How to Tame a Wild Tongue
In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, author Gloria Anzaluda discusses the struggles she faced growing up as a Hispanic person in America speaking her own language: Chicano Spanish. Anzaluda describes Chicano Spanish as a language not quite like traditional Spanish due to mixing with other Anglo languages. Chicano Spanish was never considered to be a “real” language. Traditional Spanish-speakers would usually not understand it. Chicanos internalize the belief their version of Spanish is illegitimate and “bad.” Anzaluda was often embarrassed to speak it to Latinas and Chicanas alike. She looked down on it since others did too, both Spanish-speakers and English-speakers. This changed in the 1960s when Anzaluda read her first Chicano novel, City of Night by John Rechy. She was later exposed to more Chicano literature, and that was when she realized Chicanos existed as a people. Given a sense of belonging, she found herself a discourse and started to appreciate her language and overall culture as part of her identity.
The Meanings of a Word
In her writing “The Meanings of a Word” Gloria Naylor firstly discusses language and its power in the world. Overall, words are just symbols arranged in some nonsensical order. It is the consensus that gives it power or any sort of meaning. She then tells the story of a time she was confused by being called a “nigger” in grade school. She wasn’t sure what the word meant, only that it was meant to be an insult. However, she remembered in conversations among her parents, aunts, uncles and several neighbors how the word “nigger” was used. The word was usually used to signify a man of strength, drive, or intelligence.
Response
Language has a lot of power in the world, but that power is assigned by those using it. The community from which words come from have a deep affect on the overall meaning of them. Discourse communities can center around anything and develop their own traits and languages. These communities can choose to be embarrassed or proud of themselves, and their language can be used to uplift or humiliate. It’s all up to the people using language to assign it any power.