to Tame A Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa.
how-to-tame-a-wild-tongue-by-gloria-anzalducc81a-1Please read this essay and watch the “Terms and Ideas” before posting your reply. After you have replied, comment on the replies of 2-3 classmates.
21 Replies to “How To Tame A Wild Tongue”
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1. Agringado – to speak like a foreigner and or “gringo”
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/spanish-english/agringado
2. Ambivalent – Where you can have both a love and also a hate at the same time for something or someone
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambivalent
3. Clamoring – A noise that’s very loud at a continuous rate, like shouting or yelling for example.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clamor
Gloria Anzaldúa states earlier in here writing about how she would get constant ridicule for speaking Spanish in school or her type of dialect. She also continues on to say that throughout her life there were times where she would still be given a hard time despite anything she did.
I truly respect the fact that she kept true to herself and who she knew she was despite the constant judgment and comments made from others around her. She uses the term “tame a wild tongue” in a couple of different ways metaphorically and literally, for example the dentist and speaking her mind.
Ryan, nice note on the title!
When I read this I genuinely thought it was like a Professor writing this. I would love to have this type of writing skills.
1. Bridle – a set of leather bands, attached to reins, which is put around a horse’s head and used for controlling it
Source – https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/bridle_1
What Gloria Anzaldua is saying in this sentence is that she is making a comparison to her tongue and getting on horse. How do you control and or take control of it. I really like this analogy that she uses because the Title of her paper is “Tame a Wild Tongue” and if you know anything about horses they are very wild until you tame them. So her right off the bat, comparing her tongue to a horse really what made me want to read more and hear what she had to say.
Top of page 2
2. Reverberated – of a sound) to be repeated several times as it is reflected off different surfaces , SYNONYM echo
Source – https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/reverberate
Gloria Anzaldua is describing the way that she heard the sounds of the “songs of the love and death on the Texas-Mexican borderland” practically Echo all the way to her from bedroom window. She is the describing the sound as if it’s Reverberated because of the cheap Amplifier they are using.
Middle of page 9
3. Ambivalent – having or showing both positive and negative feelings about somebody or something
Source – https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/ambivalent
In this paragraph Gloria Anzaldua goes on to say that she grew up feeling Ambivalent about the music. Which means that she had mixed emotions about it. She goes on to say that Country Westeren and Rock and Roll had more status but even the sense of shame it may have brought her it did not stop her from thumping to the music or humming the words. She had a love and hate relationship with there music. Which I could relate to, growing up my family would play a wide range of music if it would be my grandmother’s tradition Italian music she would play every morning cooking and cleaning or the very traditional Israel music my mothers father would play. Sometimes supporting the music from where you came from it’s always gonna be what people want to see but no shame should ever stop your feet from tapping, just like Gloria
Top of page 10
I love how music makes such huge impact on peoples lives, and can be so much more than what it’s seen as.
I agree with you, I just think music is like a ” Natural Remedies ” to cure a lot of problems and there is like multiple types of music for different types of people. Its just AMAZING to have.
Zoot suiters (Page 5):
“In Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s, zoot suits were mostly worn by poor and working class Mexican, African American and Jewish youth.” Zoot suiters refer to those who wore zoot attire.
(https://research.pomona.edu/zootsuit/en/zoot-suit-la/)
intervocalic (Page 6):
“Immediately following a vowel and preceding a vowel”
(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/intervocalic)
reverberated (Page 9):
To be repeated multiple times
(https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/reverberate)
An idea that I found interesting in the text was the fact that when the author went to an English speaking school they were ostracized for speaking their first language. Firstly this makes me wonder what year this took place in, although prejudice like this still takes place today. I thought this was important because of the fact that when the author mentioned speaking English in front of Latino/Latina people they were considered a “traitor.” Gloria Anzaldúa had endured ridicule from both sides she tried to appease.
The constant criticism made me think of the affect this could have on the author. Connecting to my own prior experience I have been questioned and insulted for not knowing Spanish. This had affected my identity as a Puerto Rican woman. I think exploring the affect this could have had on Anzaldúa could be beneficial to how we treat others due to long term affects.
There has always been this stigma around being latin and not knowing how to speak Spanish. It’s like when people ask you if you know Spanish and you say no, they look at you like you are weird & immediately start to judge you. When in reality maybe you just weren’t taught that growing up. So I agree with what you said.
