Analysis Of How To Tame A Wild Tongue By Gloria Anzald�a

Losing a culture can happen within a family based off of where an individual was raised. Both of my parents were born and raised in Mexico; their Mexican parents taught them the culture and their native tongue. Although I was raised in the United States, my parents always taught me to embrace my culture and to no be ashamed of my native tongue. Having two Mexican parents helped me distinguish my Mexican culture from the American culture. However, my mother’s youngest sister was raised in the United States. Her Mexican parents raised her, but assimilation made a shift in her cultural views. She did not embrace her Mexican culture as her older siblings did; this also impacted her children. My cousins do not speak any Spanish because they do not

know the language, and they do not know much about their native culture. This causes them to isolate themselves from the family because they cannot speak to other elder family members who only speak Spanish. Their parents always spoke English because that was what everyone else spoke. This divided my cousins from my family because they felt superior since they were more Americanized than us. The culture was lost from one generation to the next because assimilation altered the way my aunt saw her natural born culture.
In the United States people of color are pressured to assimilate in order to be recognized by Americans.

They are forced to forget their language in order to speak English and conform to society’s ideas. Assimilation is when people are forced to adapt and adjust to culture’s beliefs and views while they diminish their own culture. In her essay, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” Gloria Anzaldúa, she discusses the issues of assimilation in the United States for Chicanos, a Latino born or raised in the United States who believes they cannot be characterized as Latino or American. Anzaldúa explains that since Chicanos are in the United States they should only speak English. She also brings up that in order to combat assimilation Chicanos in the United States developed their own language because they can no longer be Latino or American. But Chicanos are taught by other Spanish speaker, native Latinos, that their language is improper and poor Spanish. The Chicano language is a language Chicanos created which includes terms that are considered slang in Spanish while they incorporate English terms. Chicanos and Latinos are taught to silence their culture and their tongue to fit into society. However, she goes on to justify that their Chicano language is a part of them and their culture and without it they do not have an identity. People of color are often stereotyped because of their cultural background or the way they speak which leads an individual to be ashamed of who they are and where they come from; they are forced to assimilate into the American society which results in the loss of their culture as well as their

