against beneficiary's surrender of stipulated documents ""what does this sentence mean.. thanks a million..

Question

english is not my mother tongue...thanks to you

thanks ..friend,,but i think you must misunderstood me...my question is what does this sentence mean"against beneficiary's surrender of stipulated documents "..since english is not my frist language ,,i don't know about english much..

Answer 1

I assume the sentence appears in a will - because of the use of the word 'beneficiary' - but it could be in some other legal document. It means that the beneficiary - the person getting some benefit - will obtain so benefit in money or goods on the understanding that he or she gives up (surrenders) some documents - papers - that will have been referred to elsewhere in the will or document - that's what 'stipulated' means. Presumably there is, or has been a dispute and the 'beneficiary' relies on those papers to support a claim which is to be given up in exchange for something and the person giving the benefit wants the papers back so no further claim could be made. I hope you are able to understand this - I've tried to make it as easy as possible.

Answer 2

When I hear this quotation, I think of an essay called "Mother Tongue," by Amy Tan, I believe. In this essay, she defines "Mother Tongue" and the special language used between mothers and their children. For her, it was a muddled mix of Chinese and broken English; for others, Spanish, French, Russian, etc. Even various dialects of the same language, like English, can be "Mother Tongue" languages if certain special or significant phrases, words, or styles are used.

Essentially, I would say that the quotation "English is not my Mother Tongue...thanks to you," relates the confusion, anxiety, and frustration of a first-generation English-speaking American child to the mother, who has trouble with even everyday communication. The mother, at least in this essay, struggles with daily interaction, and on several occassions asks her daughter to speak to others in public for her, knowing that her daughter's fluent English would evoke a more positive response. The daughter, in this case Amy Tan, is embarrassed by this, and by her mother, and wishes that her mother, and her mother's language, could be the same as the all other kids', (hence the hostile tone.)

Fortunately, with time and experience, Tan comes to realize that it is the special bond formed by this unique language that will carry them (her mother and her) through life together. She eventually overcomes her fear and annoyance of the Mother Tongue she had been raised with, and learns to embrace it, and with it, her cultural and ethnic heritage.