Mother Tongue
1. List the different Englishes Tan describes, defining each.
2. Of her mother's English, Tan writes, "That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world" (par. 7). How was the effect of her mother's English positive, and how was it negative?
3. How does the author deal with the way the world thinks about her and her mother's language?
4. Do you use a different version of English yourself? Do you feel more understood when using that language? Can you only use it around certain people?