Which of the following best summarizes one central idea of the passage from "mother tongue"?

a. the expression of experience through language is more powerful when different forms of english are accepted.

b. only someone with a strong background in standard english can express ideas in interesting ways.

c. only someone with a strong background in different forms of english can truly be an expert on the english language.

d. the expression of experience through language is more powerful when only the standard form of english is accepted.

Answer :

The following sentence best summarizes one central idea of the passage from "Mother Tongue" :

A.The expression of experience through language is more powerful when different forms of English are accepted.

Tan has a firm belief that nonstandard forms of English are legitimate languages in their own right.

Excerpts from the text that support this answer are :

1. "But to me, my mother's  English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It's my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid,  direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things,  expressed things, made sense of the world."

2. "-I began to write stories using all the  Englishes I grew up with: the English I spoke to my mother, which for lack of a better term might be  described as "simple"; the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as  "broken"; my translation of her Chinese, which could certainly be described as "watered down"; and what I  imagined to be her translation of her Chinese if she could speak in perfect English, her internal language,  and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure. I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her  speech and the nature of her thoughts."

The expression of experience through language is more powerful when only the standard form of English is accepted.

Further Explanation:

Over recent years, There has been a change which is noticed in English Language and that is because of several reasons. But the foremost reason behind this change is because of the needs of the English speaking people have changed over the years. Introduction to new technologies, products as well as new experience requires new English words to refer them with clarity and in a more efficient way. Another reason behind this change is that no two individuals have the same language experience and they use a slightly different set of words to convey their message.  

Most of these lingual changes in English take place between teens and young adults as young people interact mostly with people of the same age. Every country has a different style of English speaking people. There are UK English, North American English, and Indian English which is spoken mostly around the world. if we talk about the English Language basically but a person can convey his expressions in a better way only when he uses a standard form of English.  

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Answer Details:

Grade: High School

Chapter: Mother Tongue

Subject: English

Keywords: English, Mother Tongue, Communicate, Consequences, Intelligence, Intellectual, Ability, Measurement, Educated, Understand.

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