#3 Mother Tongue by Amy Tan

Even after being in America, surrounded by Americans 24/7 who speak the English language, even I have trouble with my grammar. If I was perfect, I obviously wouldn't currently be in my ENC1100 English class right now. Reading Amy Tan's story about how the struggles her mother faced not being able to speak "grammatically" correct, made me really aware of how I am so quick to judge. I get frustrated, not necessarily at the person, just at my not being able to understand them. One, they probably understand the language better than I do! Amy clearly expressed that her mother was very competent and read multiple intricate books written in ENGLISH. Amy expresses a tone of gratefulness throughout her article, saying ultimately that she appreciates her "mother's tongue". She also speaks about how she was stronger in the areas of math and science, like many other Asian-Americans. Even though she was pushed and swayed by other teachers to pursue those subjects, Amy chose English. Amy says people ask her all the time why her race isn't as involved in the literature "world". She said it would probably contribute towards what most describe as the "broken" English they hear at home. Another shocking factor, is that teachers sway Asian-Americans to pursue math and science and ultimately tear them away from the English field. Ms. Tan goes on to say that being rebellious in nature she chose a different path. I must commend Amy Tan for challenging herself and embracing her "mother's tongue".