Amy Tan was raised by her mother. She always had to be a translator for her mother because her mother’s English was “broken.” People have different “eyes”/ attitude towards her mother because she does not speak proper English. They treat her differently and disrespect her. Tan’s main argument is that there are many forms of English and all of them can be “right,” depending on how close are they with people who are English Secondary Language students. For example, in my neighborhood, I always encounter people pronouncing “Thank you” as “Xang Qu.” However, as I got use to my neighbors saying it, I just accept it very normal, as they are trying to say “Thank you”. I do not know why I did not bother to correct them, maybe I want to preserve their own language.

Tan goes on about making her argument by giving examples of how English is used by people from different backgrounds. For example, she gave a paragraph about how her mother speaks English. To Tan, it makes sense because she understands her, but to other native English speakers, it is a confusion. This piece mostly focuses on her mother and how her mother is associated with English; this is why the title is called “Mother Tongue.” It is because of that tongue that makes her speak. It might not be proper English, but it is English. Her purpose is to show that language is not fix; it is changing everyday.

Her primary audience is her mother, that’s why she wrote it in simple English. Other audience can be people who just immigrated to America from different parts of the world. Tan is emphasizing that do not be discourage if you do not speak English or speak poorly of it. Another audience can be those who are native English speakers like herself. Those people should not judge people who do not speak perfect English. They do not know who they are as a person. Everyone should be understanding; give them full attention and be supportive. There are the Englishes that are “broken”, “simple”, and “watered down”. All these different Englishes makes up of who Tan is. It is through her mother that she experienced all these. As a writer, she includes the whole package in her writing, and that’s how she had written a piece that is simple and easy to read.

At home, I mostly speak Cantonese with my parents. I speak English with my siblings and I talk freely with whatever I have in mind. I speak informal with my friends, sometimes in Cantonese or Mandarin and even joke with them in Chinese. I speak proper English with my Professors and with my employers, I speak Cantonese and English. In my neighborhood, everyone is mainly Chinese, so I usually speak Cantonese or Mandarin, even though I’m not good in Mandarin.