Jenny Hernandez 

English 21001

Prof. Yolande

04-06-2019

A Loss of Individualism

There are approximately close to 54 million Hispanics in America of which Mexican-Americans are the biggest group. Article “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, written by the American scholar — of Mexican descent, Gloria Anzaldua, who identifies as a Chicana/ Tejana/ lesbian/ dyke/ feminist/ writer/ poet/ cultural theorist has inspired me to write my dystopian paper on the loss of individualism she and others like herself have experienced. Anzaldua speaks on the cultural and social difficulties that Mexican-Americans face when being raised in the United States. There is a belief that to achieve true status in the United States one must know how to speak Standard English, however, it could be argued that one’s usage of a language is a unique way people can express themselves and where they come from. To begin with, Anzaldua talks a lot about social and cultural injustices that many Mexican-Americans faced during her time. One of her main focuses on the Chicano movement was “language”; she advocates for the people who want to speak their mixed language, such as people near the borderlands who do not identify themselves as “American” nor “Mexican”, and how they should be able to speak their language without having to deal with any criticism from the public eye. Anzaldua quotes, “Who is to say that robbing a people of its language is less violent than war? – Ray Gwyn Smith” (page 34), Anzaldua is trying to get people to recognize that the Chicano language and the Mexican American language can be whatever their unique situation allows it to be, she mentions some Americans feeling uncomfortable hearing another type of English version due to one’s accent and a slightly different choice of words. Adding on, midway into the article, Gloria speaks on Chicanos speaking English/ Spanish in a variety of different ways pointing out the fact that the Chicano language has several dialects and there not being a right or wrong way of speaking it. Anzaldua states, “We needed a language with which we could communicate with ourselves, a secret language… And because we are a complex, heterogeneous people, we speak many languages…1. Standard English, 2. Working-class and Slang English, 3. Standard Spanish, 4. Standard Mexican Spanish, 5. North Mexican Spanish dialect, 6. Chicano Spanish (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California have regional variations), 7. Tex-Mex, 8. Pachuco (called calo)” (page 36), this not only shows the several different types of languages that developed over time due to Chicanos being raised in different environments, but it essentially goes to show all of them being spoken from American minorities of the same ethnicity. To add on, it is this awareness in ethnic status that often draws the Chicanos together socially and culturally similar to how black Americans and Asian Americans form their social circles, while also being fully American. The formation of these social circles comes from a subculture that is sometimes misunderstood by Mexican nationals and Anglo Americans and that is essentially what Anzaldua is trying to get people to understand. Understand that people can create their language. A person is not obligated to choose between this that and the third if one does not wish to. 

Moreover, Anzaldua speaks on her “Spanglish” often causing her to be penalized as a kid and looked down upon since there is a specific way of speaking the English language, “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.” (page 39), this shows a glimpse of what someone like Anzaldua has had to undergo. This is where Anzaldua is right about Chicanos not having a sense of identity in the language world; they are in between American, Mexican, Spanish, English, and this combination of both languages speaks to them not having a set identity. This makes Anzaldua’s argument of her trying to find herself through language very interesting, it is what lead to her choosing to identify as a “Chicana”, it came from a combination of two things; WHAT and WHO she is. 

Furthermore, Anzaldua also talks on the immigrants who come to the United States and how they are expected to embrace the American culture to feel accepted, “In the 50s and 60s for the slightly educated and Agregado Chicanos, there existed a sense of shame at being caught listening to our music. Yet I couldn’t stop my feet from thumping to the music, could not stop humming the words, nor hide from myself the exhilaration I felt when I heard it.” (Page 42), this goes to show how no matter where you decide to migrate to, your homeland will always play a huge part in your identity. The case here is them having to put their Mexican cultures behind them and simply learn to follow the Americanized way of things, however, Anzaldua is stating how people have the right to freedom of expression and free will. In this case, Chicanos should have the right to prefer whether or not they want to celebrate their Mexican culture or their American culture, this is what makes being a Chicano unique and it’s own thing. 

To conclude, I speak on behalf of all people who are having a difficult time fitting into American society, for those who feel like they’ve lost their individualism, for those who are feeling like they are living in a dystopian society because of human culture being so cruel towards those who have a hard time fitting in. 

Citations:

● Everettsd.org. (2019). [online] Available at:

https://www.everettsd.org/cms/lib07/WA01920133/Centricity/Domain/965/Anzaldua-Wi

ld-Tongue.pdf [Accessed 5 Mar. 2019].