It is easy to know where a person comes from because of how he or she pronounces English word when conversing. Tan shared the same problem when she was growing up. In fact, Tan learned a lot from her mother’s “broken” language including development of semantic expressions, perception of the meaning of words and relationship with people. Because Tan was used to speaking the “simple-broken” language with her mother, it became the language that she preferred when discussing intimate or personal issues. For instance, Tan mentions words her mother used during their intimate conversations, “Not waste money that way” (Dong, 2009). Some may argue that her mother’s “broken” language limited Tan’s communication skills. Instead, it eventually became a form English language that is rich in vernacular connotations and which, Tan recognizes as another way of exploring language in literature.

Tan and I share something in common; I same as tan did not understand why she could not write perfect English when she wrote the non-fiction story, I realize also that being bicultural has affected my choice of words when speaking English. For example, I find myself saying to my friends, “Dinner tonight, come we stay!” It is not conventional English but it created cohesion which is an important aspect in relationship. However, the only way Tan seemed different from my English skills is that her grammar was influence by interaction with her Asian mother; conversely, I am more of bicultural, that is, my English is a mixture of Asian, Latin and Hispanic. My classmates seem to agree with me that: none of us can speak fluent English and, exploring how different cultures change the conventional English is a crucial approach to understanding literature. My classmates also seem share the opinion that what makes a story interesting is not the fluent flow of English, but the use of words borrowed from mother tongue or the vernacular language

References

Dong, L. (2009). Reading Amy Tan. New York, NY: ABC-CLIO