1. Archaism – old fashioned; in the context it describes that Chicanos use several expressions that are perceived as outdated by other Spanish speakers (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archaism)
2. Waft through – to move gently through the air; in the text it can be understood as, the music was coming in through the window quietly, as if the wind blew it in. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/waft)
3. Hominy – kernels of corn that have been soaked in a caustic solution (as of lye) and then washed to remove the hulls (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hominy)
The way the author described the joy she felt when she read a novel written in the language she feels the closest to her heart. As someone who has been living in foreign countries from years now, I am more than familiar with that strange wave of pride when only a word of your native tongue catches their eyes in a foreign setting.
It somehow brings a sense of belonging to a person, thus the idea of providing a bigger platform for, among others, Chicano authors so that the people of this community feel valid and represented is rather significant.
This could bring Chicanos one step closer to feeling accepted in the country they live in and ending the inner turmoil they feel between the two cultures.
I agree with what you said about how reading about where you are from or your culture can bring you a sense of belonging. I feel like being able to relate to certain readings helps you connect on a deeper level.
Heterogeneous- consisting of dissimilar or diverse constituents
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heterogeneous
Anglicism- A characteristic of English occurring in another language
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anglicism
Intervocalic- immediately preceded and immediately followed by a vowel
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intervocalic
. “Chicana feminist often skirt around each other with suspicion and hesitation… to be close to another Chicana is like looking into a mirror.” In this paragraph she is describing what it’s like for Chicana females. They have been taught from young that their language is wrong. They have also been taught to go against other chicana females as if they are enemies of each other although they are all one.
1. Monolingual – having or using only one language.
(https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/monolingual).
2. Intervocalic – immediately preceded and immediately followed by a vowel.
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intervocalic)
3. Malleability – capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer or by the pressure of rollers.(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malleable).
A idea that stood out to me in this reading, was the idea of diversity and it’s acceptance. The author writes about how they were forbidden to speak Spanish in school, and how doing so resulted in a form of punishment. This very situation can be very damaging to a person, because language is not just a form of speech but a part of a persons culture as well.
Keeping somebody from embracing their own culture, and forcing them to act or “behave” like another is wrong. This ties into the title of the reading “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. It shows how society often rejects diversity for the sake of the culture or norms in a certain place or area.
When Gloria finds a book that is bilingual she is surprised, which shows how uncommon it was to find one. It speaks to the lack of diversity and open mindedness of all cultures and ethnicities.
I completely agree with your first paragraph, and if anything we should be encouraging people to use more than one language.
Bridle: Machinery. a link, flange, or other attachment for limiting the movement of any part of a machine.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bridle
Linguistic: of or belonging to language.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/linguistic
Incessant: continuing without interruption; unending; ceaseless.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/incessant#
In the beginning of page 2 Gloria Anzaldúa said something that stuck with me. ” I remember being sent to out to the corner of the classroom for ‘talking back’ to the Anglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name.” She was being punished for correcting her teacher on how to pronounce HER name. I can relate to her because growing up every time I encountered anybody who spoke Spanish and told them my name they would pronounce it wrong. There’s nothing I hate more than when someone mispronounces my name. I’m pretty sure it’s something she doesn’t appreciate as well, otherwise she wouldn’t have said anything. I have never had an encounter like her teacher but I have had some encounters where people completely disregard what I said, or try to tell me how to pronounce MY name.
