How to Tame A Wild Tongue Analysis Essay Example

How to tame a Wild Tongue is an intriguing text. One aspect of it that hooked me was its initial quote. “Who is to say that robbing a people of its language is less violent than war?”. This statement stuck with me as it served as a reminder of the various instances though history in which the elimination of languages was used as a tool for the genocide of various cultures. It reminded me of the myriad of extinct Native American languages at the behest of the settlers who sought to erase their native culture. A quote such as this sets a tone for how powerful language is and what it will mean for its author, Gloria Anzaldua. 

I found the usage of different dialects to be intriguing as Anzaldua stressed the complications that came with being an immigrant. These complications led me to become invested in her struggle to assimilate into American culture while also not alienating her Mexican friends and family. This pressure to assimilate plays into how this essay is written. For example, multiple passages are written in Spanish and then explained in English. This gives it an educational feel as Anzaldua is sharing her culture with the reader and showcasing what she has kept for all these years. This narrative decision made the text a bit difficult for me to read as the Spanish broke my immersion due to me not understanding the vocabulary. That being said, I respect that the text was written in this way as it is supposed to make people who do not know Spanish feel a bit uncomfortable. It is like an act of rebellion on her part, using the language that others tried to deprive her of, and showing the reader what it must have felt like to be required to learn a new language. 

 I found it interesting how she talked about her small community developing their own comradery in the face of discrimination. The text goes into specific detail about a dialect of Spanish known as “Chicano”. It is introduced as sort of a “secret language” that is only spoken to those within her culture. This method of speaking to certain people in certain ways is called “code-switching” and it is something that I am familiar with. I tend to “code-switch” when interacting with different groups of friends as I make some jokes with some that others either wouldn't understand or wouldn't like. I also speak in a more professional manner to my parents and professors while I speak to others in a casual tongue. This posed as a moment of relatability for me as though my situation is different, it can become frustrating to have to pick which points of one's personality may be expressed at certain times. Anzaldua has this same feeling of frustration when she is told to minimize or not speak her cultural language. 

Overall How to Tame a Wild Tongue is a deeply personal text that wraps the reader in with its quote and explains how much language means to its author. What is spoken is given a sense of identity and poses as a direct connection to the community. Experiences are posed as somewhat universal, allowing me to reflect on my own life and how I may have seen or experienced similar issues. Overall, while some of the narrative decisions served to confuse me, I cannot say this is a bad text as it kept me invested and told a compelling story.