How to Tame A Wild Tongue Response

Josh Yovich

September 1, 2014

Professor Young

English 1100

Reading Response Questions to "How to Tame a Wild Tongue"

1. Discuss how the opening scene of Anzaldua in the dentist's chair connects to the overall point/message of the essay and title.

Anzaldua had trouble controlling her tongue as it kept pushing out the cotton from inside her mouth. The title "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," goes along with this because he tongue was necessarily, "wild," as it was not being controlled the way the dentist would have liked it to be. Also sometimes it can be hard to tame ones tongue as people speak what are on their minds and they talk differently to adults then they do towards their friends.

2. Discuss Anzaldua's use of the Spanish throughout her writing. Did it make sense? What was her purpose?

Anzaldua used Spanish throughout her story and it didn't make sense at some points and wasn't really necessary for her to use it. Her purpose was to show that was the way she talked and she expressed her way to tongue her in writing.

3. Can Academic English be defined as Spanish (Standard) and can Chicano Spanish be described as nonstandard? why? what inferences, conclusions, can be made from referring to one identity (language) as standard versus nonstandard?

Yes because Academic English and Standard Spanish both use no slang at all and they both are used when talking properly to others such as professors and parents. Chicano Spanish can be described as nonstandard as it isn't used normally to professors and both contain slang words. Standard versus nonstandard conclusions that can be made are that people who are more educated use Academic English and Standard Spanish. People who have financial issues or haven't had proper education use nonstandard and Chicano as they couldn't afford proper teaching of their language.

4. Discuss the necessity of speaking and/writing in Academic English as an identity. Is it necessary?

It is much more professional to write and speak in Academic English than slang or any other type for it can be taken that one is much more intellectual than one using slang constantly. It is necessary because high end jobs and interviewers look for people who speak proper Academic English as it indicates they are educated and proper.

5. Anzaldua describes different types of Spanish, identities. Discuss the various types of English, identities, you know.

The various types of English identities I know are slang and English used by foreigners who have many different accents and uses of words. For example my friend from Dubai used the word trousers instead of pants and I have never heard of someone my age say that before.

6. Pachuco. Do you use a secret language, secret identity, to communicate to your friends? If so, what?

I do not use a secret language or a secret identity to communicate with my friends but my word usage is different depending on who I am talking to. For an interview or talking to my professors I talk very politely and use proper speech. With my friends I am more lackadaisical in my speech and I use much more slang depending on who I am talking to such as my friends from my home town.

7. Chicano Spanish can be compared to non-standard English. What form of English (standard or nonstandard) do you speak with our friends (audience)? what form of English do you speak when talk to your mother (audience), professor (audience)? Why?

I speak with my friends in mostly nonstandard English because all of them speak that way as well. When I talk to my mom I use standard and nonstandard English because I am not always going to speak properly when I am home and she doesn't mind at all. Towards my professors I speak standard English because they are grading my papers and I should give them proper respect. 

8. "I am my language." What does this mean? How does this statement connect to a person's identity?

They have a deep connection towards their own heritage and they are avid supports of their own cultural practices, one of them being their language. This statement connects to a person's identity because identity is not just likes, dislikes or physical features, it is also nationality, language, culture, emotion, morals ad formal and informal speaking.

9. Talk specifically about how the introduction and conclusion connect

The introduction connects with the conclusion because her language is her identity no matter how badly the teachers wanted to get rid of it while she was younger in school. They punished her for speaking in Spanish and no in, "American," and that still did not change her identity. In her conclusion she wrote about her being impenetrable as stone and possessing a malleability that made her unbreakable. Anzaldua did not change her identity no matter what happened to her and that shaped her into being a stronger person who will not take any mistreatment from others.

10. Can the language you speak be a part of your identity? Why?

Yes the language I speak is part of my identity. Although I mainly speak English I also speak some Spanish and a large amount of my friends speak it fluently. This helped me learn much more Spanish and I have conversations with my Spanish speaking friends parents in Spanish with them sometimes. My identity was changed from this because my Spanish friends respected that I could speak their own language. Also my identity is always changing as I grow older and have more experience.

11. How important is identity to you? Does Anzaldua believe it's important to have identity? Use some examples from "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," to support your answer.

Identity is very important to much because that is who I am as it is my entire being. My identity is what I am known for such as my beliefs, my ethnic background, my own personal story and all the other qualities I have. Anzaldua believes it is important to have an identity as well because she is not just an average Spanish speaker, she is her own type of dialect of Spanish. Their are many other types of Spanish dialects such as Mexican Spanish, North Mexican, Chicano, Tex-Mex and Pachuco. Her home tongues are the languages she speaks with her sister and brother. With Mexican she speaks Standard Mexican or the North Mexican dialect. She also wrote and said that, "when other race have given up their tongue, we've kept ours," therefore she believes identity is important to have.