Language Barriers

When Firoozeh first arrived in America, she and her mother spoke only Persian. Firoozeh's father spoke English but not as well as he thought since his English was difficult for others to understand. Firoozeh was able to learn English quickly and soon became fluent. That can be attributed to her young age, when brains are sponges, and the fact that she was in an English-speaking school where she was forced to assimilate quickly. Nazireh, her mother, did not work outside the home and therefore she was able to get by with just limited English. She picked up most of her English from watching American television. Even after thirty years in the US, Nazireh spoke very broken English with a heavy accent. Firoozeh commented, rather comically, that her mother managed to speak without the use of verbs and that she called everything "it," from her husband to the...