Your Thoughts on “How To Tame a Wild Tongue”
What does Gloria Anzaldúa write about that you can identify with?
What does she write about that you can’t identify with?
What does she write about that you may want to know more about?
Directions
Write two paragraphs, the first about your response to “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” In your second paragraph, write about whether you believe the issues that Gloria Anzaldúa writes about still exist in the United States in 2020, particularly in New York City.
Grading
This is class discussion work for our online course. Please post your response as a comment. These are due by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. during the Week they are assigned, making this one is due 9/6/20. A complete response is worth up to 15 points.
How to Tame a Wild Tongue, by Gloria Anzaldua is about Gloria, the author, speaking her mind about topics that are important to her. In her writing she describes many situations where she felt marginalized due to her growing up as both an American and Hispanic. Even though she was marginalized, later when she wrote this book she decided she wanted to write it her way by using both languages whenever however she wanted.
From experience and from what Gloria was stating it all depends on who you are talking to, that’s the way a person would change the way they speak to others. In Page 36 she stated, “With Chicanas… I speak entirely English (unless I forget). When I first moved to San Francisco, I’d rattle off something in Spanish, unintentionally embarrassing them.” This quote relates to me because when I was younger I left to Colombia for many years and since no one spoke English I slowly started forgetting, as a result when I came back to New York I had a very close friend that I talk to hiker meaning some words wouldn’t be pronounced right or I’d just say the words in Spanish and speak Spanglish and that would embarrass her so she just leave me. I don’t think the issues she talked about exist as much now in NYC because it is a very diverse state.
In the reading ” How To Tame A Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa, I was able to learn more about diffferent cultures and their languages. While I was reading, I was able to relate to the fact that she was shamed for being who she really was. I am a mix of half cantonese and hald vietnamese and I’ve been told that I was to embrace my cantonese side and mever my vietnamenese side because their cultures are completely different. So being able to relate to someone who also struggled with culture makes me feel like I am not alone. I was also able to relate to the fact that the langauge was chnaged to be more male dominate. That was how the world was back then. One thing that I cannot identify with is making up a new language to fit in. I never had to make a language that was combined with English and Cantonese because it’s always been either I speak English or Cantoese. I want to know more about the Spanish accents and their history.
I believe these issues are more common today than it was back then. In New York, there are diffferent boroughs and communities that are full of diverse people that all have different cultures. These different cultures all have thier own language and thier own holidays. Americans speak english but it doesn’t mean that we should shame other people for their language or their culture. In every part of new york there are different langauges and accents. We should learn to accept everyone and their differences.
When reading ” How To Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa ” I right away knew I was going to love her story because in a way I could see myself relate to the same situation. She wrote about her language chicano and because of it she always had that accent which isn’t anything bad but people just didn’t like it. She was born and raised with that language, both of my parents are mexican from my dads side they speak a language called Nahuatl. I managed to pick up some words on my own the few times I went to see his family, my dad never taught me the language. I never understood why since I always wanted to learn and even as a child I always told myself to learn the language because I don’t want it to die. Nahuatl has to continue on living in the pueblo it is but there are many people who manage to get here to NY and don’t know how to speak spanish or english, the end up speaking their language. In mexico is when I learned how to pronounce more word since everyone knew how to speak it, I felt left out but happy that my family were the ones to teach me this amazing language Nahuatl. I didn’t get to learn how to write it since they never learned which really sucks but something is something im fluent but not as good as them, my dad is actually amazed that I learned how to speak it but I was mad at him for not wanting to teach me more of it. Something that i can’t relate to is knowing more than 2 languages because she knows like 5 and thats alot, also I never got to take speech class, I did take a spanish class which I got corrected a lot in a good way. What I would like to learn more about her is like how to speech Chicano because learning languages is just something very useful in life, also because it’s different when you learn a language in the computer than in person.
I wanna say yes this still goes on sadly things haven’t changed. Ive had alot of personal experiences where im in manhattan with my mom and this person comes up to us saying what is wrong with us for laughing and talking in spanish, she literally went off on us saying how were in america and only english is spoken. Where my mom works it’s a hispanic place and a lot of people of alot of place go in. My mom know how to speak english she not fluent but she knows how to get by. She tells me many things that happens to her when people curse at her for not knowing how to pronounce specific things and its sad because she’s trying her best and they are just being rude. New york is always just gonna be like this because everyone has a different mind set.
Abi – I loved reading this. It appears that whenever you have a connection to something you have no problems coming up with great ideas!
