Gloria Anzaldua's How To Tame A Wild Tongue

In the essay called “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” written by Gloria Anzaldua, we can see how her diction uses code-mixing. Anzaldua uses sayings in Spanish, mostly used in Latino culture, which she translates and explains in English to help the reader to understand what she is saying. But, she wants to be clear with those who do not speak Spanish. If this were something that only Chicanos would read, then there would not need to do so. She wants to communicate her struggles about being Mexican raised in the states, who is not allowed to speak their own mother tongue.
It is noticeable a clear use of figure of speech. All the Latino sayings that Anzaldua uses are a metaphor. As Latino, I can easily understand everything about them, but I can

imagine how someone who has never heard one of them would feel if you say one to them. And she uses this feeling to get her readers, she knows that this will make them feel a little concern about the meaning behind them.
Anzaldua style might seem a somehow “messy” using code-mixing, but this is an effective way to show all the words that Chicanos create and use a how they impact in their lives. Also, the correctness in Spanish is both, right and wrong. This is because most of them are part of the mixture of Spanish and English, or the so-called Spanglish. She mentions that this is the way they combined the two cultures which led them to create a new culture and language. Her diction is what make it interesting to read.
The structure of Anzaldua’s essay helps to deliver her message. She starts from the beginning, when she was a kid and her teachers and mother would tell her to speak English because she was not in Mexico. And then she explains every part of it, the music, the variations of language among her peers, and how you must talk badly about her language to hurt her.
Overall, Anzaldua style and structure in this essay creates, in my opinion, a good balance in dictation and order. Also, the sayings in Spanish gives that figure of speech which catch the attention of the reader. The way she shares her memories and the details that she uses, like her mom talking to her in both Spanish and English, help her to create an excellent premise. As Latino, the structural expectation was fulfilled as expected.