As we all know, the United States is considered to be the land of the free for many immigrant families. These families are in search of opportunities to be able to create a better future for themselves. Immigrants who have migrated to this country have struggled countless times, especially with learning a new language. This is only one of the many struggles an immigrant coming to this country has to face. Not being able to speak or learn a new language may also lead to discrimination towards immigrants. This makes it difficult for immigrants to communicate and express themselves in the correct way.                           

The Author Amy Tan, wrote about her personal experience with her family when her parents migrated to the U.S from China. She was born in the United States to Chinese immigrant parents born February 19, 1952, and is an American author who explores mother-daughter relationships and what it means to be a first-generation Asian American. In her personal essay “Mother tongue” published in 1990, Tan expresses to the readers the fact that the validity and value of a person’s ideas and intents do not change due to the way they speak, whether they use “perfect” or “Broken English”.  She focuses on this topic Furthermore, she describes in detail that the language she was taught in her household was taught to her by her mother, which has affected her English tremendously. As a child, she often felt ashamed when she observed that her mother was disrespected by bank services, department stores, and restaurants. Many formal English speakers did not take Tan’s mother seriously since they used to falsely believe they didn’t understand her and acted as if she did not speak at all. The only reason why they treated Tan’s mother in a disrespectful manner was that Tan’s mother spoke “Broken English”. She shares anecdotes with descriptive language on her experiences with discrimination and those of her mother. 

She introduces her claim by illustrating that her mother’s “Broken English” caused people to dismiss her. Tan’s purpose is to display how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks “broken English “as Tan’s mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others. She adopts a defensive, remorseful, and angry tone for her audience. And seems as if she writes for a specific audience to convince them that her mother’s version of English communicates effectively and is a powerful language. In her essay, she mentions “ I think my mother’s English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well. Sociologists and linguists probably will tell you that a person’s developing language skills are more influenced by peers.” 

As an immigrant child, Tan examines the various forms of English she uses and how they change depending on her environment. She uses a more comfortable form of English around her family where she uses phrases like “Not waste money that way”. By addressing this circumstance, she is highlighting the effect her native language has had on the English that she speaks around her family. This scenario is common among a lot of immigrant children. They switch between the English that they speak with their family which is influenced by their native languages and the standard English they use to speak in public places. 

Amy Tan wrote “Mother Tongue” to display and convince readers of the value of a person’s ideas no matter how “perfect” their English is. Although she does not say it, Tan is trying to convey the importance of staying true to yourself and going back to your roots even if the world doesn’t see things the same way or even looks down upon them. She feels that it’s better than, her mother’s ideas being expressed in her  own way, because it is more authentic, true to her, and it has more meaning than if it’s “perfect English.” In my own experience with my immigrant parents many times we have gotten discriminated against because of the way we speak English. This for some people can be identified as not having proper English. My mother specifically struggled to learn English, adjust to changes, and migrate to a new country. It impacted us so much as a family because we are forced and have the pressure to learn many new things to be able to adjust to this new environment and type of Lifestyle.