Language is a fascinating tool that humans created as a means of communication. There are hundreds of different ones throughout the various cultures and regions around the world. Unfortunately, at the same time, language can cause separate borders between many various cultures. A great essay demonstrating this is How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldúa. Anzaldúa describes her feelings about the many cultural and social difficulties Mexican immigrants face in the United States. One brutal example is one of the author’s earlier experiences, “I [Anzaldúa] remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess-that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler. I remember being sent to the corner of the classroom for “talking back” …show more content…
Even though the essay chapter was published in 1987, it still portrays the problems very well in modern times. For the most part, when visiting any certain country, and if you want to be respected, you are expected to know the main tongue or English. Otherwise, you’ll be treated less compared to its everyday citizens. A strong and prime example of this is when Anzaldúa was violently attacked by his American teachers for speaking Spanish in the United States, a primarily English speaking country. Her teacher even said, “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong” (157). English has been made a standard necessity for society; people are expected to know it. Unfortunately, this is not the case for other languages; it only applies to English. I believe it is unethical for a foreign to have to know English but an American doesn’t need to know a foreigner 's language. Anzaldúa made a great argument, “Attacks on one’s form of expression with the intent to censor are a violation of the First Amendment” (157). Any individual shouldn’t have their form of expression disproved or attacked for any …show more content…
I was raised in a small town in the Philippines where the main language we spoke was Filipino. At the same time though, English was a requirement and taught in the educational system. It was basic things; enough to able to speak and understand other English speakers at a standard level. Over there though, no one spoke English unless the person you were talking to didn’t understand Filipino. I never fully grasped the English language until I moved to America. Even then, it took a while to lose my accent and learn the language. Speaking from experience, I can relate to the struggle the author went through. In the United States, I had to learn English to be successful and move further in life. While I still keep to my Filipino roots and traditions, I still find it unethical to have to assimilate to American culture because society told me to. However, I am still happy to be
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.
How to tame a wild tongue is an essay by Gloria Anzaldua. This essay focuses on the different types of Spanish people spoke, and in this case, Anzaldua focuses on losing an accent to adjust to the environment she was living in. The issue that was applied in this essay was that the Spanish she spoke wasn’t exactly considered “Spanish”. The essay was divided into different sections as where the author tries to let people know, her Spanish speaking language should be considered valid just like every other Spanish speaking language out there.
people should have the rights to use any words and any languages they prefer to use, which can make them more comfortable. Fairman mentions that the censorship of the offensive words which deprives the freedom of the public is totally wrong and he say “The risk of direct government censorship of the word ‘retard’ is real”(171). Freedom is the basic requirement of living and history confirms that people are willing to fight with any power for protecting their freedom. At the same time, any law in any country clearly mentions the freedom of any individual is divine and inviolable because people have fighted for achieving the freedom generation by generation. Hijuelos also thinks that freedom is pretty essential and people should have the freedom to use any language they want, and when he was young, his family actually insist using Spanish in the United State. He says that “ Spanish, rather than English, is what I heard day in and day out” (132). Although using the first language in foreign countries may cause the isolation and loneliness, the foreigners have the freedom to choose still insisting in speaking the first language to achieve the feeling of belonging and these choices should be respected.
For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America, creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy. To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions, frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, the author describes the social, cultural and linguistic difficulties encountered in America as he attempts to assimilate to the American culture. Richard Rodriguez by committing himself to speaking English, he lost his cultural ties, family background and ethnic heritage.
While reading this article, one of the most shocking sections was 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.
