Response to "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan

I completely agree with Amy Tan when she said how English is a matter of opinion and style, as opposed to math where there is a right answer. There can be grammatical and sentence structures, but when in reality, the English language is really how you are brought up. We can get the jist of what people are saying whether it is in the right form or with complex words or not. English can be completely cultural, like saying "supper" instead of "dinner" or "soda" instead of pop". They have the same meaning it is just how you are raised. What Amy Tan described about her mother and the problems she faced in society because her English wasn't as "perfect" as some others, is a shame to America. It is easy to get frustrated when you can't understand someone's English because it wasn't how you were raised, but we shouldn't take it out on the person and deny them service for it. We expect everyone to learn and understand English but then punish them because it isn't "perfect" enough. I think that Amy Tan should be proud of what she did and her article that combined all the English she knows.