Lately, I’ve 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. How does Tan build a central idea of her story in the excerpt?
Tan discusses her thoughts about language to build the idea that the English language does not have words to match some Chinese terms.
Tan discusses her relationship with her mother to build the idea that mothers and daughters in all cultures often have misunderstandings.
Tan discusses her mother’s use of English to build the idea that a form of language can be purposeful and meaningful even if it is nonstandard.
Tan discusses the English language to build the idea that there is a lack of appropriate synonyms for the word “broken.”

Lesson 10: crossing borders: unit test “borders” 1.what does the mother’s refusal to state her nationality as canadian or american signify? a)that she resents governmental interference with her life b)that she identifies with neither country c)that she comes from somewhere else d)that she is stubborn and proud 4.the author’s chosen visual images, sensory details, and dialogue all convey a particular feeling in “delfino ii: diez in the desert.” thus feeling is known as: a)tone b)mood c)pathos 5.compare and contrast the poem “mexicans begin jogging” and the story “delfino ii: diez in the desert.” a)both are written about similar themes (immigration), but the story has a more serious mood than the poem b)both focus on mexican immigrants, but the story has a lighter tone than the poem. c)both main characters are afraid: diez is afraid of being caught smuggling people over the border, and soto is afraid of being caught working illegally. d)the tone in both selections is similar, but the subject matter differs slightly. 15. the tone of the poem “ka’ba” versus the tone of the poem “harlem ii” might be described as a)grateful vs ungrateful b)certain vs doubtful c) hurtful vs defeated d)safe vs dangerous