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In “how to tame a wild tongue” I was able to learn more about unknown cultures and languages. While reading it there were a couple of things I could relate to, for example she focuses on the expectation as a women in the spanish community. This is very important because as a women we’re expected to do more than intended meanwhile a man is expected to do nothing and get handed everything. One thing gloria focuses on was talking back and how if we talk back (us as women) we’re viewed as disrespectful, talkative and conceited.This is very true because in the hispanic community you’re raised to never speak back or else you would get in major trouble. I feel like this topic is worse on females because our parents expect us to be perfect and follow their rules but when it comes to a guy they praise them like no tomorrow. My point is that women are more likely to get judged and called names over their actions unlike men. I can identify with this because as a female if im not cooking I’m seen as lazy but if it were a guy who wasn’t cooking nothing would be wrong. There are sadly specific standards in the spanish community that one has to follow or else were seen as mal criada(poorly raised). One thing I can’t identify with is getting treated poorly because of the languages I speak. Gloria was raised speaking spanish so when she was just adapting to the english language people treated her poorly and even told her to speak American. This is one thing I can’t relate to because I had the privilege to be born and raised in America, I was able to adapt to this lifestyle with out getting treated unfairly. Although I may not have been targeted like the way Gloria was (because I speak english) I still feel for my people, my hispanic people who live here in the country and get treated badly because of their backgrounds. People with different backgrounds always get told to go back to their country and it sucks that we have to go through that when we’re not doing any harm. One thing I would want to learn more about would be the Chicana culture. This was the first time I actually learned about their language differences and beliefs. Chicano culture was something new that I just found out about this year and I hope to learn more about in the future because it’s very unknown.
One of the main issues that still happens in America is Hispanic/latin people getting treated less than Americans and getting stepped on. I feel like this is one of the main issues that has just never stopped because there are many people who hate that we’re here in this country. Most of us are here because of the better oppourtunities that the us has but everyone just sees us as the enemy and they don’t think about we feel. Many people are like gloria, adapting to the American lifestyle but easily get called out for not fitting in.I think it doesn’t happen as much in New York City because its such a diverse city but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who are racist out here. I don’t think the city matters its the people that do which is why in nyc its not that bad but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, people are always judged here because were viewed as less than the typical new yorker.
While reading “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa, I found it relatable in some way. Although I’m American and speak fluent English, I do have a Bajan/ Barbadian accent and speak the dialect. When I’m at home or around friends, I speak broken English. However, at school, I can easily switch up to proper English. Some of the students and teachers would tell me to slow down when I’m speaking if they do hear me with my accent. Other people usually criticize how Bajans speak because they simply don’t understand our words. My father always told me to practice speaking proper English because it is professional. I can’t say I’ve been forced to speak a certain way because I know I can switch up and I embrace this accent to the fullest. All cultures have their ways of communicating and shouldn’t be forced to disown their origin. I found it very rude when the teacher told her to go back to Mexico if she refused to speak American. I’ve heard people tell many Non-Americans this and it is highly inappropriate. I find it very useful to be bilingual and I love that she embraced her heritage.
The issues that Gloria Anzaldúa addresses in the chapter still exist in the United States but aren’t as extreme as before. Nowadays, people compliment accents and different languages. In fact, most jobs are more diverse and rather bilingual speakers for communication purposes. However, there are some places where American still don’t accept the cultures of outsiders: West Indians, Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, etc. This is unfair because accents and languages were made to differentiate people, which makes them unique. Some Americans just feel superior over outsiders which make them feel uncomfortable in America.
(Edited and last version)
As I was reading “How to tame a wild tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa I did relate to some of the things that she pointed out throughout the text. I felt this way because when I was reading how she felt concerned about gender and race when it came to kids my parents and I shared the same concerns. My parents always raised us to understand that when someone sees me or my siblings when we go for a job interviews they might see a Caucasian female or African American male but once they read the last name “Bermudez” the way they acted towards us can drastically change. In this generation being a female especially being an Hispanic female and not being afraid of identifying myself as Black and Hispanic was going to bring many challenges for me especially when it comes to jobs and opportunities so I understood her concerns. That’s why I also understood when she says she doesn’t understand why she has to change or deny where she came from or change her identity to make other comfortable.
I do feel like what she’s describing in the text is still happening now especially in New York City. I feel this way because I have experience not only my parents but my siblings have to deal with being treated differently because of how they identified themselves. My father is an Hispanic man and he has always been very careful on where and who he speaks Spanish around. I never understood why he didn’t speak Spanish in public until I started to realize that people were getting treated differently because they spoke other languages then English. As for the problem being with in the United States in my opinion is still a huge problem because people are experiencing many different types of discrimination especially in public places such as in restaurant, in supermarkets, malls, and movies because they choose to speak in their language instead of English.
In many places in America (and around the world), there are a variety of informal ways, to communicate with other people, who are close to you. I mean, that even if we speak the same language, it will occur to us to communicate informally with people from the same region. In the reading, there are a wide variety of ways to communicate, in English and Spanish. So, they communicate in affective way with the people around them.
One of the issues, still continue to occur in New York City is the language barrier. When people come from another country, either to visit or to live, there have always been problems to communicate, so it is essential to have an interpreter or know the language ourself. Learning a new language should be an experience that is enjoyed and shared, because we are a great city, with great popularity all over the world. I believe that speaking more than one language, enrich people and push them to continue learning.
