"YES and NO"

What Amy Tan shows us, is how we (people) perceive other languages very differently. We make certain assumptions that may or may not be true about other languages. Tan describes what her lifestyle was like and what made it the way it was; due to the fact that she was raised in a bilingual household. Tan explains how people may misinterpret certain languages due to what is lost in translation. She suggests that most large meanings in one language begin to be lost when translated into another. The article in the New York Times Magazine (26) where it suggests that Chinese people are so careful and humble in the way they talk to the point that don’t even have words for yes and no. Tan explains that there may not be the words yes and no exactly they maybe used discreetly however there is a way to state it. Different languages are extremely hard to compare especially languages that don’t use the same alphabet or letters. What I found interesting is the way Tan claims, “My uncle nodded and said he understood fully: Americans take things quickly because they have no time to be polite” (26). She stated this explaining the part of how Chinese people were to starve in America because people only ask or offer once. I think it differs according to cultures as Egyptians and Italians it’s the same as Chinese we keep pleading and begging for the person to accept what we have offered however you may find other countries that don’t necessarily do that. Each person thinks there language is the easiest or that it’s very hard to for them to learn another. Tan states, “English speakers point out that Chinese is extremely difficult…” (31) where as “Chinese speakers tell me English is extremely difficult…” (31). We should all be open to change and learn another language or maybe more. What I would like to explore more into; is the Chinese language its seems very interesting.