How to Tame a Wild Tongue
The author speaks of her experience with taming her wild tongue and how she was forced to change the language she spoke to American. She writes of how they tried to get rid of the Spanish accent as a whole. It is also said that in her culture talking too much was also looked down upon. Good girls should not talk too much because they would be known as the gossip or known for committing a sin. It is also said that gender played a large role in her fight against language. Language was known as a male discourse and should only be conformed by the female. The author was also discriminated against and treated differently by her fellow Latinos who treated her badly for not speaking purely Spanish. She also mentions that the Chicanos created their own language of Spanish called Chicano Spanish which they did to identify as a distinct group. It is also because of the stereotype of a poor and illegitimate language that others in the community associate with the Chicanos that they consider their language as a bastard one. This diminishes the community’s sense of self and forces them to change.
If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is
The piece states that language is affected by society and the environment it is involved in. Language is affected and changed by the person it is spoken by and the circumstances it is used in. It is only made official when it is accepted by a large population and thus put into use. Language is a political instrument and proof of power because it reveals identity and status. The terms using ‘black’ refer to those metaphors or other phrases used to represent different things that only other ‘blacks’ would understand. Black English began with the slaves as a form of communication that the ‘whites’ could never understand. They also realized over time that they would not be accepted by the ‘whites’ because even without language it was the experience that showed them the different treatment.
Response
In Anzaldua’s piece she explains through examples that the way her wild tongue was tamed was from the stereotypes about her language which made her lose confidence in herself. I found this to be the main point of the article which also answers the question that the question poses. Naylor’s piece relates to the new languages that the modern society created using emojis and text along with social media as well as images. It also reminds me of the new ways that the upcoming generation is speaking in terms of texting shortcuts used in verbal communication. The use of the word ‘Jazz’ surprised me as it has a sexual meaning, however, it was changed by the ‘whites’ into a musical age.