Question

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.

Which best summarizes the central idea in the excerpt?
Tan is troubled by the way her mother uses the English language.
Tan is uncomfortable using negative terms to describe her mother’s English.
Tan has difficulty trying to explain what she means when she writes in English.
Tan has found that the English language is lacking in descriptive word choices.

Answer 1

Tan is uncomfortable using negative terms to describe her mother’s English.

Reason: The passage focuses on Tan's discomfort with calling her mother's speech "broken" and the implications of that label.