Stereotypes

Anzaldua’s audience is everyone, ranging from immigrants to native United States citizens. In her text she uses examples that many people can relate to when English isn’t their first language or they have a unique difference from the majority. An example I chose to back up my claim is one from Anzaldua's past experiences, this takes place in her childhood dentist office where from the imagery she gives us shows she annoyed with some of the state the dentist is saying about her “strong [and] stubborn” (206) tongue. Even though the comments made by the dentist wasn’t directed towards her language and accent, the way she feels while he’s speaking to her show that she already has some insecurities with the way she speaks. She believes that her language is something that defines her, and if people have a problem with how she speaks they have made up negative assumptions about her.

In her passage, Anzaldua claims that language is an identity. She stresses the importance of how people who speak Chicano Spanish are viewed as inferior due to it not being a real language. Anzaldua reveals that “repeated attacks on [their] native tongue diminish[es] [their] sense of self” (532). Being criticized by the language one speaks causes a low self-esteem and a misconstruction of identity. It can lead a person to stop or hide the usage of their language thus suppressing one’s self. She highlights the discrimination of Chicanos, so people are aware of it therefore encouraging tolerance and social justice. Anzaldua argues that “until [she is] free to write bilingually and to switch codes without having to always translate. . .[her] tongue will be illegitimate” (533). This shows how truly she

People who are different are consequently viewed differently. It is human nature to judge others by the stereotypes that have been ingrained into our minds for however long. Stereotypes, however, may not encompass the whole story. Sometimes, you are only getting the discriminatory side of the story--a single story. Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” focuses on the discrimination towards broken English compared to Standard English and the stereotypes that evolved from such discrimination. Similarly, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story” presents the idea that the “single story” is the reason for biased stereotypes that, more often than not, are untrue. Tan’s life in America was seemingly difficult due to the fact that her life and education were dependent on the language barrier between English and her “mother tongue”--the latter being seen as inferior and embarrassing. She initially felt that her mother’s fragmented English was something to be ashamed of since that was the “single story” that her peers have been spoonfed their whole lives. Adichie, however, denies these views by explaining that such stereotypes are incomplete and do not relay the person at hand’s true identity. In both “Mother Tongue” and “The Danger of a Single Story,” the speakers express how a person’s native language influences their identity through rhetorical devices such as ethos, diction, and metaphors.

As long as I can remember my accent has always played a role in my life. There have been moments of uncertainty, discouragement, annoyance, and lastly pride. Throughout each emotional stage I’ve learn acceptance and responsibility of what defines me as a women who happens to be Latina. In Tanya Barrientos “Se Habla Español” she defines what resonates within me “Without having to offer apologies or show remorse. If it will help, I will go first. Aqui estoy. Spanish-challenged and pura Latina (45). She beautifully states the acceptance that too many find difficulty fitting in. Especially in a world that will defined you not only by your looks but as well as the way you speak.

Gloria Anzaldua’s article “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” focuses on the discrimination against Latin American individuals, who are residents or citizens, of the United States. Gloria Anzaldua empathizes the bullying in schools and in her daily life. Despite all the bullying and discrimination she had to put up with, Gloria stands up for herself and fights for her culture and origins. She chooses to love herself for who she is, which allowed her to put those ugly comments and actions aside to grow into the person she is today. Amy Tan’s article “Mother Tongue,” also focuses on the discrimination against her efforts to speak and write English. Amy Tan emphasizes the topics of standardized testing and discrimination within schools that go

Although our society is slowly developing a more accepting attitude toward differences, several minority groups continue to suffer from cultural oppression. In her essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa explores the challenges encountered by these groups. She especially focuses on her people, the Chicanos, and describes the difficulties she faced practicing her mother tongue. She argues that for many years, the dominant American culture has silenced their language. She claims that by forcing them to speak English and attempting to eliminate their accents, the Americans have robbed the Chicanos of their identity. She also addresses the issue of low self-esteem that results from this process of acculturation. Growing up in the United States, Anzaldúa says she had to accommodate to the American culture. The fact that she was discouraged from practicing her native language induced her to become ashamed of her roots. In addition, she explains that she constantly felt suppressed on account of her gender. By incorporating Spanish words, powerful personal anecdotes and historical facts about her people, Anzaldúa produces a unique composition in which she depicts an unfair and repressive world and reprimands the prejudices that hinder certain cultures from flourishing and establishing themselves.

Anzaldua persuades her audience of Chicanos by her examples of her credibility. She is told many times that she needs to be able to speak Spanish without an accent. This affected her when she was younger a lot. She was not able to speak Spanish at school without her teacher telling her “If you want to be American, speak American! If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” She also had to fight with her mother about this because she wanted Anzaldua to not have the accent. She would tell her “I want you to speak English. Pa’ hallar buen trabajo tienes que saber hablar el ingles bien. Que vale toda tu educacion si todavia hablas ingles con un accent.” This translated to “To find good work you must know how to speak English well. That is worth all your education if you still speak English with an accent.” Anzaldua explains how she was mortified of this because she spoke English like a Mexican. She explains that she had to take two classes in order to get rid of her accents. She went on to become a teacher in 1971 and

