How To Tame A Wild Tongue By Gloria Anzaldúa

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In Gloria Anzaldúa’s chapter, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, she discusses the language and identity of people of mixed heritage especially those classified as Chicanx, Mexican Americans. Anzaldúa claims that growing up with two different sets of ethnic impositions greatly affect not only how a person communicates linguistically but also how they identify themselves. She develops this claim by first establishing that as a chicana her lingual development was always a delicate subject amongst both the anglo and latino parts of her life. The act of being pushed to assimilate into the anglo culture was no easy task that left her, as her book title states, at a type of borderland regarding both her english and spanish use. Subsequently, she examines …show more content…

She begins by recalling an instance where she was scolded for speaking spanish during recess which subsequently led to her being told since she was in America she needed to speak “American” and nothing more. Similarly, when at home she experienced her mother criticizing her ability to speak English fluently and especially without an accent. This obsession with complete assimilation into the anglo culture through the perfection of the English language not only highlights her battle with belonging but also establishes her view on how the anglo treat languages that are not their own. Anzaldúa (1987) resoundingly states that, “El Anglo con cara de inocente nos arrancó la lengua” (p. 54). Translated it accuses the anglo people of ripping out the tongue of the spanish speakers while holding the pretence of an innocent face. Growing up her interactions in school held one thing in importance, the eradication of her mother language down to the root. So great was this purpose of erasure that it was ingrained into those close to her such as her parents who felt the pressure of total assimilation. Yet, the irony of her stating such a bold accusation of the anglo people in her mother tongue cannot be lost. Her decision to expose this action of the anglo individuals in spanish instead of english foreshadows the resistant viewpoint she adopts at the end of …show more content…

The sense of alienation is something that especially stings when it is felt toward something that was once equated to a sense of home and belonging. Anzaldúa delves into the hardships that come with being forced to abandon one’s mother tongue by describing how it not only chips away at the linguistic ability of an individual but also their sense of self. She describes the internalized inadequacy many chicanas who grow up speaking Chicano Spanish feel. This feeling mastitis and they seem to avoid contact with other chicana’s in fear that they will be forced to acknowledge the deep rooted shame they hold for, in their opinion and that of others, not speaking spanish very well. All their life they were belittled for their language and as they grow and utilize a combination of both, Chicano Spanish, they continue to be devalued. The feeling of belonging wholly to one or more parts is absent leaving an ambiguous sensation towards both anglo and latinx sides especially the latinx side. While belonging is partial Anzaldúa explains that it is not complete nor a permanent feeling. Anzaldúa (1987) illustrates this by sharing that, “When watching Mexican movies, I felt a sense of homecoming as well as alienation,”(p. 60). In something that should feel natural and comfortable there underlies a feeling of dejected estrangement. In being pushed to fit the mold chicanx individuals were

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