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?
Answer
A
Nonstandard forms of English are valid, complete languages.
B
People from different cultures can easily learn to speak English.
C
The English and Chinese languages have similar structures.
D
Parents should use standard English with their children in the home.
Explanation
The speaker describes her mother’s English as clear, natural, vivid, and expressive, even though some other people struggle to understand it. The passage shows that her mother’s way of speaking is meaningful and shaped the speaker’s understanding of the world. This supports the idea that nonstandard forms of English are valid and complete ways of communicating, so the best choice is “Nonstandard forms of English are valid, complete languages.”
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