How to Tame a Wild Tongue Reading Response

Megan Zaccario

English 1100

September 4, 2016

Professor Young

“How to Tame a Wild Tongue” Reading Response

In the opening scene of “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Gloria is at the dentist getting her roots cleaned.  The dentist tells Gloria, ‘We’re going to have to do something about your tongue.  I’ve never seen anything as strong or as stubborn.’  This scene in the dentist’s chair shows how Gloria has a free tongue.  It is hard for someone like her to be a typical Mexican girl who can’t be allowed to have a voice.

Anzaldua uses her writing to have the readers understand why Spanglish is just as important as the Spanish language.  Gloria’s writing did make sense to me, because I felt I was learning a new language.  There were many of the Spanglish words that I thought were similar to English language.  Anzaldua’s purpose of using Spanglish is to show the readers that there is a secret language.  She will not continue listening to people who talk negatively about her language or her wild tongue.

Academic English is described as standard and Chicano Spanish is nonstandard.  English and Spanish are two different languages.  A person’s identity can be referenced to this, because people argue that language is a trait that can describe a person.  

Academic English is one of the most important languages for people to know and understand.  It may not easy for people who are beginning to speak the language, but it is critical to understand.  Academic Englishs’ identity is important, because it helps you with other subjects in school such as history, math, and science that will help you succeed in school.  Not only will English help you in school, it will also make you successful for life.

English language comes in different types of dialects in the country.  It varies from Western American, Texan English, Southeastern New England, Midland American, and so many more.  All these dialects may sound diverse, but they are all under the same language of English.

I do not use a secret identity or language to communicate to my friends.  I am comfortable to tell my peers about myself and not feel embarrassed of anything.  When you are happy with just being you, why pretend to be somebody you’re not?  I can talk with my friends and teammates just because of who I am.  

When I am having a conservation with my friends, parents, and professors, I speak in standard English.  I feel this form of English is more comfortable for me.  I understand that the nonstandard version is still correct, but I would find it strange or difficult to communicate through use of non standard English.

The term “I am my language” can mean anything to a person.  I believe this term is referring to how people have a voice.  Nobody should be kept silent.  Everybody must be entitled to their own voice for themselves and not have others speak for them.  Gloria Anzaldua was standing up for herself and not let others push her.  “When I still have to speak English or Spanish when I would rather speak Spanglish, and as long as I have to accommodate the English speakers rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate” (Anzaldua 251).  This statement connects to a person’s identity, because its is what makes that person unique.

The introduction and conclusion are the two biggest paragraphs in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”.  Gloria gives the audience a pre-introduction on how people treat by the way she speaks and acts.  The conclusion is all about how people of different races and tongues can come together.  Nobody can bring people down by trying to change the language they speak or how they must look.  Both paragraphs tie into the major point Gloria Anzaldua was trying to get the audience to understand.  

Language I speak can be apart of my own identity.  English allows other people to know the language I can speak and even my nationality.  The biggest part about English included in my identity is I was born into it.

Identity is very important to me, because it is what makes me happy as a human being.  My identity describes my education, physical features, behavior, and much more.  It is critical to have an identity, because it carries with you for the rest of your life.  I think Gloria Anzaldua believes having an identity is important, but doesn’t need to be identified.  “We call ourselves Mexican-American to signify we are neither Mexican nor American” (Anzaldua 253).  She also explains how people of other races are patient, knew the ways of survival, and never gave up.  “Stubborn, persevering, impenetrable as stone, yet possessing a malleability that renders us unbreakable, we, the mestizas and mestizos, will remain” (Anzaldua 254).  If a person didn’t have one, how would he/she know who they truly are? They would be lost.  Having your own identity is an advantage for people to discover who they really are.