Wednesday, February 5, 2014
How to Tame a Wild Tongue
How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Anzaldua talks mainly about identity of a Mexican American girl growing up in North America. She discusses that the language she and the people in her community speak is heavily judged upon. At school kids were always told to speak English because this is America, and on the other hand she was being called a "cultural traitor" by people of her culture because she was speaking English instead of Spanish. Anzaldua also stated that her people are being taken away and deprived of their culture because they are forced into being someone they are not. They have to adjust to the language and the people and the author believes she will never truly be herself until she does not have to translate for others. There were so many different types of Spanish she spoke and each identified her as a different person. In this story the author stated she will not be herself until she stops translating for the English speaking people. Do you think she has found her true identify in this story since she did not translate everything? Why should people be accepted as they are and not be forced to learn a different language just to fit in?
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Anzaldua talks about being forced to give up the Spanish language and culture when one becomes an American. I feel that just because she didn't translate everything into Spanish doesn't mean she hasn't found her true identity. I feel that she only translated what she felt to be most important in order to emphasize her Spanish identity. It was to show that she could be both Spanish and still be considered American at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI think that Anzaldua finds her true self because she never translated anything from Spanish into English. She used both of the languages, so she is using a little bit of both. I thought that the story was kind of hard to read, though, because I don't really understand Spanish that much so when she would put Spanish phrases into the sentence, I sometimes couldn't understand the meaning of it. I liked how she started it out by referring back to a previous memory and making the story go off of that.
ReplyDeleteIn "To Tame a Wild Tongue” it is evident that Anzaldua has established her identity throughout the story not only in not translating everything in the story but in the simple fact that she spends an insurmountable amount of time discussing the different dialects attached with her language; Chicana Spanish. In its origins, its many influences, and how it is deemed an “illegitimate” form of Spanish, and how often due to shame of the language and the negative connotations associated with it, native Chicano and Chicana speakers stray away from speaking their native tongue. Furthermore, Anzaldua spends much of the story describing her own trials and tribulations in speaking in her native tongue and how throughout much of her life people have try to steer her away from her native tongue. In my opinion, much of this story is a clear indication of why we should embrace or accept others for whom they are; regardless of what language they speak. In that something, such as a spoken language is not only a representation of where we come from but as Anzaldua puts it “ ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity—I am my language.” Meaning that language is so much more than just a spoken dialect, it is in essence a representation of whom we are as people, an identity. Therefore, I do not see any validation is coercing someone to speak a different language only to fit into some predisposed societal role. I do, however, feel that we should embrace that person’s language and incorporate it into our society, allowing for this exchange of language, of culture, and of identities.
ReplyDeleteAnzaldua has established her identity because in "To Tame a Wile Tongue" she does not abandon her way of speaking instead she embraces it. She mixes Spanish and English together in her writing. She says that by not using the masculine and feminine variations to a word instead of it being the Spanish language it is the oppressors language. She makes it very clear where she stands on the mutilation ,as she calls it, of the spanish language; that is should not be taken away or changed.
ReplyDeleteIn "To Tame a Wild Tongue," Anzaldua is faced with an identity crisis. Anzaldua describes the frustration she has been dealt with due to the language she speaks, feeling not accepted in the world she lives in. Personally, I feel that although throughout the story, she expresses the struggle of not being able to feel confident speaking in her native tongue, she is fully aware of who she is and where she came from and proud. Anzaldua gives great examples throughout the text that can show the reader the pain, self-doubt and heartache she went through because she wasn't able to speak English. An example of such includes taking speech classes that were meant to get rid of her accent. My favorite quote from the reading is, "Wild tongues can't be tamed, they can only be cut out." This quote has such a powerful meaning and it really sheds light on the fact that since Anzaldua grew up and was raised around her culture, it is not something that can easily be changed, or "tamed." Her culture is who she is, it is a part of her, which can't ever be truly erased.
ReplyDeleteI believe Anzaldua has figured out who she is. She seems to have learned about her culture and how others view it, but most importantly she has accepted herself. Because we are all different and we all come from different backgrounds we have different views on life. Everyone is an individual with something to teach to others. Anzaldua is able to break out of what society wants her to do. No one should be able to force people to dismiss their own culture and adopt a new one.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though Anzaldua found out who she really is. She embraces the fact that she uses English and Spanish together, Spanglish. She finally accepted herself based off the fact that she uses two languages together which she didn't translate. Everyone should be accepted for who they really are in society; we all come from different backgrounds and cultures which makes us unique. Anzaldua's culture can't be stripped from her, it's wrong to try and make people change for society.
ReplyDeleteAnzaldua does well in introducing herself as a Mexican American by illustrating her childhood. In fact, she was confused about "who she is?" & "what she should become?". Fortunately, she found the way to identify herself, gently adapt this new environment. In the story, she felt uncomfortable to speak and learn Spanish as well. But she changed mind finally. In other side, it shows how the original cultures transform in a new place. Especially the kids, they could not choose what to learn.
ReplyDeleteIn reading this story, Anzaldua has presented us with a few extremely interesting dilemmas concerning various cultures around the world. To what extent are we to be responsible for each others language and how do we deal with those numerous differences within our cultures? By talking about her issues dealing with the Spanish (for simplicity's sake) language it gives a deep insight into the heart and soul of language itself. As she quoted, is war more violent than losing a language, which to me compares the loss of lives to the loss of an identity. And this identity, which represents entire cultures, has so much importance for individuals as she implied by acknowledging everyone else's placing that importance on the various forms of their language. While she mainly talks about that dilemma of identity and loss/difference of language, I especially like to think about what it's like for those who have their common (native) language, but being "forced" to use a different language (English in this case). Is this right? Is it wrong? Obviously if you move to another country, you should and are essentially expected to learn that language, but to what extent do you have to give up part of your own identity for that? Why is this the case that it seems like you do when she talks about how she was told this is America and she has to speak like an American?
ReplyDeleteAs the story progresses, Anzaldua starts to slowly lose her accent as she conforms to the American way of life, and growing up in an English speaking enviornment. Learning to balance between the dual cultures that she was facing, she cultivated and established a philosophical approach to her new "identity" in America. She learned to develop factors of favoribility, and learned to be happy with her Hispanic identity and possess her own voice which ultimately stands very strongly to her and her existence.
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