Anzaldua's Struggle with Language

“How to Tame a Wild Tongue” Gloria Anzaldua, the author of “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” expresses a very strong tie that she has to her native language. Anzaldua grew up in the United States, but spoke mostly Spanish. She did not speak the normal form of Spanish though; she spoke Chicano Spanish, a language very close to her heart. The text focuses on the idea of her losing her home accent, or tongue, to conform to the environment she is growing up in. From a very young age, Anzaldua knows that she is not treated the same as everyone else is treated. She knows that she is second to others, and her language is far from second to others as well. Anzaldua stays true to her language by identifying herself with her language and keeping it alive, when everyone else wants it gone. She strategically expresses herself in the text through her personal experiences with the language, the use of narration and structure, and her gender role within her language. Anzaldua uses appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos to show the audience the use of these three strategies. Anzaldua’s text begins with her visit to the dentist. This is where she introduces the main, reoccurring, theme of “taming a wild tongue.” This theme, depending which way it is looked at, can be seen as a rhetorical question in the sense that her “tongue” cannot be tamed. In this case it metaphorically represents her native language she speaks. The dentist is getting frustrated with her tongue getting in the way of his work, and he mentions how her tongue is so strong and stubborn. He states that something must be done about her untamed tongue. Ironically, everything the dentist says about to tongue is true for her native tongue as well. Anzaldua knows that she cannot stand up for herself and her tongue, because her language is frowned upon in America. There is no way to tame her tongue; she must completely get rid of it. In these first opening paragraphs, Anzaldua is using the rhetorical