Cristina,
You are writing with a lot of generalities and I’m having difficulty connecting them to the reading or reality. Yes, there are a lot of different ways of communicating, which was (I guess) one of the points of the essay. And there are many (hundreds) of languages in New York, but do you really think that New Yorkers all know English or another language they need to or have interpreters in their daily lives? For most, I think that’s a luxury reserved for high-stakes situations. I once took a cab across the entire city of Mumbia, India and got to where I needed to go with someone who didn’t speak or read a word of English, nor I Hindi. He didn’t even read a map. I’m sure you have had experiences as well where you have communicated with someone who didn’t speak your language. Yes?
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When I was reading “How to tame a wild tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa I identified myself with various things that she was saying in the text. Such as when she was talking about when she was told that she had to lose her accent and when she says that her mother told her that she has to speak good english to get a good job plus she says that different countries or regions speak different dialects. I identify myself with this because when I came to this country I was told by my parents since I was small that in the United States to get a good paid job you need to know english very well without an accent but I told myself why am I going to change for people who can’t accept the fact that it is okay to have an accent. To add on, I also told myself that I was perfect just the way I am, my accent just makes me unique from everyone else but not everyone thinks the same and when I started going to school I would be made fun and that brought me really down, it sad how people don’t have nothing better to do but bring people down. Sadly those people brought me so down I worked hard to have no accent and speak “perfect english”. In addition, I also identify myself when she says that she will no longer feel ashamed of existing because now I understand that one shouldn’t be ashamed but proud because one’s accent shows where one comes from and now I am stronger and will not be silenced by anyone. I can’t identify myself when she says that some people that are bilingual can’t identify themselves with Spanish nor english and that some people who are bilingual reconstruct the language because of the influence of english like spanglish. I want to know more about when she says that she was shocked when two women used feminine plural words like nosotras for her it would be nosotros for both male and female but what she says here she is not wrong some south American countries like in Peru they tend to use more masculine words than feminine and in some areas using feminine words is not that common.
The issues that Gloria Anzaldúa speaks about in the text still exist in the United States not necessarily that much in New York City but in other states the situation is worse. For example, in some states people are worried to speak spanish because some people tell them why are you speaking Spanish we are in America or say we are in the United States speak english. Do people not know that in America there is South America and North America. Finally, there are people out there that don’t accept the fact that people are different and unique and are ten times better than those who judge us.
Reading “How To Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa I can say I definitely found myself identified. When she discussed the fact that different regions spoke different dialects, and she knew Chicano but being in this country she was told she had to lose her accent made me think of myself. When I first arrived in this country and was learning English, and of course I had an accent, but was always made fun for it until I lost it and no longer wanted to speak Spanish in school. It was only when I got older and learned the value of being bilingual that I began to embrace myself for who I was and where I came from instead of being ashamed by it. However, when she talks about how she was hit by her teachers and forced to lose her accent, that is where I can at least say that I never had to experience something as awful as that. Something from her writing that grabbed my attention is how she talks about the first time she heard someone use the feminine plural for “we” because all her life she had heard people use the masculine plurals. I would like to learn more about what it was like to live in this sort of world, because in the world that we live in now, it is not as sexist as life was before.
In regard to the issues Gloria Anzaldúa addressed in her writing, I would say that the language barriers are still a little common on New York City. These past few years we have been living in times where we can see a big amount of people not being accepting of other people’s cultures and languages. New York City has such a diverse population that we would think people would be more accepting of them, and even though most people are, we still encounter the people that do not. Even though these issues may not be as common as they were back then, we still encounter these issues once in a while. I would say more specifically now, with the issued going on in our world, we see the cultural barriers more and more. Other issues such as the ones she encountered in school, thankfully, are not a thing anymore. Teachers are more accepting and supportive of kids regardless of their background, gender, or language.
I can identify with Gloria when she explains the different kinds of Spanish languages especially because the West Indies/Caribbean speaks the same English Language but in different accents, pronunciations and use of different words. The countries in the West Indies/Caribbean calls their languages different names such as Jamaican patio,Guyanese creole, Bajan creole, Trinidadian English creole,etc. We all can share mostly the same culture but with different language influence, same as the story where all the Spanish shares the same culture but different kinds of language. I cannot identify when she says that having speech class is violating the 1st amendment. I can agree in some way that it does but not fully because the speech class is just there for you to understand and learn how to communicate with the people in the new country that your living in, they are not forcing you against your will to give up your official language but then again I haven’t been in their shoes. I would want to know more in-depth of the Spanish ancestries they share with one another, that she hasn’t spoke about in the story.
I believe the issues are more common in the United States this day in New York because they are different boroughs and communities that is diverse of people from different countries. Americans speak English but does not tend to understand or appreciate the accents of others that also speak English but broken, which are West Indians/Caribbeans. In New York, each part says some words different or use different words to communicate with others based on their unique influences they learn.