Question

read the excerpt from \mother tongue.\

yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. some say they understand 80 to 90 percent. some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure chinese. 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.

which best summarizes the central idea of the excerpt?

• nonstandard forms of english are valid, complete languages.
• people from different cultures can easily learn to speak english.
• the english and chinese languages have similar structures.
• parents should use standard english with their children in the home.

Explanation:

The excerpt shows that others have varying levels of understanding of the mother's English, but to the author, it's clear, natural, and meaningful (shaped her worldview). This supports that nonstandard English (mother's English) is a valid, complete language. The other options: B is incorrect as the excerpt doesn't discuss learning English easily; C is incorrect as there's no comparison of language structures; D is incorrect as the excerpt doesn't address parents using standard English.

Answer:

A. Nonstandard forms of English are valid, complete languages.