Mother’s Tongue
JENNIFER SHYUE
I thought to confirm this fact with my mother. She said, the expressive brows I inherited perplexed: “No, your first language was English.” Yesterday, I asked my mother the question again, at a slant: What was my first word? Her brow bunched. “I don’t remember,” she said apologetically. “Probably ‘ma ma’?” “What language is that?” I asked. She smiled.
I thought to confirm this fact with my mother. She said, the expressive brows I inherited perplexed: “No, your first language was English.” Yesterday, I asked my mother the question again, at a slant: What was my first word? Her brow bunched. “I don’t remember,” she said apologetically. “Probably ‘ma ma’?” “What language is that?” I asked. She smiled.
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