FINAL Draft How To Tame A Wild Tongue
Jordan Kohl
Professor Maryann Perna
SEC1310.146
Paper Three Rough Draft
10/14/14
Languages define a culture itself and every language in the world expresses the heart and spirit of people who speak it. Languages explain the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication. Everyone has a language that they convey and pursue in everyday activities. Gloria Anzaldua, author of “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, is a Mexican American woman who takes great pride in her culture, but struggles to keep the form of Spanish called, “Chicano Spanish” alive. Born and raised in South Texas, Anzaldua will always have Mexican culture in her blood, but living in such a strict American society, she feels pressured to choose to speak either an English that American society would appreciate, or Castilian that the Mexican society would agree with. Growing up, Anzaldua slowly realized that others mistreated her because her language was poor. She expresses herself in the text through her personal experiences, struggles, and her gender role within her language and culture. Everyone has a specific role that they associate with when it comes to speaking different languages. Anzaldua describes this by saying, “My ‘home’ tongues are the languages I speak with my sister and brothers, with my friends” (“Tongue” 36). With Chicano Spanish and Tex-Mex as some of the most dependent languages for her, she also speaks a total of five different languages that she picked up from school, reading literature, and different cultures. She feels most confident when she speaks in her native tongue, without the distraction of adjusting to another language. She knows how to speak many languages, but is always having to speak differently according to different cultures. As time went on, the Chicano language grew rapidly, and now includes elements from seven different languages, such as Standard English, Working class and slang English, Standard Spanish, Standard Mexican
Professor Maryann Perna
SEC1310.146
Paper Three Rough Draft
10/14/14
Languages define a culture itself and every language in the world expresses the heart and spirit of people who speak it. Languages explain the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication. Everyone has a language that they convey and pursue in everyday activities. Gloria Anzaldua, author of “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, is a Mexican American woman who takes great pride in her culture, but struggles to keep the form of Spanish called, “Chicano Spanish” alive. Born and raised in South Texas, Anzaldua will always have Mexican culture in her blood, but living in such a strict American society, she feels pressured to choose to speak either an English that American society would appreciate, or Castilian that the Mexican society would agree with. Growing up, Anzaldua slowly realized that others mistreated her because her language was poor. She expresses herself in the text through her personal experiences, struggles, and her gender role within her language and culture. Everyone has a specific role that they associate with when it comes to speaking different languages. Anzaldua describes this by saying, “My ‘home’ tongues are the languages I speak with my sister and brothers, with my friends” (“Tongue” 36). With Chicano Spanish and Tex-Mex as some of the most dependent languages for her, she also speaks a total of five different languages that she picked up from school, reading literature, and different cultures. She feels most confident when she speaks in her native tongue, without the distraction of adjusting to another language. She knows how to speak many languages, but is always having to speak differently according to different cultures. As time went on, the Chicano language grew rapidly, and now includes elements from seven different languages, such as Standard English, Working class and slang English, Standard Spanish, Standard Mexican