User:Evarney22/The Reflection of How to Tame a Wild Tongue

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How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua discusses the issues of her cultural identity within the Spanish language. Anzaldua was born on the border of Texas and Mexico where she learned Chicano Spanish while growing up. Before I read this essay, I never knew how much of a problem there was between the Spanish cultures. There are many different Spanish cultural beliefs and types of the Spanish language that are used, and some are frowned. One of the Spanish language versions that are frowned upon is Chicano-Spanish. Chicano-Spanish is used by many in the Midwestern part of the United States, such as Texas and Mexico. Chicano-Spanish is part of Anzaldua’s identity which is being compromised by her society.

Anzaldua has a strong passion of finding her identity in her language of Chicano-Spanish which is not accepted by the Spanish society. Anzaldua believes that Chicano Spanish should be accepted as a type of respectable Spanish language. Chicano-Spanish is still frowned in the Spanish and American societies. “As a mixture of cultures from both countries, being Chicano represents the struggle of being accepted into the Anglo-dominated society of the United States while maintaining the cultural sense developed as a Latino child” (Wikipedia). Anazldua’s ethnic identity is a major part of her identity, and it is hard to have an identity that is not accepted in society. For many people in the world, I learned that their ethnicities are a major part of their identity. An example of that are people of the Hispanic ethnicity. The Hispanic culture is so tightly intertwined with the society of its people which is shown through the way they dress, act, talk, and the way they lead their lives. Since I am an American girl with brown eyes, brown hair, and a distinct Boston accent, I never experienced this identity crisis relating to my ethnicity and I did not know it was a major problem for others. Anzaldua is striving to figure out who she is as a Chicano American and she wants to have her ethnicity be something she can proudly display. “Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity- I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself. Until I can accept as legitimate Chicano Texas Spanish, Tex-Mex, and all the other language I speak, I cannot accept the legitimacy of myself” (pg 170). As Anzaldua describes her ethnic identity, she is relating to Chicano’s or anyone who is struggling to figure out who they are. With the hardships Anazldua describes, people can relate to that feeling and find comfort. Anzaldua’s main goal of this essay was to give Chicano’s or any reader the sense of hope and acceptance in themselves. The Chicano ethnicity has not been recognized as a type of group or even appreciated in society in either Spanish speaking countries or America. “Chicano Spanish sprang out of the Chicanos’ need to identify ourselves as a distinct people” (pg 170). Anzaldua describes this search for her identity so the reader believes what she is writing, which gives her credibility. When one reads this essay, they could possibly start to recognize the indifferences between cultures and how the American culture they live in is judgmental as well. If I was to never read this essay, I would have never realized the types of injustices that exist in different cultures. Those injustices are discrimination and ridicule for merely language or ethnicity. I always thought different cultures were more accepting than American culture, but reading this story I learned that that is untrue. Throughout my life, the American culture has been very judgmental and prejudice towards anything “not normal” in our society. From Anzaldua, I learned that Spanish culture is similar. The Spanish culture will not accept Chicano Spanish as a branch of Spanish and rejects anyone who speaks the language, which I did not know another country would do. Chicanos who live with this feeling of abandonment from their culture can relate to Anzaldua’s writing. Spanish speakers and the Spanish-Latino-Chicano readers are the supporters and driving force behind the movement to become accepted. The readers could relate to the shame felt by Anzaldua in her life in order to support her feelings. “To be close to another Chicana is like looking in the mirror. We are afraid of what we’ll see there. Pena. Shame. Low estimation of self. In childhood we are told that our language is wrong. Repeated attacks on our native tongue diminish our sense of self. The attacks continue through our lives” (Pg 169). Chicana women have this feeling of disgust when they are close to other Chicanas’ because they see themselves in them, and society says that they do not belong.

I did not know societies could make their people feel so terrible about themselves and make them feel unworthy just on the matter of what language they speak. Anazldua structures her essay to express the difficulty Chicano Americans go through to belong. “For a people who are neither Spanish nor live in a country in which Spanish is the first language; for a people who live in a country in which English is the reigning tongue but who are not Anglo; 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?” (Pg.166). Chicanos or people who feel like they do not belong can relate to the feeling of loneliness and the feeling loss which Anzaldua experienced. The pain that many feel is because they are subjected to prejudice from cultures which is repeatedly entangled through this essay. One would never know how much Chicanos have to go through unless they read this essay and read it first hand. The author could have used more examples from her life to “exaggerate” or explain the experiences more. Anzaldua should have used more of her stories of discrimination or events that helped develop her identity as a Chicano to help the reader understand more if they have never experience discrimination.

The major topic of Anzaldua’s essay I believe is the issues within the Spanish language. The issues of Chicano Spanish include the differences between the Chicano language to the Spanish language and how the Chicano language is viewed as invalid. Many Americans do not accept the Chicano-Spanish or the Spanish language in the country and this is an issue to many Spanish speakers. “By the end of this century, Spanish speakers will comprise the biggest minority group in the United States, a country where students in high schools and colleges are encouraged to take French classes because French is considered to be more “cultured”. But for a language to remain alive, it must be used. By the end of this century English, and not Spanish, will be the mother tongue of most Chicanos and Latinos” (Pg. 169). This shows the reader that Americans’ do not respect or even accept Spanish as language in the United States. The Spanish language is not American so Americans do not accept it. Americans and the Hispanic culture have frowned upon the Chicano-Spanish language. Chicanos were made to believe that their language was wrong causing the need to change. “Chicanas who grew up speaking Chicano Spanish have internalized the belief that we speak poor Spanish. It is illegitimate, a bastard language” (Pg. 169). Anzaldua believes Chicano’s were brought up thinking their language was wrong and soon their ethnicity became their identity which meant their identity was wrong. The Spanish community does not consider the Chicano language valid and this enforces the issue of identity in Chicanos. “Chicano Spanish is considered by the purist and by most Latinos deficient, a mutilation of Spanish” (Pg 166). The Spanish culture believes Chicano Spanish should not be used and this creates many people to have a closed mind.

The impact this essay had on my opinions of the Spanish language is that the Spanish language is like the English language, it is hard to be an individual and the country is stubborn to keep old traditions. The Spanish language has many different variations from Standard Spanish to Tex-Mex. The Spanish language will remain to have the same variations with no exceptions. This will be evident even though people who act differently will get shunned because Spanish Culture has deep roots to old traditions. I used to believe that Spanish was only one version and was accepted in all Spanish speaking countries. When reading this article I learned that is not the case and the Spanish community is not what it is viewed to be.--Evarney22 19:55, 28 November 2006 (EST)

Works Cited: Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue. New York: Aunt Lute Books, 1999. Wikipedia Chicano. Online. 27 Nov 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicano>.