identity.
Chicanos who were raised in the United States were forced to speak English; if they were caught speaking Spanish in school they would be punished. Anzaldúa uses herself as an example of the punishment of speaking Spanish. However, she uses it to get the bigger image across that Spanish is not a language widely excepted in the United States. Chicano parents even encouraged children to speak proper English without an accent because that was the only way they would prosper in the United States. However, Anzaldúa states, “’Pocho, cultural traitor, you’re speaking the oppressor’s language by speaking English, you’re ruining the Spanish language’ . . . (Chicano Spanish is considered by the purist and by most Latinos deficient, a mutilation of Spanish.)” (Anzaldúa 55). Some Americans criticize Chicanos because they cannot speak proper English, but Latinos across the border also describe them as traitors because they have altered the Spanish language and incorporated the English language. Chicanos can longer describe themselves as Latinos because they were not raised in their native country, Mexico and other Central America countries, but they cannot identify themselves as American either because they are not white. Since they were stereotyped for not speaking proper English or Spanish, it led them to create their own language and culture. This idea of creating their own language helps them identify themselves as their own; it allows them distinguish themselves from the pure Latinos and Americans. The importance of creating their own identification is it separates them from groups who oppress them because of the way they speak or who they are. This encourages Chicanos to take pride in who they are because they found themselves within a language. This language then created a new culture because they blend together their English and Spanish. However, the Chicano language is stereotyped and considered a disgrace to the pure Spanish speakers.
Chicanos are seen as outsiders because they do not have a distinct identity; people do not view them as Latino or American causing them to believe they are not worthy of being classified as either Latino or American. The Chicano community can be viewed as the coming together of two worlds, like during the colonization era. However, the hegemonic power of the United States caused them to incorporate the American culture more into their lives which led to them slowly forgetting their own culture. It is important to remember one’s culture because it creates diversity, and it allows others to grow and learn from different cultures. Anzaldúa points out, “Chicanos who grew up speaking Chicano Spanish have internalized the belief that we speak poor Spanish . . . And because we internalize how our language has been used against us by the dominant culture we use our language differences against each other” (Anzaldúa 58). Chicanos are taught their language is not formal or is slang; this equates to other minority groups speaking “ghetto”. Their own language combats the expectations society has for them while it demonstrates that they will not conform to social norms. They feel uneducated and ashamed of the way they speak. This not only creates a separation between the Chicanos and Americans but between Latinos themselves. Latinos turn against each other because one may speak proper Spanish while the other speaks Chicano; Spanish speaking Latinos see the Chicanos inferior to them because they do not speak proper and are not educated. This is problematic because instead of standing together they are against each other. This also applies to other minority groups because if they speak “ghetto” then others assume they do not go to school to learn proper English. Ghetto is improper English that includes slang and other terms not commonly used in the English language. This also creates the issue of dehumanizing individuals because of the way they speak or look. People of color suffer from white supremacy because they are looked upon as less no matter how hard they attempt to fit into society. Although these individuals attempt to assimilate into American society, they will always be seen as inferior because their English is not good enough or they are not white enough.
In Tomas F. Sandoval, Jr’s chapter, “On the Merits of Racial Identity” he discusses his experience as a Mexican at Claremont McKenna college, a predominately white University. He explains that there is a notion that people conform to a cultural ideal. He goes on to discuss that one’s culture and race is what defines their identity. He explains, “. . . I sought to lead them through my own intellectual journey by: complicating the meaning of ‘Chicano’; suggesting we shouldn’t have to conform to society’s ideas about who we are, or the ones imposed upon us by our own communities; and emphasizing the formation of a multiracial, inclusive movement rather than a narrow, nationalistic one” (Sandoval 160). Sandoval works to educate his students about the history of Chicanos with this he plans to show that individuals do not need to conform to society to fit in. Not only is there expectations from the dominant culture also within an individual’s own community. He also states that the United States needs to be multiracial rather than nationalistic because it creates more diversity. This is important because the United States is supposed to be all inclusive, but we have many separations based on race and culture. Similar to Anzaldúa, Sandoval plans to educate the populations about the Chicano community in order to fight against assimilation. It is important to except who one is rather than attempting to change because of what society expects of one.
Assimilation destroys cultures and makes people of color feel forced to develop and adapt in a new culture. People of color become ashamed of who they are and where they came from. Their only goal becomes to fit in and learn the ways of the Americans. They believe and they are taught that the only way to get ahead in the United States is to forget their culture and their native tongue and learn English without an accent. However, Anzaldúa asserts:
Until I can pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself. Until I can accept as legitimate Chicano Texas Spanish, Tex-Mex and all other languages I speak, I cannot accept the legitimacy of myself. Until I am free to write bilingually and to switch codes without always to translate, while I still have to speak English or Spanish when I would rather speak Spanglish, and as long as I have to accommodate English speakers rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate. (Anzaldúa 59)
Anzaldúa is stating that she will no longer be a victim of assimilation. Although it will not always be easy, she will take pride in who she is and embrace the culture she has come from. Like Sandoval stated Chicanos and all people of color must accept their identity and accept who they are. Assimilation not only destroys an entire culture, but it also destroys who an individual is. An individual’s identity is their native language as well as their culture; without either of them they are lost about who they are. Anzaldúa is stating that she cannot take pride in her language or herself until her tongue becomes legitimate; she wants her language to be accepted and embraced She claims she always has to accommodate white people because she has to speak their language and forget her culture in order to live in their country. However, many Americans do not acknowledge that being a part of two culture and languages can have positive outcomes. Few people in the United States do not attempt to learn the language of Latinos and other minority groups. The knowledge of other cultures helps become aware of situations outside of one’s personal life. It also enables people to better understand other’s backgrounds; this could possibly end cultural stereotypes. But compromise between two cultures is not made when the inferior population is required to conform. People of color become new individuals once they diminish their culture and ignore their tongue.
Is assimilation really best for a country? In the United States the idea of assimilation is believed to help people of color adapt to society and help them become involved in their communities. But is adapting to a society worth destroying a culture and one’s identity? The Chicano community made a statement when they created their own language. They did not completely conform to the American culture; they also did not keep their own culture. They decided to create their own identity and said this is who I am. The United States is known as a melting pot because there are many cultures intertwined within a country. However, these cultures become one when people of color are forced to assimilate into the American culture. My family suffered the consequences of assimilation because my aunt thought completely conforming to the dominant culture would result in a better lifestyle. However, she silenced her native culture in order to become what society wanted of her. Diversity is what helps a nation thrive and become innovated from different ideas and beliefs. Assimilation does not better a nation; it destroys diversity and creates a society where individuals are outsiders looking in.