Texts: “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Tell Me What Is” by James Baldwin and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan

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Option 1: Amy Tan and James Baldwin’s Texts
               Cultural influence is a prevalent aspect in both Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue and James Baldwin's text, "If Black English is not a language, then tell me, what is?" Amy Tan having being brought up in a storytelling background, influenced her cultural beliefs as well as the understanding of the English language. Her mother's English language, she claims, was broken as it was her second language. The English she speaks of is an identity of her origin and cultural background. This aspect validates Baldwin's understanding of the black people English, where he claims it is their specific manner of speaking is their identity, and also their English is a language too (Baldwin 2). Baldwin stresses that black English should not be criticized. This essay expounds on various aspects in Amy Tan's text that honor James Baldwin's ethos and ideas concerning the relation between language and power, otherness as well as identity.
Identity and Otherness
Tan mentions that, because of her personality, she most uses varying types of "Englishes" (Tan 1). Her mother, being a Chinese, could not use English the first language because she was never taught or educated herself the language at professional levels. The only reason she used English was for the satisfaction of the need to use it while living in America. Despite being educated and very profound in conversing in English, she uses incorrect English at home to consider her mother's and household friend and member's level of understanding. This alternation of the way of speaking validates the explanation of Baldwin's text, where English is seen as a language being used by different cultures and identities. 
Baldwin explains that the usage of language and vocabulary adjusts between the various cultures using it. This means that individuals from different backgrounds will modify the language so that they can use it more effectively within their specific context. Just like Tan's different use of the English language with a reason to consider the audience, Baldwin's thoughts relate to her assumptions. He defines that black people English should not be scorned as it compares to a nation with different tribes and cultural backgrounds with unique languages despite being one nation and a common language. 
Tan believes in proper English and grammar. She tries to use the simplest English while addressing her mother, but in the real sense, her identity and otherness are unrecognizable as she emphasizes proper language use. This aspect validates Baldwin's belief that black people do not want to be recognized by their language. Baldwin's language is perfect and hard to grasp as the text continues. By analyzing the general role of English, to identify and characterize a person, Baldwin points out that black people are unhappy with being identified with how they speak (Baldwin 2). This is because the language is for a universal nation, and their English should not be treated as a different type of language. Language is supposed to define the 'other,' but black people have denied being demarcated by a language that, in their history, has never been able t...