To grow up in a place that one does not consider his or her own, especially culturally and linguistically, poses as an obstacle for immigrants as they try to adjust and assimilate into his or her 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 American customs at a faster rate than her mother did. In the story “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, Tan’s mother struggles with learning and understanding the English language. This struggle frustrates and complicates Tans life. Tan 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” (344). Tan’s use of the word “broken” throughout the text contributes immensely to a larger message. This message is that the way her mother struggles to speak and understand the English language does not truly represent the kind of person she really is. Similar to this message, the story “Mother Tongue” implies a portrayal of language. This portrayal of language is shown when Tan explains to the reader that she has to use a different kind of English around her mother; an English that her mother will be able to understand. The language that Mrs. Tan uses that is portrayed in the story is “the English (Amy) was using, the English (she) does use with her” (343). Tans story makes clear of the differences between all of the languages her and her mother use/have used throughout Tans life. Even though her mothers English may be broken, 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 Tan, 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 Tan was young she used to have to call people on the phone, and pretend that she was her mother. This is due to Mrs. Tan’s lack of English. People on the phone used to complain to her about how they could not understand what she was saying, and to put somebody else on the phone to speak for her. She would try her hardest so that she could be understood, but there was a repetition of failure. After many phone call incidents, Mrs. Tan realizes that her English is limited; she continuously asks Amy to answer phone calls for her. Amy and Mrs. Tan become embarrassed in 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. People assume that the way Mrs. Tan fails to speak English means that she is ignorant. So refining the way Tan speaks and communicates with her mother, proves Mrs. Tan’s ability to show that her English is not completely “broken”. Tan wants people to understand that her mother’s struggle to speak fluent English is not an accurate representation of her true character. 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. The book in which Tan had written is based off of all of the variations of English she grew up using: the English she spoke to her mother “which for lack of a better term might be described as ‘simple’” (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. The novel that Tan wrote is based off of how she looks down on her mother’s broken English. Yes there are many Englishes that Tan grew up using, but she believes that there should have only been one English that her and her family spoke and lived by. Amy’s book written simply about all of the Englishes she grew up with allowed her mother to identify and relate to the text. The text allowed Mrs. Tan to come to the realization that the many struggles Amy grew up with to teach her the English language, embarrassed Amy. But fortunately, the simple wording of Tan’s novel permitted Mrs. Tan to acquire self assurance after being able to understand the English that Tan offered in her novel.

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 shapes 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.