To grow up in a place that one does not consider their own, especially culturally and linguistically, ultimately poses as an obstacle for people who immigrate to new countries as they try to adjust and assimilate into their new community. This transition is difficult for children and adults in various ways. For Amy Tan, after moving to the United States her biggest struggle was adapting to the English language and customs at a faster rate than her mother did. As stated in the story Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, Amy is afflicted by her mother's struggle with learning the English language her whole life. She complains about being embarrassed while speaking to her mother in public. In the story, she describes her mother’s language to the reader as “broken English” (Tan 343) , and she could “think of no other way to describe it other than ‘broken’, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed” (Tan 344). Amy Tan’s use of the word broken throughout the text contributes immensely to a larger message; that the way her mother struggles to speak and understand the English language does not truly represent the kind of person she really is. Mrs. Tan’s English may be broken, but the things that she is unable to verbalize in English, her interests, feelings, stories and thoughts, are the building blocks to her true character. 

To Amy, her mother’s English is direct, clear, and natural but to everyone else her English is limited. In grocery stores, department stores, restaurants, and even banks, people would not take her seriously. They “did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her” (344). Even when Amy was young she used to have to call people on the phone, and pretend that she was her mother. After repeated incidents, Mrs. Tan realizes that her English is limited so she continuously asks Amy to talk on the phone and answer phone calls for her. Amy and Mrs. Tan become embarrassed by how they are seen by people, being judged by others by their cultural differences, and Mrs. Tan’s inability to speak ‘proper’ English. After realizing that there are other Asian Americans who are going through the same difficulties as the Tan family, Amy realizes she is not alone and begins to call her mother’s English ‘broken’ more and more infrequently. Amy wants people to understand that her mother’s struggle to speak fluent English is not an accurate representation of Mrs. Tan’s true character and personality. Speaking simple English does not make her a simple person. When Amy tries to explain her mother’s complexity to people who do not understand her lack of or broken English, it is a struggle for her.

Mrs. Tan’s limited English limits her daughter’s perception of her. Amy’s book titled The Joy Luck Club, is based off of all of the variation of English she grew up using and listening to: the English she spoke to her mother “which for lack of a better term might be described as ‘simple’” (Tan 346), the English her mother used with her “which for lack of a better term might be described as ‘broken’” (346), her translation of her mother’s Chinese, and what she imagined to be her mother’s translation of her Chinese if she could speak in perfect English. Amy continuously looks down on her mother’s broken English throughout the story, even though she makes sure that the reader realizes the kind of person Mrs. Tan really is and the way Amy truly regards the deeper, and more intricate aspects of her mother. Amy wrote her book in a way that was easy for her mother to read. Mrs. Tan gains self-assurance after being able to understand her own daughter’s book about growing up. After she realizes her lack of English due to Amy’s constant embarrassment of it, she no longer tries to associate herself with the English language. Amy then composes a simply written book about all of the English’s she grew up with, in order for her mother to be able to understand the text. She did, and later acquired self-assurance of being able to understand some form of English.

The word ‘broken’ specifically implies that there is a disconnect, that pieces are failing to go together. Language is very important aspect in order to be a part of a community, but if one is unable to be understood by the people around them, it can make people feel broken themselves. Amy is able to later glue together the broken pieces of her mother’s world through utilizing her mother’s dialect in The Joy Luck Club. Amy feels success at the end of the story “when (her) mother finished reading (her) book and gave (her) her verdict: ‘so easy to read’” (346). This is the point in which Amy finally realizes that her mother’s broken English is not the culmination of her character, it just represents her past and where she comes from.

Amy’s continuous use of the word “broken” in Mother Tongue alludes to the larger message that the way Amy’s mother struggles to understand the English language is incongruent to the kind of person she is.  Amy spends “a great deal of (her) time thinking about the power of language” (342). The power that language has on Amy’s life is the reason her mother’s lack of English is such a big issue to her. Language and her connection to the people and the culture around her shape her self image and the image she has of her mother. As the story progresses, she realizes that there “are other Asian-American students whose English spoken in the home might also be described as ‘broke’ or ‘limited’” (346). She gains solidarity with other immigrants in America, who are also feeling disconnected with their communities. This allows her to come to the conclusion that even though her mother’s English may be broken and limited, the way she speaks and her lack of knowledge of the English language does not compensate for her mother’s true impact in the world and the entirety of her character.