Language played a very important role in Amy Tan’s life. Amy spoke English and used language in many different ways. Amy spoke two different versions of the English language according to the text. She spoke “limited English”  around her mother and husband.  In paragraph 4 on page 1, Amy explains that this “limited English” was a way of talking intimately. She said this because Amy realized that the only time this language was used was when she was around close ones. The second version of English she used was around normal everyday people that showed up to her discussion about “The Joy Luck Club” in which she wrote. In paragraph 3 on page 1 she describes the language as complex and that she learned it from school. She did not speak to her mother in this type of English. Language impacted her perspective drastically. In the 2nd paragraph of page 2 Amy explains that her views of her mother were very limited. Amy claimed that when she was younger that she was ashamed of her mothers English.  This lead to Amy thinking less of her mother and believing that her broken English reflected the quality of what she had to say.

I believe Amy’s experience is very relatable.  I experienced a similar situation as Amy when I was younger. My grandparents used to live with my family and they could barely speak English. When I was younger and they tried to teach me something I heard what they said and thought nothing of it. As a kid when they would talk to me I wouldn’t really take in what they were saying. As I got older I started to really pay attention to them and understand that even though there was a language barrier, they were very smart and intelligent people. This impacted me greatly because I started to understand that if a person might struggle to speak a language it does not mean what they have to say lacks quality.

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