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How culture influences our life
How culture influences our life
Analysis of stories
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Gloria Anzaldua, wrote the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” communicating and describing her adolescence in a society brimming with sexism, cultural imperialism, racism, low self-esteem, and identity formation. The reason one comes to America is to finer themselves academically, and intellectually. One must learn to speak English to live among the American’s, because that is the language they speak. Though, no one has the right to deprive you of your familiar tongue. At a young age, Anzaldua was scolded, even mistreated for speaking her native “Chicano” tongue. Anzaldúa described this ignorance, cruelty, and discrimination when she states: “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess – that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler.” She overcomes this hostility throughout her life. …show more content…
Preceding her youth, in 1977, Anzaldua became a High School English teacher to Chicano students. She had requested to buy Chicano texts, but was rejected to do so. The principal of the school she worked for told her, in Anzaldua’s words: “He claimed that I was supposed to teach “American” and English literature.” She then taught the text at the risk of being fired. Anzaldua described, “Being Mexican is a state of soul – not on of mind.” All in all, the reprimanding she had to endure only made her stronger: “Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.” It led to Anzaldua embracing her Mexican culture even more, contrary to shoving it aside. Anzaldua transformed her beliefs into something both cultures can applaud, and be honored
First, Anzaldua writes about her experience as a multilingual Chicana, who faced harsh criticism from not only Anglos but also other Spanish speakers (Chicanos and non-Chicanos); an experience that
Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.
Language is a mean of communication in any given society. It represents the ability to evolve and progress through the ongoing process of living with other human beings. Many can perceive this instrument as tool of liberation and transformation but others as an instrument to enslave, manipulate or oppress a group of people. Whichever the case one need to acknowledge that it is necessary and not a waste of time the many different discussions about this ongoing topic regardless of the time period or social context any country might have. In Puerto Rico, there has been an ongoing dilemma about languages; Dr. Alicia Pousada examines on her essay what many might define “the language madness on the island”. Throughout this paper some of her most interesting ideas will be shared and discussed so that this already extended topic might find another page to take place.
As Anzaldua expresses the cultural and societal barriers of linguistic oppression, Norma E. Cantu references the essay to elaborate on the consequences of such barriers. Cantu splits her essay, “Doing Work That Matters: The Impact Of Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,” into three parts, each of which represent the redefining aspects of Anzaldua’s writing in regards to Chicano/a identity. Cantu depicts the way in which Anzaldua’s writing so distinctively represents the issue at hand. “In Borderlands/La Frontera she lays out the tenets of border theory, but it is not just an analysis and exploration of the geopolitical border where she grew up but the borders at multiple levels, class, gender and sexuality, ethnicity, nationality and even the borders we inhabit within our own contradictions.” In expressing the border beyond its true meaning Anzaldua allows for her writing to employ a deeper meaning. Cantu argues for the dynamic and radical changes that Anzaldua’s writing portrays and paradigm shift it serves to the prevalent problem among
Rosario Ferre’s poem, “Language Current,” addresses the effects of having to assimilate to another language, something that many Latinos in the United States struggle with. This poem emphasizes the fact that it is not easy to deal with one’s individual identity when being part of two or more cultures clashing at once. The majority of people whose first language is not English but that reside in America, are often subject to unfavorable consequences such as falling behind in their educational endeavors because of the lack of familiarity with the language. Living in America and speaking Spanish has led identity issues among Latino youth to surface; even though minority children “demonstrate considerable resilience, to adapt to a new lifestyle” (Sibley and Brabeck 138), there is a difference between speaking one’s birth language and having the comfort and assurance of what the words mean than having to accommodate to a language like English where “you have to know where you’re going: either towards the splitting of the self or the blasting molecules around you” (Ferre 66). Additionally, the idea that Spanish provides a deeper history to anyone who is familiar with the language, gives a sense of proudness for Latino youth. There are many authors like Ferre who find that “Spanish is a very different tongue. It’s deeper and darker, with so many twists…” a characteristic that allows Latinos to feel pleased with who they are; The Spanish language to many represents their life and when others appreciate it, it makes assimilating to a new culture a slightly less harsh struggle, since it also allows the transition into school to be much easier because when “families feel that their culture is valued and teachers reach out to them for input, they become more involved in
During the 1930s, Chicano parents, who suffered from Mexican revolution and hard labor, had hope for their America-born children to get the best education possible only to be obstructed by anti-Mexican Anglos that wanted a separate school for children of indigenous background. This issue was addressed in southern California within the Lemon Grove community. The Lemon Grove School District’s reason was that almost half of the students enrolled were Mexican descendant became a threat and claims that Chicano students were handicaps for Anglo students. A secretary of the Lemon Grove parent teacher association, Ms. Mandy claimed, “Overcrowding in the present classrooms, Mexican children are deficient in knowledge of the English Language, causing their classmates to learn at a much slower rate and a separate school would improve morals” (Espinosa)...
