Essay How to Tame a Wild Tongue - 741 Words

Natalie Gonzalez 3/14/2007 Gloria Anzaldua, author of the article How to tame a Wild Tongue, expresses very strong views on how she feels her native Chicano Spanish language needs to be preserved in order to maintain cultural unity when used as a private form of communication. Her statement, for a people who cannot identify with either standard (formal, Castilian) Spanish, nor standard English, what recourse is left to them but to create their own language? suggests that despite the societal pressures of needing to learn more formal and ‘properly accepted English and Spanish, the very nature of the Chicano language is a unique creation of acceptance, through language within the Mexican culture. She is opposed to assimilation on†¦show more content†¦The English language is universal. It has very set rules, forms and functions. The Chicano language at best represents a personal story, a private communication that is not understandable or even acceptable by non-chicanos. By contrast, Richard Rodriquez, in his article entitled Aria, strongly believes in surrendering to learning the proper English language, despite how strongly he feels his native tongue is a private language that once functioned to unite his family. Rodriguez creates a division of a public and a private discourse. He feels that he has a ‘right to learn the public language of los gringos. He creates a visual clash of two worlds: a public world as represented by school and the need to learn English; and a private world as represented by his family and the use of Spanish within the home. He feels that in order to adapt and create assimilation that he needs to abandon the comfort of using Spanish to communicate and force himself to learn English Ââ€" even if it meant alienating his family members. He does not believe as Anzaluda does that you have to create your own language if you cannot identify with more formal forms of acceptance. Although he admits it is heartbreaking to have shared fewer words with his parents because of the language barrier, he thinks his choice in learning and practicing English was necessary. In fact, the more he learnedShow MoreRelatedHow to Tame a Wild Tongue1952 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"My Perspective of a Wild Tongue† â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue†, by Gloria Anzaldua, is a very expressive story about a Mexican American women’s struggle to preserve her culture. Her main fight revolves around a struggle to keep a form of Spanish, called â€Å"Chicano Spanish†, a live. In the short story she says, for a people who cannot entirely identify with either standard (formal, Castilian) Spanish, or standard English, what recourse is left to them but to create their own language?(pageRead MoreAnalysis Of How Of Tame A Wild Tongue 1507 Words   |  7 PagesGloria Anzaldà ºa article â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue,† she shows us how different worlds so close can be so different. Anzaldà ºa shows that people have restricted freedom in society by the social norms set in them. Anzaldà ºa pressed her awareness and distraught on how people treat her depending on the type of language she uses. She also explains some of her emotions towards the way people are like with speak ing and listening to accents. The article is how Anzaldà ºa explains how culture and accent shapesRead MoreAnalysis Of How To Tame A Wild Tongue1713 Words   |  7 Pages In â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue† by Gloria Anzaldua, she speaks from personal experiences she grows up with while living as a Chicana in the United States. Throughout her life she was subjected to being oppressed because of her native language. From a very young age she felt as if she was not allowed to express and acknowledge herself while speaking Spanish. Anzaldua believes that â€Å"If you want to really hurt me, talk bad about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity – I amRead MoreHow To Tame A Wild Tongue Summary999 Words   |  4 Pagesyou†, although thats a great start. It is about learning to truly appreciate one’s culture and personal differences including language and heritage. Gloria Anzaldà ºa gives us a look inside how latino men and women are treated in her book, â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue†. Within the first page of â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue, we see a first hand account of the hate toward latino people. Teachers tried to take away her language and her culture even while she was just a child. Gloria gives us this illustrationRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem How Of Tame A Wild Tongue 1460 Words   |  6 PagesThe essay, â€Å"How to tame a wild tongue† written by Gloria Anzaldua is a staggering piece on important social issues such as racism, cultural differences, individuation, and domination. Anzaldua believes that her language is yet the most central and important component for her ethnic identity as a person. If her language is threatened, then her individuality is threatened. She basically responds to the violence she experienced as her character was restricted in this dominating society that she wasRead MoreGloria Anzalduas How To Tame A Wild Tongue1020 Words   |  5 Pages(Marilyn vos Savant). Within the short text â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue,â €  this idea is explored in numerous ways as the various groups of people attempt to gain more rights within their community and society as a whole. They come to the realization that the ways in which they are treated is in an unjust manner. Others treated them as if they are insignificant and powerless. Therefore, in Gloria Anzaldua’s â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue,† she confronts how many Hispanic minorities, especially women, areRead MoreGloria Anzalduas How To Tame A Wild Tongue1895 Words   |  8 Pagescom). This could refer to name, gender, sexual orientation, one’s profession, race, ethnicity, and the list stretches beyond. Is it birth, by choice, or by evolution of events? In Gloria Anzaldua’s â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue†, Jhumpa Lahiri’s â€Å"Teach Yourself Italian†, and Zadie Smith’s â€Å"Speaking in Tongues†, each author writes about their experiences with languages and all have lived through diffe rent events which has led them to their definitions of identity. What they all have in common is that theyRead MoreReview of Entering Into the Serpent and How to Tame a Wild Tongue669 Words   |  3 PagesGloria Anzaldua wrote two essays Entering into the Serpent and How to Tame a Wild Tongue. It is difficult for me to understand because both of these two essays are in English and Spanish. I think it is the author’s purpose that let people know how difficult it is to suffer from different cultures and languages. Anzaldua mainly talks about the differences in cultures and languages to show how she fights against people’s common sense of American culture. First, she talks about many stories about SpanishRead MoreAnalysis Of How To Tame A Wild Tongue By Taloria Anzaldà ºa987 Words   |  4 Pagesto let it tear you down? Within the short text â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue,† this idea is explored in numerous ways as the various groups of Hispanics and women attempt to gain more rights within their community and society as a whole. They come to the realization that the ways in which they are treated is in an unjust manner, making them feel insignificant and powerless. Therefore, in Gloria Anzaldà ºa’s â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue,† she confronts how many Hispanic minorities, especially women, areRead MoreComparing Amy Tans Mother Tongue and Gloria Anzulduas How To Tame A Wild Tongue733 Words   |  2 Pagesexpected of them. Many times, in America, people look down on people who do not accept the American Way of Life. The struggle of fitting in and accepting the cultural background is a major point in both ess ays, _Mother Tongue_ by Amy Tan and _How to Tame a Wild Tongue_ by Gloria AnzaldÏ a, which the authors argue similarly about. Both essays can be related to my life as I experience them in my life at home and at school. High school also has an unparalleled reputation of students trying to fit in with