“If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong” (280). The individuality of Anzaldua has almost been erased because others tell her that she needs to fit the ideals of an American. When people say speak American, they are stating that the person needs to conform to their culture. To do this, a person must forget or ignore previous values to fit into a new place. People may want to desperately remove others from what they believed before because they view the outsiders as a danger to their own culture. Therefore, the sense of danger comes from the idea that the uniformity they have in their country might shift to follow the needs of others. The fact that punishments and reformations were used to change Anzaldua show how people assume the cultures of others are harmful to their own and need to be corrected. Moreover, people are also told to go back to their country, which further proves society cannot accept the individuality of others that are not like them. Another example can be seen when the Latinos from Anzalduas original county go against her. She states that, “Even our own people, other Spanish speakers nos quieren poner candados en la boca…Chicano Spanish is considered by the purist and by most latinos deficient, a mutilation of Spanish” (281). The negative connotation of mutilation gives people the

In the article How to Tame a Wild Tongue written by Gloria Anzaldua covers a real life story that Gloria lived. She was born into a Mexican home in the United States during the 1970s. She was looked down upon by her peers due to the fact that she spoke Spanish. When she was in school they got her in trouble because she spoke Spanish in one of her classes. Gloria also never knew that Spanish words were not all male dominant, they also applied to females. The biggest struggle for Gloria was that she often used both English and Spanish when she would talk to her peers. While some argue that she was in the wrong, I believe that she has a right to keep in touch with her roots because nobody should be ashamed of where they come from.

Anzaldua persuades her audience of Chicanos by her examples of her credibility. She is told many times that she needs to be able to speak Spanish without an accent. This affected her when she was younger a lot. She was not able to speak Spanish at school without her teacher telling her “If you want to be American, speak American! If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” She also had to fight with her mother about this because she wanted Anzaldua to not have the accent. She would tell her “I want you to speak English. Pa’ hallar buen trabajo tienes que saber hablar el ingles bien. Que vale toda tu educacion si todavia hablas ingles con un accent.” This translated to “To find good work you must know how to speak English well. That is worth all your education if you still speak English with an accent.” Anzaldua explains how she was mortified of this because she spoke English like a Mexican. She explains that she had to take two classes in order to get rid of her accents. She went on to become a teacher in 1971 and she was teaching High School English to Chicano

Many considered the Chicano language to be improper, but Anzaldua has redefined how we should embody the language. Anzaldua speaking Spanish in America is one of the few things that remind her of her Hispanic heritage. Languages are diverse and cannot always prove our ethnic background, but it is one of the many things that are significant to our identity. Language can legitimize our culture and has the ability to connect us despite distance. We should embrace our identities and recognize them to avoid negative stereotypes, which create predicaments for the stereotyped group. As a Chicana, Anzaldua, like many others, has trouble identifying herself, which has caused her to feel embarrassment and makes her question whether America is a welcoming place for Chicanos. As Gloria emphasizes the importance of embracing one’s culture, she also finds herself later realizing that we should stay true to one’s self and disregard what others have to say.

The thing about discrimination is that it would take everyone’s cooperation to make it disappear even just for a second but even if that happened, who says that it wouldn’t spawn up again from someone’s grudge from another. Discrimination from the use of a language is very common. In Sistah Tongue, Kanae’s little brother, Harold-boy, was discriminated by his mother. The mother said that “you not going get one good job is you no talk good English (Kanae).” Kanae thinks that the mother think Harold-Boy has one “speech impediment” which Kanae thinks that idea is “mento”, which is crazy. She thinks that idea is crazy because Kanae believes that Harold-boy is smart and he can communicate with his family just fine. I can relate to this because I was told that speaking Pidgen in the classroom or in the work place is improper and it is not “professional”. When I was a senior in high school, I was in IB and advanced placement classes and I used to speak Pidgen in class. That was until the teacher of my IB English class called me out and told me to not speak like that in class. When I did speak it, everyone would give me a dirty look trying to say “what are you doing?” Also in my senior year I worked at a frozen yogurt shop called Orange Grove. I always felt that I shouldn’t talk to costumers in Pidgen because I would feel that would be doing something wrong. But now I question that because would I really be doing

Anzaldua takes great pride in her language, “So if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic diversity is twin skin to linguistic identity – I am my language” (p89). She states that her language is a part of herself so when you insult Chicano it’s like a strike to the heart of Anzaldua. Anzaldua goes on to explains that although Chicanos all over the US speak different dialects of Chicano Spanish, they are still all Chicanos. Just because the language varies a little does not diminish its authenticity. People who speak a variation on a language should not be ashamed because they speak a little differently. “There is the quiet of the Indian about us. We know how to survive. When other races have given up their tongue we’ve kept ours. We know what it is to live under the hammer blow of the dominant norteamericano culture. but more we count the blows, we count the days the weeks the years the centuries the aeons until the white laws and commerce and customs will rot in the deserts they’ve created” (p93). She strongly urges Los Chicanos to not give up their culture and endure. She believes that the will of their culture will outlast any obstacle they encounter and demands that they not give in to the temptation to conform.

Anzaldúa grew up along the U.S. and Mexican border, and her native language is a mixture of English and Spanish languages called Chicano Spanish. After she grew up and left home, she found that those who speak Standard English and Standard Spanish look down on her when she speaks “Spanglish” because they view it as a bastardized version of a “pure” language. On the surface, influencing someone to assimilate sounds innocuous but the ramifications are deep. Anzaldúa says that language is identity, and the

     If I say that I am currently employed with a major petroleum distribution center, you may think that I am a highly qualified person making limitless amounts of money. However, I am using the power of language to merely say that I work at a gas station making minimum wage. Great historical figures throughout history have used the power of language, the ability to use words to their advantage, to inspire people to unite under one common cause and to change the world.