Gloria Anzaldua's How To Tame A Wild Tongue

476 Words1 Page

In “How to Tame a wild Tongue” Gloria Anzaldua shares her experiences as a Chicana living in the US and how her society views her Chicano- Spanish language. The author employs dictions from her native language in the story to explain her pride and acceptance of her “Wild Tongue” and allusions from quotes to elaborate her struggles.Language is among the characteristics that makes an individual unique. I am often amazed when I encounter people who possess the abilities to speak other languages. Being a bilingual individual myself I cherish the languages that I speak it is what defines my individual character and creates a sense of uniqueness for myself. All cultures should be embraced and not seen as less valuable nor should an individual be oppressed in a disadvantage on the bases on their cultural differences. …show more content…

Violent in the sense that one cannot fully express themselves in the cultures they identify with in society without the opposition promoting forceful adaptation of English. Both the American Society and the Mexican Society in her story wish for her to speak both English and Castilian properly. Anzaldua disregards her society’s expectations and found comfort speaking “Chicano Spanish” a language that adapts both American and Mexican cultures.Speaking English in our society today helps create countless opportunities and financial stability. With a positive societal view of the value behind the English language devalues a person’s native

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Se Habla Español

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Se Habla Español,” the author, Tanya, talks about her personal experience with dealing with language issues. Tanya was born in Guatemala and moved to the U.S when she was only three years old. Tanya’s mother did not want her to speak Spanish, because they believed that when they moved to the U.S speaking only English would help her blend in. For so long Tanya believed that speaking Spanish went hand in hand with being poor and speaking only English made her feel superior. After many years she has tried to learn Spanish but has found it quite difficult because although that is her native language it was like trying to learning a whole new language for her. In “Mother Tongue,” Amy’s explains how she has come to the realization that she speaks more than one “English,” meaning that the way she speaks in front of a crowd is different than the way she speaks with her mother. The way Amy speaks with her mother is still English although it is not proper. Amy expresses how she does not really like the phrase “broken English,” because if something is broken it needs to be fixed and she does not feel that her mother’s English needs to be

    Read More

  • How To Tame A Wild Tongue Summary

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    While Anzaldúa makes great points about the struggles of a Chicana women in America, her arguments imply that Mexican people are the only people that have to adapt to American culture. While Mexican people should feel free to express their cultures freely, language is a much more complex issue; it is not simply solved by not accommodating to English speakers. English speakers must strive to embrace other cultures and languages, and understand that they do not necessarily have to speak that language to accept

    Read More

  • Analysis Of White Privilege The Invisible Knapsack

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    America is a presumptuous country; its citizens don’t feel like learning any other language, so they make everyone else learn English. White Americans are the average human being and act as the standard of living, acting, and nearly all aspects of life. In her essay “White Privilege: The Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh talks about how being white has never been discussed as a race/culture before because that identity has been pushed on everyone else, and being white subsequently carries its own set of advantages. Gloria Anzaldua is a Chicana, a person of mixed identities. In an excerpt titled “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” she discusses how the languages she speaks identify who she is in certain situations and how, throughout her life, she has been pushed to speak and act more “American” like.

    Read More

  • Richard Rodriguez Private Language Public Language

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rodriguez highlights comfortable, soothing, and intimate sounds of his family language by saying, “Spanish seemed to me the language of home. It became the language of joyful return. A family member would say something to me and I would feel myself specially recognized. My parents would say something to me and I would feel embraced by the sounds of their words. Those sounds said: I am speaking with ease in Spanish. I am addressing you in words I never use with los gringos. I recognize you as someone special, close, like no one outside. You belong with us. In the family”. The private language is like an intimate secret code among the family. Despite the struggle with their family languages, the author understands that the private language being spoken has been a large part of their lives and has helped shaped their view of the

    Read More

  • Gloria Anzaldua How To Tame A Wild Tongue Summary

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the expert “How to tame a wild tongue” from Gloria Anzaldua’s book Borderlands/La Frontera, Anzaldua emphasizes the interrelation of language with social and personal identity. In the text, Anzaldua relays her experiences of racial and cultural barriers embodied throughout language, both of which have led to a degraded version of her ultimate sense of self and personal identity. The underlying message is portrayed in one way with the use of intricate rhetoric, in which Anzaldua makes use of the inclusion of particular phrases in “Chicano Spanish” to bring insight into the dynamic of the linguistics system. She also includes first hand experiences to provide vivid descriptions and realistic accounts of how she has experienced a curtailed sense of self. Lastly, Anzaldua employs an emphasis to the overall message through the use of a profoundly distinct yet personal tone, which contributes to the depiction of societal turmoil.

    Read More

  • Gloria Anzaldua's How To Tame A Wild Tongue

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of How To Tame A Wild Tongue

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the essay, Anzaldúa recounts a time when she was at the dentist. He told her, “We’re going to have to control your tongue” (33). Although he was referring to her physical tongue, Anzaldúa uses this example as a metaphor for language. The dentist, who is trying to cap her tooth, symbolizes the U.S. who is similarly seeking to restrict the rights of minority groups. Nevertheless, the tongue is preventing the dentist from doing his job. Likewise, there are several minority groups who refuse to abide to the laws of dominant cultures and are fighting back. Anzaldúa also touches on a personal story that happened at school. When she was younger, she was sent to the corner because apparently, she spoke back to her Anglo teacher. The author argues that she was unfairly scolded because she was only telling her teacher how to pronounce her name. Her teacher warned her, “If you want to be American, speak American. If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” This short story provides an understanding of what Anzaldúa’s life was like. It demonstrates how even at a young age, she was continually pressured because of where comes

    Read More

  • The Mother Tongue by Demetria Martinez

    2546 Words  | 6 Pages

    Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.

