Response to Mother Tongue

I absolutely agree with Amy Tan when she says that people are labeled by how they talk. If someone has poor grammar you think of them as mentally less. But if someone had a wonderful vocabulary and impeccable sentence structure, then you think they are smart and worth your time. The things you say and how you say them tells a lot about you. It was interesting how Mrs. Tan's mother wasn't taken seriously by her peers because of her poor English language structure but her daughter, with perfect English was. I see it everyday though. I have a Hispanic neighbor and sometimes you have to strain to figure out what she is saying. I know she is an intelligent woman but society thinks she is less because her English is not perfect. It is sad but it is also true.