How did Polly learn English?
Because Polly was from northern China, she spoke one dialect of Chinese. Her language was either Mandarin Chinese or an ethnic minority language. Most Chinese immigrants came to America from southern China. They spoke Cantonese or some version of it. Therefore, Polly and the other immigrants could not understand each other because their Chinese pronunciation was too different. Polly had many Caucasian friends, and learned English by talking with them.
