creativity of
using words. When language lacks creativity, it becomes monotonous thus being a language
that does not provoke emotions or evoke sense of humor.
In The Veil, language is used to express the immediate concerns of the character that
represent the actual human being. Without use of language that coherent, no one can attend to
you case. The students are demanding for freedom citing that they do not understand why
they need to wear the veils which are really uncomfortable (Satrapi.)
Language is used with specific stereotypes which make the language to have a sense of
originality. When Tans mother was giving her the story of the man who attended their

2. wedding
their accentuated English was closer to Chinese rather than English.
When a student call the veil a monster of darkness means that is not comfortable with the
manner in which she wears the veil and can do anything to remove it. Words have been use to
express the feelings of the students because they are not comfortable with the new findings
that their parents are forcing into them. Most of the girls are not happy with the manner in
which they have been separated with the boys in the classrooms. This is an expression that
they are not happy with the manner which they are separated showing that the Islamic
revolution affected the students (Diyanni 633-639.)
By using books and magazines is the fairest way to reach out to the society because odes not
involve angry confrontations with the law enforcers who may arrest them or shoot them. The
arguments that Tan has are implanted in her by her mother who tells her there are certain
stereotypes that influence life and studies. In this context mother tongue ceases to be a
language but a belief that one has finely tuned into him or her by those that he believes or
trusts. In reference to this notion, she believes that engineering courses need to be studied by
the Asians students and even fair well in accounting than they would in English based
professions. The fact that she gets this advice from a trusted source, it recoils the manner in
which she thinks forcing her to shun away from language studies. This is confirmed by the
fact that she does not pass well in her English studies and tests that they do once in awhile
(Diyanni 633-639.)
The maternal relation works in every soul because Tan felt that she had succeeded when she
was able to address her mother in a simple language she could understand. She used her
mother as a unit of measure in her success because when her mother completed reading her
novel that is when she felt having achieved (Diyanni 633-639)
Both the writers in The Veil and Mother Tongues show that the characters do not have
individualism and they depend on others to define their individualism. In the Veil, the writer
uses black and white colors to show how women are unique in their manners. They have been
drawn behaving different styles of postures and talking differently because they are people
who have different personalities only that they can not control their lives (Diyanni 633-639.)
The writer has drawn each girl to look almost like the other but the girls have been given
different hairstyles that differentiate them to show that they are unique in their own ways. The
students have been used to show that they behave critical views about how life should be to
them. They feel that they need to be given a pace to choose the life they want and live
according to other expectations (Satrapi.)
When one of the children says that they resemble darkness monsters, this shows that they can
feel the burden the older generations are lacing on them. The same case applies to formation
of language which is done through imitation. The children pick what they feel comfortable to
use so long as it is comfortable with their mothers. Mother Tongue is used to show the
relationship of the child and the mother and the manner in which they influence one another
(Satrapi.)

3. Works Cited
Diyanni, Robert. Hundred Great Essays, 4th Edn. New York: Longman Publishing
Group, 2010
Satrapi, Marjane. The Veil. 2005. 13 September, 2011
<http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/persepspread1.html>