Three Quotes - How to Tame a Wild Tongue

Abbigail Rugel
August 31, 2015
Professor Rasheda Young
Writing Skills 1100
Three Quotes from How to Tame a Wild Tongue

Connections to Myself

     One sentence that caught my attention was "Pocho, cultural traitor, you're speaking the oppressor's language by speaking English, you're ruining the Spanish language."that Anzluda wrote in her article. Growing up in a Hispanic family where my relatives live in South America or relatives who have come to the states, a similar statement is commonly made when they hear me speak English instead of Spanish. They believe that by speaking English that I am helping the language die out instead of keeping alive and relevant to my life. To my distant family, their language is important to them because it shapes who they are so by not speaking the language they view it as a traitorous act. "In childhood we are told that our language is wrong. Repeated attacks on our native tongue diminish our sense of self. The attacks continue throughout our lives." is also written by Anzaluda in her article. My mother came to this country at the age of 25 to be with my father. She studied architecture at NJIT and had several drawings featured at the Rutgers museum and while she was successful, she was embarrassed at the fact that she had an accent and spoke Spanish which is her native language. She struggled through the years because there were people who would bash her for the way she spoke and because of this she refused to speak Spanish around me at a young age or even teach me the language because she did not want me to have an accent because it was viewed as unacceptable. She didn't want me to go through what she went through such as the verbal attacks she would hear daily and even to this day she still feels uncomfortable with her accent. I also enjoyed the quote by Kaufman, "Identity is the essential core of who we are as individuals, the conscious experience of the self inside." This quote holds so much truth and power and makes me think of my identity and how proud I am to be who I am. Our identity is important and is something everyone should cherish and be proud of. 

Citation

Anzaldua, Gloria "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" Teaching Developmental Writing.

Ed. Susan Naomi Bernstein.

Fourth ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 245-255.

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