Crisleydi Paulino Week 3 Reading Response

Anzaldua disagree’s with the idea that the firm lines between different languages can’t share a common reality. She was called out by her teacher for speaking Spanish in which her teacher responded with, “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.'” As an immigrant it is common for cultural assimilation to be forced upon you by others. But this is where people can share their common reality. Anzaldua states, “For a people who are neither Spanish nor live in a country in which Spanish is Chicano Spanish is not incorrect, it is a living language. The first language; for a people who live in a country in which English is the reign-ing tongue but who are not Anglo; for a people who cannot entirely identify with either standard (formal, Castillian) Spanish nor standard English, what recourse is left to them but to create their own language? A language which they can connect their identity to, one capable of communicating the realities and values true to themselves—a language with terms that are neither español ni inglés, but both.” Using both languages and making it one by using slang and different terminology brings people together as a community and it can be a form of identification.

Anzaldua’s uses personal experience in her literacy narrative. Referring back to the beginning of the text where her teacher pointed her out for speaking Spanish in a place where you’re “supposed” to speak English. When conversing with her mom, her mom agreed with the idea of her having to speak proper English so that it’ll benefit her in the long run. Anzaldua had to take classes to help her with her accent. The reason as to why I feel like she chose this narrative is so that people can relate to her experience of being “in between” or not fitting into social norms; “We needed a language with which we could communicate with ourselves, a secret language.”

The most apparent convention seen in Sedari’s essay is personal experience conveyed through  language acquisition. Sedari moves to Paris to continue his education in hopes of learning how to speak French. Himself as well as others are there for the same reason. When asked who knows the alphabet, he laughed, but realized that he didn’t know the alphabet in French as the words are said differently. By the end of the essay Sedari learns how to speak French. the convection that seems less important to Sedari were key events. Sedari didn’t not much was said as to how he learned French but we do know that he reached his end goal.

I believe that Manson does not feel the same by the end of her essay. At the beginning Manson describes her difficulties with vocabulary which affected her social life and communication. Because of this she began to stay silent in hopes of avoiding certain conversation she hated. However, by the end she improved her vocabulary and although she started to feel like this again, she made a huge improvement from where she once was.