Summary

The similarity of Richard Rodriguez’ and Keith Gilyard’s is about the language barrier that each one had experienced in life. Both suffered inferiority complex because they speak their “mother’s tongue” They both experienced how it was to be left behind or considered inferior for not speaking the correct English language pattern. Both suffered “culture shock” when they mingled with the English society. The authors expressed deep pain for having a different language which made them as if they were outcasts. Both authors took this pain in their hearts hence they learned the English language the right way. You can feel that they may have spoken the language like experts yet you can feel perhaps like any individual with different language that there is no such thing as “freedom” if you are speaking in a foreign tongue.

Keith Gilyard made it as his advocacy to make AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) or AAE (African-American English) to be Equal to SAE (Standard American English). The conflict presented was that in order for this ideology called Bidialectalism, to be realized, black Americans must start their education at youg age to learn code-switching which means that they have to learn both at early age.While in the case of Richard Rodriguez, he made it a necessity to learn the English language to gain confidence on the outside world together with his family. They were forced to learn the English language for them to be accepted in the society. As the author narrates his story, you can feel that Richard detested to be called “Rich-heard” rather than his real name Ri-car-do.

Their family may have learned to speak the English language but there was such a relish when they find themselves speaking in their own tongue inside their homes. When they decided to speak English even inside their home, their parents likewise learned gradually and gained new friends. Many changes happened in their daily lives which gave a negative feedback and spite from their own people especially his beloved grandmother. Here, Richard was torn between two tongues. He had to speak the English language for him to be accepted in the world they chose to embrace yet there was that feeling of regret and hunger for sense of belonging was more evident. Amy Tan likewisee experienced how hard it was to live in a foreign land by immigrant Chinese parents divided by cultural identity.

She had experience how hard it was to communicate with others due to lack of good English communication skills wherein they were hardly understood by the people around them especially in that scene at the bank and at the hospital. Amy Tan felt the relevance of learning the English language which challenge her well being and proved her right on various encounters on several occasions. She made the assumption that it would have been better if they had practiced to speak English the right from the beginning they started to learn English at their own home and not what she learned from her mother but on the second thought, it was not their main problem at home either. Those repulsive experiences prompted the author to master the English language successfully.Summing it all, this simply implies that you have to adapt yourself to any situation for you to fit in to the society.

More so, it cannot be denied that Standard American English has been widely accepted so it is only proper that you learn the language as it is.