TERMS
Patois – the characteristic special language of an occupational or social group
(Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patois)
Acculturating – adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group, especially a dominant one. Also the process of by which the culture of a particular society is instilled in a human from infancy onward
(Source: https://www.thefreedictionary.com/acculturation)
Bracero – A Mexican laborer admitted to the US especially for seasonal contract labor in agriculture
IDEAS
Gloria Anzaldua describes in the beginning of her essay her experience in grade school, how she would get into trouble for speaking something other than English, that “if you want to be American, speak American,” and I think many people of color whose “mother tongue” isn’t English can relate to this. She learned from her mother, as I did, that “speaking English without an accent” would lead to a good job and a good education, and the importance of assimilating to American culture, that “wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out.” She describes the consequences of “not acculturating,” meaning not adopting the cultural traits/language of a dominant group, and the “voluntary (yet forced) alienation makes for psychological conflict.” Not being American enough, not being Latino (or in my case, Asian) enough, and ultimately feeling like “one cancels out the other, and we are zero, nothing, no one.” I remember being drilled by my mother that I should forget the Cantonese and Vietnamese that I was born speaking, so that I could fit in, get into a good school, get a good job, and live the life she wanted me to live, like Anzuldua. I can say now that the ESL classes from my childhood were extremely effective, so much so that I hardly remember how to communicate with my own parents in their native languages. I was lucky, I suppose (is lucky the right word?), that I was able to receive an education that my immigrant parents could not. They were not able to take these classes, having to both work full time to put my sisters and I through school, and speak very broken English themselves. But as I get older, I find myself desperately clinging to that past where I was able to fully communicate/articulate with them through their language. Now I’m facing the consequences of my acculturation, unable to fully relate with my parents because they one, don’t completely understand my English, and two because I’ve lost my Cantonese and Vietnamese over the years. They said it’s good for me to forget, because this way I’ll be treated like an American, that being as adjacent to the Anglo as possible is the only way I’ll make it here, but I often feel like they’re being left behind even as they’re the ones who continue to push me in this direction.
(Source for “bracero” definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bracero)
Anglo: a white inhabitant of the U.S. of non-Hispanic descent
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Anglo
Gloria Anzaldua remembers being caught speaking Spanish at recess that was “good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler”. She was sent to the corner of the classroom “for talking back” to the Anglo teacher when she tried to to her teacher how to pronounce her name. pg. 2
Dialect : a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialect
On page. 5, the author is explaining the Chicano Spanish. Chicanos, after a 250 years of Spanish/Anglo colonizations have created their own set of words to indentifies themselves seperately from others.
Accomodate: to provide with something desired, needed, or suited
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accommodate
The author on page 8 is having feelings to accomadate to those English speaking people and not have the same feelings in return. She feels ashamed that those do not want to accomodate to her language which is Spanish.
Bridle: a length of line or cable attached to two parts of something (such as a ship) to spread the force of a pull
Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bridle
Linguistically: in a way that is connected with language or the study of language
Source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/linguistically
Impenetrable: inaccessible to ideas, influences, etc.
Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/impenetrable
An idea that stood out to me is how Gloria was able to stay true to herself and her culture despite all the hardships that she had to endure. The author writes about how she wasn’t allowed to speak Spanish in school or else she would get punished. There was a time where she had to stand in the corner of the classroom for “talking back” when she just wanted to tell the teacher how her name is really pronounced. I relate to this a lot because growing up many teachers have mispronounced my name but were understanding when I taught them how to pronounce it. Society today is a little more accepting with others’ differences but there will be a group of people who refuse to accept and love people for their differences.
gossip: casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gossip
chicano: hicano or Chicana is a chosen identity of some Mexican Americans in the United States. https://www.exploratorium.edu/sites/default/files/Genial_2017_Terms_of_Usage.pdf
stubborn: having or showing dogged determination not to change one’s attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stubborn
on the whole text i just get surprise because of this long time, like when is this going to stop?. because even in today’s day those types of racism exist because of native person language, as i use to see people speaking spanish to a worker person in stores and they said o sorry i dont speak spanish and their back response is a insult and then a “you face dont said anything else than your are latin and know spanish perfect” thats really fustraiting. but i really like also how the author stay strong even though the hard time and the offeces of those people who try to force her that she has to talk perfect english because she was a immigrant.
Terms:
Secrecy: The state or condition of being secret, hidden, or concealed.
Linguistic: Of or belonging to language:
Impenetrable: Not penetrable; that cannot be penetrated, pierced, entered
Source: “https://www.dictionary.com”
Ideas:
This was a really good story overall but there was one part that really stood out to me personally was where it said ” food and certain smell” because I grew up in a town where I was the only Asian in town and I loved to eat a exotic fruit called durian( if you know you know) Durian is a really smelly fruit with a soft creamy texture. and most Americans are not willing to try or like it because of the smell and sometimes I go to the school with that smell on me me can tell a mile away that that’s Jim, during that time people would just know its me if they ever smell durian.