Mother Tongue by Amy Tan

 I recently read an essay called ' Mother Tongue' by Amy Tan, Tan wrote about the discrimination of “broken english” compared to standard english, specifically referring to her mother. Throughout the text, Tan explains that her mother has been discriminated numerous times based on the english that she speaks which is seen as “broken english”. In the essay, her mothers quoted words were not only confusing but also they contained grammatical mistakes, yet Tan shared that although it seemed like her mother was incapable of communicating her words and thoughts. She was one to not underestimate, as her mother read high levelled sophisticated writings which Tan states in her essay “She reads the Forbes report, listens to Wall Street Week, converses daily with her stockbroker, reads all of Shirley MacLaine’s books with ease - all kinds of things I can’t begin to understand”.

An event that took place that displayed the discrimination of Tan's mother was when she went to the hospital to receive her diagnosis, as she had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumour. When the hospital had said that they lost the CAT scan no one offered her an apology or even saw the urgency in her needing the exact diagnosis as she had lost both her husband and son due to brain tumour, Tan's mother said that she had used her best english with no mistakes. Even after everything no one at the hospital sympathised with her mother , they just told her to make a new appointment up until Tan herself stepped in and dealt with the whole matter using standard english, then the matter was resolved, everyone at the hospital was far more polite and cooperative. The situation that her mother was placed in at the hospital just gave people the idea that her mother was not quite bright or was not worth their time, especially with the english that she used to communicate. After reading the essay and evaluating the different aspects of the essay, I came to the conclusion that just because someone does not speak standard english does not give anyone else the right to downgrade them and make them feel unimportant. I personally believe that if you are placed in a situation with someone that speaks limited english, then there are ways that you can work around what they are saying and find a solution that works for both of you.