Question

lately, ive been giving more thought to the kind of english my mother speaks. like others, i have described it to people as \broken\ or \fractured\ english. but i wince when i say that. it has always bothered me that i can think of no other way to describe it other than \broken,\ as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness.

what can be inferred from the excerpt?

• tan is embarrassed by the nonstandard form of english that her mother speaks.
• tan believes that nonstandard forms of english are legitimate languages in their own right.
• tan wishes that she did not have to think about the english that her mother speaks.
• tan is angry that people are not taught nonstandard english languages in school.

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option A: The excerpt says "I wince when I say that" (using "broken" to describe mother's English), but the key is her discomfort with the term implying it's damaged, not embarrassment about the non - standard English itself. So A is incorrect.
2. Analyze Option B: The author dislikes using "broken" as it implies the English is damaged and needs fixing, suggesting she believes non - standard English (like her mother's) has its own legitimacy (doesn't lack wholeness/soundness in a valid way). This matches the implication.
3. Analyze Option C: The excerpt is about the description of her mother's English, not about wishing she didn't have to think about it. So C is incorrect.
4. Analyze Option D: There's no mention of school teaching of non - standard English in the excerpt. So D is incorrect.

Answer:

B. Tan believes that nonstandard forms of English are legitimate languages in their own right.