[ENGLISH] HELP! My mom speaks broken English.

English is a very wide spoken language on Earth. A lot of people use English to communicate with people in English-Speaking countries or people who are able to speak the language to a degree. Some people are able to speak it with a plethora of vocabulary but some lack in that area of knowledge. These ‘second language’ speakers can speak English but not to the capability of a person who can speak like the Queen. Language purists HATE them because they do not like the way they ‘butcher’ the language. This is reasonable but you can’t hate them just because they don’t have the same vocabulary capacity as you do. These purists judge their intelligence based on their English proficiency. Well, I am here to prove the purists wrong. These people have a unique personal language identity that can shape other people’s identities that are around you.

A writer, Amy Tan, wrote an essay about her experience growing up with English as her ‘second language’.  One of the people who wholly contributed into shaping her language identity is her mother. She is a native Chinese and immigrated to the US over the years and settled in the US. She has experienced what it is like to live with someone that does not speak English as their first language so we can see that she speaks ‘broken’ English. But saying that she is not smart just because she can’t speak English is WRONG. This is proven by Amy herself as she reads Forbes reports and listens to Wall Street Week. I bet you don’t do that because you feel superior am I right? This leaves us with one theory that one of her identities is still attached to her which is her mother tongue. Her Chinese identity is still with her and (probably) won’t leave her unless something major happens to her. This has also shaped her Chinese identity even though being raised by a community full of non Asians.

This has happened to me in real life. It is true that my mother does shape my language identity the same way that Amy Tan’s mother shaped hers. At times, I mix my English with my Indonesian when I try to talk to my mother and she understands it. She TRULY wants us to speak Indonesian because it would be a shame to the society that I originate from because I can’t speak Indonesian. They berate Indonesians who can’t speak Indonesians. This identity has been carved into my soul and can’t be removed unless something major happens. I sometimes help my mother with vocabulary, grammar or simply checking the e-mail that she is trying to send to my swimming coach.

TL;DR – Immigrants/Foreigners have carved their mother tongues into their identity soul and cannot be removed.