Wednesday, February 5, 2014
How to Tame a Wild Tongue- Anzaldua
Throughout the reading Anzaldua mixes in the Spanish language. Many others do this to help one understand the speaker's point of view. How does Anzaldua mixing in the Spanish language with English effect you as the reader? Do you think it helps you get a clearer understanding of the speaker, or does it make the reading more confusing and difficult to understand?
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In my opinion, by Anzaldua incorporating this mix of Spanish and English it has truly allowed me to see her point of view but it also is a mirror image of the language that she speaks; Chicana. Subsequently, this reading was surprising to me, because often times in the past when I have read literature from Mexican authors, it has always been strictly in English. Therefore, I found it extremely interesting to see that mix of the two languages in the reading. Truly a pure demonstration of this constant conflict between having to choose between languages. Furthermore, I personally feel a deeper connection with this reading because I remember a time in my life, when I was in the same situation. However, unlike Anzaldua I gave up part of my identity, out of shame. Wanting to speak properly, in order to be treated differently. Thus, not only was I able to relate to this story, but it just made it that much easier for me to understand.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who speaks English and doesn't understand any Spanish, if I couldn't recognize any familiar words or didn't see a translation, I just moved on to the next part that was in English. Unfortunately, when the author doesn't translate she ends up losing me for a line or two, but at the same time it is a different way for her to make me see how important her heritage/culture really is to her. Instead of continually stating how important it is, she shows it.
ReplyDeleteThrough Anzaldua's use of "spanglish" type language, in my opinion she made the text more relatable. Even though i only speak english, in my family there is a mix of english and italian being spoken at all times. Even when i cant understand it, it makes things more exciting and leaves things up for interpretation. This to me is extremely relatable and almost comical. I on the other hand do see how this can make the reading more confusing and cause people to drift in and out of different sentences.
ReplyDelete"How to tame a wild tongue" by Anzaldua the author uses Spanish/English in her literature. When she mixes the Spanish and English I feel a bit left out only because I speak no Spanish But i feel it sorta magnifies her writing to the purest form. Literature that can incorporate multiple languages sorta gives you a sense of their writing style since it isn't in pure english. Although Anzaldua can speak perfect English she chooses not to which is think is very unique. Reading this piece I can sorta relate to this as my parents speak very broken English and I would respond back in the same broken English where as IN school I choose to speak in "perfect English.
ReplyDeleteAnzaldua's creative idea of mixing Spanish with English is effective in conveying her standpoint. It gives a better understanding because you feel the way she felt when reading English as a Spanish speaking student. The main effect this mix has on me is that I feel the force she felt when her teachers refused to let her speak/read in her language.
ReplyDeleteI think it was smart for Anzaldua to use both Spanish and English in her writing. It creates a sense of familiarity between her readers and her. It does give me a clearer aspect of the writer. I get where she is coming from. It is also an effective way of complementing her writing. She writes about how in school she had to take speech classes to correct her accent. But then soon after she refers to the constitutional amendments in Spanish...I thought this was clever.
ReplyDeleteThe spanish and english back and forth was kind of difficult for me to keep up with. Sometimes she would explain what she said other times she would not which was confusing. I loved her theme and the use of spanish helped me see her point of view. Ethnic writing is tricky in the sense that you have to introduce your culture to someone who may or may not be familiar with it. Do i think she did the best job possible with this? Not really.
ReplyDeleteAnzalduas writing using both languages was really creative to the story. It was also very ironic to the title as well. I feel like it made a better feel for the readers and it brought a very good connection with the people as well. When she used spanish you see how she uses her real point of view and you see how she starts talking about herself and makes a big connection with her culture. But the only part where i differ a bit is i feel like the whole english with the spanish could also be a bit confusing for some readers.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel that the way the story was written adds to how the reader interprets the story. i really enjoyed it but maybe more then others because i was able to understand it because of my background. It was very interesting to me because i was able to relate to the story
ReplyDeleteI think that Anzaldua incorporating both English and Spanish appeals to readers who speak both languages. It unifies people together in a way also because it shows that no matter what language we speak we are all the same. For me personally, it was actually confusing because I don't speak spanish. When she didn't explain what the spanish meant it got me really confused. Since I'm not a spanish speaking person I think she confuses some people in that way.
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