"Ay, Yoyo, you are going to be the one to bring our name to the headlights in this country! That is a beautiful, beautiful speec
h I want for your father to hear it before he goes to sleep. Then I will type it for you, all right?" –“Daughter of Invention,”
Julia Alvarez
In this passage, the mother tries to use an English idiom about having one’s name in lights, which means to be famous. Instead, she says that Yoyo will bring their name “to the headlights in this country.”
What does the mother’s language reveal?
What does the mother mean to express about her daughter Yoyo?
--ANSWERS--
She is eager to try English phrases.
She is proud and anticipates success.
First, English is not the mother´s native language, but she makes an effort even though the idiom is not like that.The mother uses an idiomatic expression probably to demonstrate that she is close to her daughter ,that she understands her .She might be telling Yoyo that she knows she will get what she wants and deserves.At the same time the diomatic expression makes her more familiar with the Americans and also, certainly, with the American dream.
The mother supports her daughter.She kows she will get as far as she wants to because she thinks she is talented.All mothers have a very high opinion of their children.
