The English language played a huge role in Amy Tan’s life. English has shaped Tan’s perception of herself because it makes her view herself differently when talking to other people. When Tan was giving a talk to a large audience about her book, she had come to the realization that her mother had never heard her speak formal and proper English. Because of this, Tan had felt that the talk she was giving was wrong since she did not speak that type of English with her mother, “… all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother”. Additionally, English changed the way Tan viewed her relationship with others. When talking about furniture prices, Tan had observed that she used a different type of English with her husband than she does with her mother. This made her realize that the language you use with others changes with the level of intimacy you have with them. In the reading, Tan states ” It has become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk, the language I grew up with”.

I think that people who learn English as a second language are aware of the language that is used around them. Personally, I’ve noticed that when speaking English with friends or family I tend to speak it in a different way. For example, with my friends, I speak the “normal English” that we learn in school but with family, I speak English in a way that only they will understand. At times I am aware of the English used around me because certain people tend to talk in a sophisticated manner while sometimes I tend to talk in a more broken form of English. For Instance, at school teachers tend to speak in a professional way to their students while on the other hand when students conversate with each other they tend to speak more informally and in slang.

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