The switching from Spanish to English is something the Anzaldua grew up doing and she is, therefore, sharing her own personal experience with the reader. Her tone throughout the writing shows that she is passionate about not only the Chicano language but about the identity that comes with it. “Change, evolucion, enriquecimiento de palabras nuevas por invencion o adopcion have created variants of Chicano Spanish, un nuevo lenguaje. Un lenguaje que corresponde a un modo de vivir. Chicano Spanish is not incorrect, it is a living language” (Anzaldua,1987). This passion for her writing comes off as an emotional appeal to the readers, it shows Anzaldua’s true pride in her Chicano language. As the text goes on the reader may begin to realize that the Spanish texts are becoming more prominent, displaying her confidence in her Spanish language flourish. Gloria Anzaldua wrote this piece to show that peoples natives tongues are not to be ashamed of but embraced and accepted her various use of syntax and tone pull the reader’s attention to the peace and have them feel and almost experience what Anzaldua went
In the article “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” the author, Gloria Anzaldua, explores her cultural identity, as well as, explains the struggles she has faced due to her native heritage. Anzaldua is a native Chicana who believes that “Ethnic identity is a twin skin to linguistic identity” (Anzaldua 2951). She explains that there is a distinct tie between the language a person speaks and the way he/she is treated. She also explains that language is a reflection of one’s self; if one is not confident in language, then he/she cannot be confident in life. These accounts by Anzaldua show a different side of an issue many Americans are facing, yet, like the life of the author, this article seems to have no resolve.
In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Gloria Anzaldua talks about her feelings about social and cultural difficulties that Mexican immigrants face when being raised in the United States. Anzaldua was raised speaking Spanish, but had to change her language because she was living in the United States, she had to speak a public language to survive in public society. “Pocho, cultural traitor, you’re speaking the oppressor’s language by speaking English, you’re ruining the Spanish language,” (Anzaldua 35). She was confused because she couldn’t speak every English and Spanish words. When she became a teacher, she was supposed to teach “American” and English literature, but soon she got fired because she taught her students about Chicano short stories, poems, a play. People thought the language Anzaldua use, ‘Tex-Mex’ is distorted, neither Mexican or American didn’t accept that language Anzaldua use. Anzaldua had to learn the English language in order to feel comfortable in public society. The single story told about Anzaldua is that the language she speaks is considered incorrect in this society, she was forced to learn English, because English is considered the language that should be spoken in her society. She mentions that people would tell her that she was speaking incorrectly when she states “In childhood we are told that our language is wrong. Repeated attacks on our native tongue diminish our
Anzaldua was born in Texas daughter of Mexican parents. She was trapped in a culture neither English nor Spanish where she was being oppressed by both sizes. In paragraph 4 she narrates how she was punished by a teacher after telling the teacher how to pronounce her name correctly. In addition to the punishment, the teacher told her “If you want to be American speak American”. “If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong”. Extremely strong words that delivers a tense sense of racism, discrimination and oppression against Anzaldua. Words capable of destroy any ones self-esteem. Moreover in paragraph 6 she writes about a university that obligated Chicano (U.S citizen born from Mexican parents) students to take an extra speech class so they could lose their accent. This shows the huge oppression established by the majority to this specific minority. Anzaldua showing her discontent with society for obligating Chicanos to get rid of what they would call their identity. A dialect which combined English and Spanish words together (Spanglish). Jumped to the 1st amendment of the Unite State Constitution, Stating that what they doing is a violation of freedom of speech. “Oye Como Ladra; El Lenguage de la Frontera”. Is one of the few phrases she added on her essay in Spanish to make the reader somehow feel, what she is going through. This phrase means “Listen how barks; the border’s language”. A savage language is how Spanish majority considered the Spanglish Chicanos speak, a sort of language harmful to Standard Spanish. Therefore this minority couldn’t fit neither in English society nor Spanish
