Tan begins the essay by explaining her qualifications because it allows her to demonstrate to the audience her interest in the topic and how her personal experience is connected with the ideas she describes. This approach helps her make the readers more interested and involved in the analysis of the theme.
The narrator considers that most of her readers will be Asian Americans or understand the context and be aware of the specifics of this community culture. It can be observed in explaining the peculiarities of the simple language the immigrants speak in their daily lives. Her introduction of the examples of these words signifies that she expects that people might comprehend this type of speech.
Tan focuses on her mother, using the language as an example of immigrants’ experience. Although the topic of the narration is language, the writer emphasizes its role in her mother’s life and finishes the text underlining the value of her mother’s opinion.
Quoting her mother, the writer intends to demonstrate the specifics of the mother’s speech. This part of the text can make the impression that the mother is not educated. However, Tan does not plan to make such an impression on the readers. In particular, her explanations of the mother’s qualifications and level of knowledge reveal that Tan desires to prove that the quality of language does not coincide with the intelligence level.
The expression “mother tongue” usually means the native language, which a person uses from birth. However, in this essay, the writer uses this phrase referring to the tongue her mother speaks.
Tan decides to quote the line from one of her stories to display how she desperately desired to prove her proficiency in English earlier. This story language is different because she feels free using the language understandable to people from various backgrounds.