Although our society is slowly developing a more accepting attitude toward differences, several minority groups continue to suffer from cultural oppression. In her essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa explores the challenges encountered by these groups. She especially focuses on her people, the Chicanos, and describes the difficulties she faced because of her cultural background. She argues that for many years, the dominant American culture has silenced their language. By forcing them to speak English and attempting to get rid of their accents, the Americans have robbed the Chicanos of their identity. She also addresses the issue of low self-esteem that arises from this process of acculturation. Growing up in the United States,
The author began the story by using a metaphor, she compares the process of acculturation to a painful dentist visit where the dentist is trying to control and hold down her tongue, which is a representation of her language (Anzaldua 8). She appeals to the readers by using a clever metaphor comparing her tongue to freedom of speech or language, and the dentist to the oppressors of her culture and language the people who are apart of the dominant culture. Anzaldua also discusses how different cultures and influences determine which language people use to speak to one another. Anzaldua herself writes, “ Often with Mexicanas and Latinas we’ll speak English as a neutral language” (Anzaldua 8). Anzaldua’s point is that it is difficult to know which language to speak when feeling afraid or ashamed of what others may think. Moreover, Anzaldua discusses problems such as not being allowed to speak her native language. She writes about remembering as a child how during school speaking Spanish was forbidden and being caught speaking it would mean you would be reprimanded. Anzaldua writes “ I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess--that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler” (Anzaldua 5). In making this comment she is showing us that throughout the school day you’re
In the work of Amy Tan’s “Mother’s Tongue” she provides a look into how she adapted her language to assimilate into American culture. She made changes to her language because her mother heavily relied on her for translation. She was the voice of her mother, relaying information in standard English to those who were unable to understand her mother’s broken english. She tells about her mother’s broken english and its impact on her communication to those outside their culture. Her mothers broken english limited others’ perception of her intelligence, and even her own perception of her mother was scewed: Tan said, “I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mothers ‘limited’ English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say.” (419) The use of standard english was a critical component to Tan’s assimilation into American culture. Standard English was an element she acquired to help her mother but more importantly is was an element that helped in her gain success as a writer. Tan changed her ‘Englishes’ (family talk) to include standard English that she had learnt in school and through books, the forms of English that she did not use at home with her mother. (417-418) Tan realized the ch...
In the article, “Public and Private Language”, Richard Rodriguez argues that bilingual education delays learning a “public language” and developing a public identity”. I can relate to Richard’s story because my family and me moved to America when I was young and we also had the same struggle learning a new language. I agreed with Rodriguez when he expressed that he didn’t feel like a true American until he mastered the English language because English is the first and main language in America.
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
My parents did everything they knew to help my sister and I learn and respect our Mexican culture. Born into American culture but raised by Hispanic parents, often was difficult for me. Since I was little I had to manage and balance two very different cultures at the same time. There were many times while growing up that I encountered complex situations in regards to language, whether to speak Spanish or English and when it was appropriate. I felt a lot of pressure having to act as an interpreter for my parents when we were out in public. At home I was told to speak Spanish so I would not forget, but at school I was taught to only speak English with my teachers and friends. However, when we would go visit family in Mexico, I was expected to only speak in Spanish, since speaking in English in front of family members who only spoke Spanish was seen as disrespectful. So learning two languages has been very beneficial to my life and for my family. By
Lorna Dee Cervantes said that: “the children run to me, laughing, spinning me blind and silly. They call to me in words of another language.” (lines2-4) I can feel her loneliness through her poem. Because she doesn’t feel she is American or Mexican, even though she doesn’t know who she is. The Native Mexicans call her a prostitute because she gets the influence from America for a long time. Cervantes thinks isn’t her fault, is her ancestor’s fault because she can’t control that. So that’s why I think immigrants should keep their “old language” alive. If we learn English and don’t know our own language, we won’t be able to communicate with our cousin. Even when we came back to our home country, we can’t communicate with other people. I don’t want to feel like I am a stranger in our home.
1-The author’s struggle and disinterest to learn her native Language; “The Struggle to be an All American Girl”.
The author’s style of this essay was as formal as it can be, as he stated the importance of the English language and how the use of impropriate English is considered to be more of an insult for the native English speakers in general. The author was trying to persuade his audience by stating that English belongs to the world itself and its speaker and it is certainly doesn’t belong to anyone in particular. The author mentioned “… now that it’s global, is no longer the exclusive property of English-speaking nations”. (Page: 438, paragraph11). The author has criticized the use of the English at the Campaign in Spain that they used the sentences of the English and made it “Bad English”.
In our educational system we have students that come from all around the world, but according to figure 3.1 on page 89 throughout years the Hispanic population has increased. Because of the increase of non-english speakers in our educational system, I believe that future teachers must prepare with ideas and ways to teach these students English and make them feel welcomed. I, being bilingual could not personally explain how it was like to be ignorant of the English language because i started school at the age of four and my parents said i learned the language in three months. I believe that being bilingual is very prestigious because it is an opportunity for better understanding of the non-English speaking community and better pay. Throughout the years i have heard that knowing a second language and speaking it is considered unpatriotic. I completely disagree with this assumption because students who come from other countries will grow up like i did loving this country more than their native country because that is what the educational system teaches you. In Addition, the philosophies mentioned in the book really impacted me. I was amazed on the variety of philosophies a teacher has the ability to choose from to instruct their course. Using a variety of philosophies in a class is a great way to teach every student because it is evident that each person learns in different