Tabios uses her words and tone to make us feel the speaker’s urge to prove to the addressee that she can speak English. What is the purpose behind this? What does the author want us to know about the speaker’s world and her world?
Through the examples enumerated by Tabios in her poem, she has made a world that exhibits what a non-native english speaker might go through in his/her everyday life. Some of her examples described what life would be like if one were able to speak English; asking for just wages, showing affection, speaking and joking about politics, etc. She creates a world which somewhat describes real-life experiences, which, given her background, she may be able to relate to. Tabios, who moved to the United States at the age of 10 may have experienced some of the experiences expressed in the poem. Through the way it is written, the experiences she shares, and the real life context which we all experience - the politics of language - the poem welcomes us to see a world where the politics, discrimination, and prejudice because of the English language is masked behind what we consider cultural and everyday experiences.