The Genius of Language: Fifteen Writers Reflect on Their Mother Tongues Hardcover – July 27, 2004

Wendy Lesser gathered 15 writers reflecting on their mother tongue language. All 15 different languages comparing with English and writers’ auto- ethnography. A lot of foreign students in the United States can relate to these writers because we have come here to study and English is essential for us to communicate on a daily basis. All the authors have a hard time finding a connection with their natives because their English level has exceed their mother tongue. I personally can related to this, I was born in Hong Kong, China. Having to live in Qatar for 6 years and now in Tampa, Florida. The difference in culture is a great lot. I can relate mostly to the chapter “Yes and No” by Amy Tan. It shows differences between Chinese and English in “Yes and No”. In Chinese saying yes to the last piece of food on the table is bad. No matter how much I will like to eat it I always have to ask if anyone wants it and insist on giving it to the other person. In American culture, we fight for the last chicken wing on the platter. “Chinese people evolved into a mild-mannered lot because the language only allowed them to hobble forth with minced words…” We Chinese don’t want another person to lose face so we need to make it look like we are humbly accepting something. When we receive a present we say thank you then afterwards we have to give compliments to that person or our parents will give us a big slap on the head. A lot of cultural references, translations, similarities and difficulties adapting from one culture to another. We can see a lot are lost in translation, there are phrases and words which don’t have a similar or exact meaning in English. All writers who learned English after their mother tongue or other languages encounter these problems all the time. What native English speaker might see as an “easy task” comparing with ESL (English as Second Language) speakers is seen to be a challenging and almost impossible task. These 15 authors explores the idea of “lost in translation”, flash back memories of each author, cultural tales and their observation of the English speaking cultures. They are all 15 different short stories. Starting off anywhere from the book is fine. There isn't really a chronological order for the chapters. Great for readers who are interested in literature and culture, ESL speakers and people who have lived in more than one country. Also good read for short story lovers, they might all be comparing English with their mother tongue but the ideas each author have is different.

Wendy Lesser, a novelist, with a novel about collection of non-fictional essays from various authors.Genius of Language is a collection of separate non-fictional stories by 15 different authors. The main subject of the book is differences between cultures and languages, english as a second language. The title refers to language skills, people sailing between two or more languages having difficulties to express their thoughts. Discustions are all different set up not related to each others. This subject is really close to the citizens of the United States (USA) of whom inherit pieces from different cultures from their parents or ancestors, who have moved to USA.Fifteen individual author, fifteen different languages, and fifteen diverse backgrounds, however, a mutual second language, English. All of the stories cover some twenty pages, short stories about their author’s life’s. Most of the stories includes phrases or words that they find either impossible to translate or otherwize they find it difficult to adapt their culture into english language. Some of the stories have flashbacks, some of the stories are short chronological stories from the past, of which most of them included dialogs or short pieces of author’s domestic litterature references like poets and quotes. Every essay has their own identity and problems, of which few pieces are completely related to the language differences and rest of them are mostly in english but powerphrased with foreign words to explain the cultural differences. Most importantly the essays are written about their own lifes as a first person narration. The message of the book is adaption and the linquistical problems lacking ways to express thoughts.The structure of the novel makes this piece particularly interesting. Because every piece is different at the same time sharing a mutual main subject. These facts made this book very easy to read and adapt, although the deeper message of a single essay might be harder to find. Depending on the writers skills each of the essays have various different vocabularies and different styles, which in my case is very productive towards my English progress. However, I was confused once in a while with thoughts trying to adapt them into my perspective. Nonetheless, all the stories were simple to understand the retorical questions followed by answers to their dilemmas, like in Amy Tan’s text: ”But just how seriously are we supposed to take this?”, made me imagine about my own identity and anxiety towards culural differences. The book made me feel like I wanted to write my own story about how Finns ”put the tv on”, or how they ”put the lights off”, or how is it so different to write language, compared to Finnish, actually has a future tense; postpositions changed to prepositions; and the articles, or was it an articles, or could it be without article at all?I say, that all in all the book had a huge impact on me with its different approaches to litterature. I haven’t read a lot of books that makes feel start to read just for some twenty pages. The idea of the book is very clever in introducing languages difficulties to first offenders in the two language world and why not for the people who already share a huge experience of living among other cultures. A person who is in the middle of writing anxiety towards their own language should definitely use this book to broaden the view. It is not always easy to change almost everything at once and cope immediately, when suddenly is in the middle of new culture.Works citedLesser, Wendy. "Chinese "Yes and No" Amy Tan." The Genius of Language. New York: Pantheon, 2004. 25-34. Print.

I am Uzbek, Russian and a little bit Ukrainian. Therefore English is far from being my first language. I love how each of the writers in this book made me relate in many of the situations that they went through as the non-English speakers. Being a foreigner may have lots of difficulties. And of them is learning about a different culture, customs and of course trying to speak, read and write in other language. The book "The Genius of Language" is both intellectual and pleasurable to read. Wend Lesser, the author of this work, brought together such a brilliant collection or writers that let us as their readers, to enter some of the private and intimate aspects of their lives. It is like a global tour of not just the language people are speaking but also the deepest thoughts and anxieties of their being. Each of the essay is well written although a little challenging for a non-native speakers with an insufficient experience of reading in a different language. One of the other greatest things about this book is that it's brimming with respect for language and it's culture. All authors basically open up to us as their audience and remind how unlimited the beauty of language can be.