Question

think of no way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. i’ve heard other terms used, “limited english,” for example. but they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions of the limited - english speaker.

i know this for a fact, because when i was growing up, my mother’s “limited” english limited my perception of her. i was ashamed of her english. i believed that her english reflected the quality of what she had to say. that is, because she expressed them imperfectly, her thoughts were imperfect. and i had plenty of empirical evidence to support me the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and in restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.

my mother has long realized the limitations of her english as well. when i was a teenager, she used to have me call people on the phone and pretend i was she. in this guise, i was forced to ask for information or even to complain and yell at people who had been rude to her. one time it was a call to her stockbroker in new york. she had cashed out her small portfolio, and it just so happened we were going to new york the next week, our first trip outside california. i had to get on the phone and say in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “this is mrs. tan.”

my mother was standing in the back whispering loudly, “why he don’t send me check, already two weeks late. so mad he lie to me, losing me money.”

and then i said in perfect english on the phone, “yes, i’m getting rather concerned. you had agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”

then she began to talk more loudly. “what he want, i come to new york tell him front of his boss, you cheating me?” and i was trying to calm her down, make her be quiet, while telling the stockbroker, “i can’t tolerate any more excuses. if i don’t receive the check immediately, i am going to have to speak to your manager when i’m in new york next week.” and sure enough, the following week, there we were in front of this astonished stockbroker, and i was sitting there red - faced and quiet, and my mother, the real mrs. tan, was shouting at his boss in her impeccable broken english.

1. read read lines 69–97. underline the evidence tan uses to support her ideas about the limitations of her mother’s english.

1. reread reread lines 77–97. in the margin, explain tan’s purpose for telling this story about her mother and the stockbroker.

Explanation:

Question 7

To find the evidence, we look at the text where Tan describes how others respond to her mother's English. The relevant lines (assuming line numbering context) have the sentence: "people in department stores, at banks, and in restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her." Also, the story with the stockbroker shows limitations: her mother's broken English led to the check being late, and she needed her daughter to call (pretending to be her) to get proper attention, and later when confronting the boss, her mother used "impeccable broken English" which highlights the communication struggle. So we underline these parts as evidence.

Tan tells the stockbroker story to illustrate the limitations of her mother’s "limited English" in real - life interactions. The story shows that because of her mother’s broken English, she was not taken seriously (the check was late, poor service initially), and needed her daughter to act as a "guise" to get attention. When they confronted the boss, her mother’s broken English was still effective in expressing her frustration, but the situation also highlights how others (like the stockbroker) initially dismissed her due to her language. The purpose is to support her idea that "limited English" affects how people perceive and interact with the speaker, and also to show the power of her mother’s voice and message despite the language barrier, while emphasizing the unfairness of the limitations imposed by others’ perceptions of her English.

Answer:

Underline the following:

• "people in department stores, at banks, and in restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her."
• The entire anecdote about the stockbroker (lines related to her mother needing the daughter to call, the check being late, the confrontation with the stockbroker’s boss with her mother’s broken English) as it shows how her mother’s English limited her ability to be taken seriously and get proper service/responses.

Question 8