English, as long as it is understood by one another- can be changed in any way and still be considered English. It has in fact slowly changed and evolved over time. So, someone should not be judged or be treated differently just because they are not as good as speaking the English you are used to. Neither should it negatively change your POV of the person since often times it isn’t their fault and it’s difficult for them to be understood so it adds problems onto the problem-not helping to fix them. 

Mother Tongue was first published in 1990, the short story appeared in The Threepenny Review, a literary magazine. It is a Rhetorical essay written by Amy Tan, born in Oakland, California, in 1952. She is a Chinese American novelist, memoirist, and essayist. After the death of her father and brother from brain tumors in 1966, Tan and her mother moved to Switzerland and there she attended high school. She earned a BA and an MA in English and linguistics from San Jose State University in San Jose, California. After completing her studies, Tan worked as a language development consultant and freelance writer for corporations. 

I think Mother Tongue is mainly about the English that Amy and her mom use and how it affects them, how they are treated and people’s perception of them. She says, “But to me my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural… Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery.” She understands her mother’s English perfectly while some cannot and even judge her mom for it, do not give her good service and act like they do not hear or understand her. This proves that language is subjective and opinionated. Since Amy learned to use the English most people understand, she has had to help her mom is various situations because of how people treat them differently. “When the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English – lo and behold – we had assurances the cat scan would be found, promises that a conference call on Monday would be held, and apologies for any suffering my mom had gone through for a most regrettable mistake.” She also mentioned that English is hard so that is why many immigrants and Asians do better in math and science because it is more precise and, in my opinion, has better jobs. Amy did the opposite and continued to be an achieved writer because she was rebellious and liked the challenge of disproving assumptions. I would do the same if I were her because I hate when people misunderstand or misjudge me and spread it. 

I have been judged before by one of my family members for speaking English in a way they might not understand but instead of hearing me out or trying to help it, continued to call me stupid. I know I am good at English because I always did well in English classes and got awards in them, many compliments for my writing and after talking people would say I am smart. I have admittedly changed my POV and thought of people who are not that good at English or the English I am used to are maybe less intelligent. It is too easy to think that which is why it is common. You will find things that are easy quite common. It is known, though, after times have changed dramatically since the 1900s, that it is wrong to judge or treat someone differently because of uniqueness since almost everyone advocates for equality but do not want all the complications that come with it. Like if no one were judged or treated differently at all anymore there would not be a need to improve in English as much, among other things. If no one cared, probably no one would care to improve or be good at it if not for themselves. 

I have seen people being treated differently and even worse just because of their opinion and the way they speak. That I would not do, and it makes me feel bad. There is a line though that differentiates the toddler learning to speak from the grown adult no matter how many words they know because there is more than one way to communicate, and toddlers do not know how to yet. Adults can purposely express themselves with body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, volume, etc. It impresses me how quickly we understand each other when communicating is so complicated. So, people should not be treated worse or judged for their way of communicating in English and people’s POV of them should not be negatively impacted by it.