    Read More

  • Taming Anzaldua’s Contact Zone Analysis

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...

    Read More

  • Gloria Anzaldua's Borders/La Frontera

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Chicanos, after 250 years of Spanish/Anglo colonization, have developed significant differences in the Spanish we speak” (1025). Spanish has been around for many years but Anzaldua writes that there are essentially eight languages in the Chicano culture. She names standard English, working class English, standard Spanish, standard Mexican Spanish, North Mexican Spanish, Chicano Spanish, Tex-Mex, and Pachuco. Depending on which one someone is speaking, another Chicano can almost identify where they are from. There are little differences and significant ones one can use in their language that will self-identify them. For example, “We collapse two adjacent vowels into a single syllable and sometimes shift the stress in certain words such as maiz/maiz, cohete/ cuete” (1025). This is one distinct thing one can notice when they are speaking the Spanish language. Another thing Chicanos commonly do as well is they “shift // to y and z to s. We leave out initial syllables, saying tar for estar, toy for estoy, hora for ahora {cubanos and puertor-riquenos also leave out initial letters of some words)” (1026). These small qualities distinct someone and shows how language could affect our identity

    Read More

  • Mother Tongue And How To Tame A Wild Tongue

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Anzaldua, “ Chicano Spanish is considered by the purist and by most Latinos deficient, a mutilation of Spanish”(Anzaldua 32). The Chicano Spanish versus Spanish conflict that occurs in Latino society is a prime example of people considering themselves to be right in a situation where there is not a right answer. The Latino’s who speak Spanish that they believe to be normal are disturbed by the Spanish language changing. They believe that their own views are being challenged, they believe that they are correct, and they believe that anyone who challenges their views is inferior. The people who view all other views are, in reality, just trying to make themselves look more powerful. Like in Tan’s essay, people demeaned others in order to promote their own views, therefore, gaining power over the others who they demeaned. According to Tan, “ She said they would not give her any more information(...) And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect english-- lo and behold-- we had assurances the CAT scan would be found”(Tan 2). The doctors treated Tan’s mother differently due to her use of what they considered “broken language”, leading to her being treated inadequately. People have an image of what they consider to be the right English, anyone who does not speak the right English is usually considered to be uneducated. In both Tan’s and Anzaldua’s essays, the lack of open-mindedness is one of the reasons that people want to become more powerful than others. People fail to realize that what they believe in is not always the right answer, like with stereotypes, the people are trying to gain power over others in order to make themselves seem more

    Read More

  • Passing for English Fluent: Latino Immigrant Children Masking Language Proficiency

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    While reading this article one of the most shocking sections were when the students were talking to Monzó and sharing their outlook on their place and their language’s place in society. These students even at this early age are feeling how devalued their first language has been. They feel like they have to speak the right* English, only use English in public places, never their first language, and that they must assimilate to the American culture as much as possible. This reminded me of a chapter in Lippi-Green (2012)’s text. Within this chapter Lippi-Green (2012) discusses how in the United States Spanish speakers are not only expected to learn English but they are expected to learn and utilize the right* English determined by the majority and assimilate entirely to American culture. Throughout Monzó and Rueda (2009)’s text the children in conversations expressed their observation of the social order in relation to language and race. This was surprising to me since they are only in 5th grade. During a conversation with one of the children Monzó and Rueda (2009) recorded an alarming statement, “He said that his mother could not be considered American because she did not...

    Read More

  • What's Linguistic Reappropriation

    1751 Words  | 4 Pages

    Schwartz, A. (2008). Their language, our Spanish: Introducing public discourses of ‘Gringoism’ as racializing linguistic and cultural reappropriation. Spanish In Context, 5(2), 224-245. Retrieved from

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Gloria Anzaldua's Borderlands/La Frontera

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    The contrast between the Mexican world versus the Anglo world has led Anzaldua to a new form of self and consciousness in which she calls the “New Mestiza” (one that recognizes and understands her duality of race). Anzaldua lives in a constant place of duality where she is on the opposite end of a border that is home to those that are considered “the queer, the troublesome, the mongrel and the mulato” (25). It is the inevitable and grueling clash of two very distinct cultures that produces the fear of the “unknown”; ultimately resulting in alienation and social hierarchy. Anzaldua, as an undocumented woman, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Not only is she a woman that is openly queer, she is also carrying the burden of being “undocumented”. Women of the borderlands are forced to carry two degrading labels: their gender that makes them seem nothing more than a body and their “legal” status in this world. Many of these women only have two options due to their lack of English speaking abilities: either leave their homeland – or submit themselves to the constant objectification and oppression. According to Anzaldua, Mestizo culture was created by men because many of its traditions encourage women to become “subservient to males” (39). Although Coatlicue is a powerful Aztec figure, in a male-dominated society, she was still seen

    Read More

  • How Does Language Shape The Way We Think

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...xpressing her Chinese culture. Mastering a second language allows her to articulate her and her mother’s thoughts; it is a foundation for her pride and a foundation to express herself. For Gloria Anzaldua, instead of choosing one language over the other, she chose a mix of the two and fights for it. She realized the value of her language when she lost it and now treasures it. The kind of Spanish she speaks is neither English nor Spanish, but both. It is overflowing with culture from Medieval Spain, France, Germany, etc., just from the origins of the words. It is her pride and a representation of herself, fighting and living. In conclusion, in addition to Lera Boroditsky’s article proving that the structure of language affects how we think, the articles by Eric Liu, Amy Tan, and Gloria Anzaldua show how language is a foundation for a person’s culture, pride, and self.

    Read More

More about Gloria Anzaldua's How To Tame A Wild Tongue

Open Document