When women migrate from one nation or culture to another they carry their knowledge and expressions of distress with them. On settling down in the new culture, their cultural identity is most likely going to change and that encourages a degree of not belonging; they also attempt to settle down by either assimilation or biculturalism. Consider identity issues of women from the borderlands like feminist Gloria Anzaldua. Her life in the borderlands was a constant battle of discrimination from the Anglo, she was caught in a world of two cultures, various languages, and male domination, “She realized she had two options, to be the victim or to take control of her own destiny” (Borderlands). In her book, Borderlands/La Frontera, she discusses conflicts of linguistic, sexual, and ethnic identity that exists on the border of Mexico and the United States. Gloria Anzaldúa articulates in one of her chapters, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, that “ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity;” the languages she possess wield extraordinary influence over her cultural identification (Borderlands). In her book she combines both Spanish and English to emphasize the significance of the position from which she writes, yet Anzaldúa also depicts the near impossibility of reconciling the cultures her speech reflects. When she speaks English, she speaks “the oppressor’s language” (Borderlands); when she speaks Chicano Spanish, she speaks “an orphan tongue” (Borderlands). As a result, the implications of language on her identity are, at times, problematic. Since the English speakers she must accommodate deem her tongue “illegitimate,” she deems herself illegitimate (Borderlands). Her life struggles in the borderlands compelled Gloria Anzaldúa to be resilient and even hopeful. She will use her native tongue to “overcome the tradition of
In her book “Borderland/La Frontera, The New Mestiza” by Gloria Anzaldua, Gloria talks about what it means to be able to identify, culturally, one’s self. So what does it mean to be able to identify one’s self with a specific culture? What about when the culture you identify yourself with, unlike other cultures, isn’t legitimate? In her writing, Gloria expresses the struggles of Chicanos trying to find their own identity with language. By showing how she had to use several different styles of English and Spanish growing up, the rejections of both American and Mexican cultures, and by showing how the Chicano language finally came about, Gloria is able to effectively convey this point.
Anzaldua was a Mexican descent, but born and raised in Texas. I believe she included this in her essay on purpose for readers to understand that her situation was not by choice. This sense of helplessness will help gain readers’ sympathy. She was brought up in a community that speaks both English and Spanish, English while in school and Chicano while at home. However, this was scrutinized by the respective groups as they were unable to
Many people appreciate their culture in many ways, for example, Gloria Anzaldua in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, she argues that Latin Americans are forced to abandon their heritage and be submissive to white society, in order to persuade English speaking Americans to accept different social identities. Gloria Anzaldua discusses that on the border, the language is getting forgotten. Living in the lands between America and Mexico seems to be a place of confusion, of separation, of not knowing to which side you belong. “Nosotros Los Chicanos straddle the borderlands. On one side of us, we are constantly exposed to the Spanish of the Mexicans, on the other side, we the Anglo’s incessant clamoring so that we forget our language (62). Gloria clearly talks about the importance about getting accepted by who we are and not trying to be someone that society sees because of their culture. One of the example everyone one of us have a story to tell about how our culture personally affect us and how meeting people from another country made us more comfortable into accepting each culture and beliefs without judging others because of their
In the essay “Mother Tongue” Amy Tan, the author, gives a different, a more upbeat outlook on the various forms of English that immigrants speak as they adapt to the American culture. Using simple language to develop her argument, she casually communicates to the audience rather than informing which helps the audience understand what is being presented at ease. Her mother plays an important role in her outlook of language, because she helps her realize that language not only allows one to be a part of a culture but create one’s identity in society. Amy Tan shares her real life stories about cultural racism and the struggle to survive in America as an immigrant without showing any emotions, which is a wonderful epiphany for the audience in realizing