For many centuries, English has been the most dominant language in the world. In fact, it is the official language in over 60 countries and it is widely learned as a second language in many other nations. In the story "Mother Tongue", the author Amy Tan talks about different "Englishes" she knows and speaks. By analyzing Tan's stories about the dialogue between her mother, the stockbroker, and the doctor, in addition to Tan experiencing prejudice from her boss, it is apparent that non-native English speakers are treated inferior in predominantly English speaking countries. By overcoming these elements it can be suggested that non-native English speakers can still be successful in society (exemplified by Tan).  

     Growing up, Tan had a narrow perception of her mother due to her "limited" English. She "believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say" (330). Just like her daughter, many English native speakers argue correspondingly. The inferiority is evident in the story of Ms. Tan and the stockbroker when she was refused an appointment due to her lack of proper English. Once her fifteen-year-old daughter pretended to be her mother on the phone, she successfully got an appointment simply because of her English speaking abilities. "You should know that [Ms. Tan's] expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands" (329). It is arduous for many for non-native speakers to have the same ability to speak and read in a proper manner. Ms. Tan regularly reads Forbes reports, Shirley MacLaine's books and listens to Wall Street Week and yet speaks "broken" English. This shows that her ability to read exceeds her ability to speak. Nevertheless, the essence of what Ms. Tan declares is not as "broken" as the English she speaks, contrary to what many native speakers may conclude. 

     Although Tan views "the language of intimacy" between her and her family as "vivid, direct, and full of observation and imagery", outsiders see it as inferior (329).

Ms. Tan's inconvenience at the hospital was a tragic one. As she went to claim her CAT brain scan report "the hospital did not apologize when they said they had lost [it]" (330). Desperately, Ms. Tan demands to know her exact diagnosis, being that her husband and son died from a brain tumor. The hospital indelicately instructed Ms. Tan to get a new appointment for more information. As soon as her daughter (Tan) deliberated with the doctor- in perfect English- there was assurance that the CAT scan would be found. Apologies had been made, although the damage had already been done. What many don't know is that these 'inferior' individuals are aware of their secondary treatment. No matter how much effort Ms. Tan puts to express her thoughts, the conclusion will always be that her arguments are as lousy as the language she is speaking. 

     Amy Tan argues that the language spoken in the family is of most influence when a child is developing language skills (Tan 331). This is certainly true having the different "Englishes" she speaks (328). Recently, Tan has been noticing phrases she uses that represent her mother's English while shifting back and forth with academic English. When Tan gives lengthy speeches with sentences like "the intersection of memory upon imagination" and "there is an aspect of my fiction that relates to [ ]" She can quickly shift to sentences like "not waste money that way" when speaking to her mother (329). This shows the influence of her "mother tongue" in her language skills. Furthermore, Tan "[thinks that her] mother's English almost had an effect on limiting her possibilities in life" to the extend of affecting her results on achievement tests (331). On those tests, science related, Tan scores in the ninetieth percentile while in English, her result lies in the sixtieth or seventieth percentile. She strongly believes that "English tests were always a judgment call, a matter of opinion and personal experience" (331). The type of personal experience American students get at traditional households and the type of opinion they follow from beliefs at home. Consequently, Tan together with any outsider can be judged academically if he/she does not answer questions as naturally as native speakers can. 'Sunset is to downfall' as 'blank is to blank' is an example of a world analogy question asked on English placement tests where the answer is, as 'chills is to fever'. "Well, I could never think that way" she claims (331). Being that in Tan's household English analogies are never made, she is unable to see the logic behind the question. Tan's nature of being rebellious and challenging the assumptions made about her, gave her the courage to major in English during college- a choice she has never been more proud of. Regardless of having her (former) boss 'encourage' her to "hone [her] talents toward account management," she decided to continue her career as a writer and compose nonfiction as a freelancer (323). 

     It is certain that native English speakers are treated superior in predominantly English speaking countries. This fact is reflected in Tan's stories about the dialogue between her mother, the stockbroker, and the doctor, along with Tan experiencing prejudice from her boss. Finally, Tan successfully wrote her famous novel The Joy Club and proved her mastery over the English language by writing wittily crafted sentences (Tan 332). Equivalent to Tan's success story, it is evident that there can be a positive ending to linguistic obstacles encountered throughout ones life. Nevertheless, there must be passion and perseverance, particularly exemplified by Tan. 

