Anzaldua Like Our Genes, Our Native Tongues

Anzaldua

Like our genes, our native tongues are both unique and passed down from generation to generation. Native tongues are integral and inescapable parts of our personal and collective identity, like skin color or gender. Therefore, language can be a stigma, an indicator or race, ethnicity, and culture. In the book Borderlands: La Frontera, Gloria Anzaldua explores expressions of Chicano culture in America through an analysis of the language she calls Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish is a by-product of ways Tex-Mex peoples created a unique cultural heritage in the Southwestern United States. The author speaks about Chicano culture, race, and identity all as functions of language. In her essay "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," Gloria Anzaldua shows how language indicates personality, culture, and background more than any other aspect of self-expression. Therefore, we should be proud of our native tongue just as we should be proud of our culture, our skin, and our heritage. Creating wild tongues is a powerful assertion of cultural pride and personal identity.

As Anzaldua's article shows, language and cultural identity are inseparable and it is necessary to allow ourselves to explore the potential of using more than one language at a time. Especially in the United States, where cultures mingle and intermingle, wild tongues are inevitable. Anzaldua's wild tongue is the Chicano tongue, and Chicano Spanish "sprang out of the Chicanos' need to identify ourselves as different people," (77). Her language is "neither espanol ni ingles, but both," (77). Wild tongues are the synthesis of more than one language, culture, and identity. They allow individuals to embrace their heritage and family background while at the same time integrating fully within their adopted culture.

However, Chicano Spanish is viewed negatively by other Spanish speakers as well as English speakers. "Chicano Spanish is considered by the purist and by most Latinos deficient, a mutilation of Spanish," (77). Her choice of the word "mutilation" points to the extent of the prejudice that surrounds the Chicano tongue. Chicanos in the United States have had to overcome such disparaging comments and remember that "Chicano Spanish is not incorrect, it is a living language," (77). As a living language, Chicano Spanish is alive, powerful, persistent, and adaptable.

For Anzaldua, Chicano Spanish helps Chicanos feel empowered in the United States. By altering formal forms of languages like Spanish and English, Chicanos built a protective wall around their community and insulted themselves from the harsh effects of prejudice. Anzaldua's stubbornness and her rebellious pride illustrate how language can be a source of personal and cultural empowerment. She states, "Wild tongues can't be tamed, they can only be cut out," (76).

However, all languages, even Chicano Spanish, has a downside too. As Anzaldua points out, the Spanish language is gendered and women are "robbed" of being female by the masculine plural forms of pronouns such as "nosotros." Language is, according to the author, a "male discourse," (76). Chicanos and others who speak with "forked tongues" can therefore overcome language's limitations and regain a sense of personal, cultural, or gendered identity (77).

The reason why using more than one language at a time can be so important for immigrants or children of immigrants is that it enables us to preserve our cultural heritage while at the same time fitting into the dominant culture. Anzaldua talks about assimilation as a negative process, calling it a form of "copping out," (84). For Anzaldua, having a wild tongue means resisting assimilation by transforming cultural artifacts such as language, movies, or music. By doing so, the author illustrates that assimilation can have positive effects, as long as people make an effort to maintain some of their customs and their language. For example, Anzaldua is proud of Tex-Mex "Spanglish" because it reminds her of who she is and where she came from. Language connects her to her homeland, her ancestors, and her community and links Chicano people together. She remembers when she first discovered Chicano literature in America. "When I saw poetry written in Tex-Mex for the first time, a feeling of pure joy flashed through me. I felt like we really existed as people," (82). Without poetry or other forms of linguistic expression, the Chicano identity would be too abstract and removed from daily life and experience. Discovering Chicano literature helped the author feel less isolated and alienated.

In fact, the formation of Chicano culture happened largely through the use of language. "Something momentous happened to the Chicano soul -- we became aware of our reality and acquired a name and a language (Chicano Spanish) that reflected that reality" (85). Furthermore, living within a dominant Anglo culture, Anzaldua and others like her found it necessary to use language as a tool, even a weapon of self-assertion. The author also notes that music, movies, and food serve similar purposes of reminding people of their ethnic and cultural heritages. Language is therefore one of the most important parts of the formation of personal and group identity. Anzaldua talks about how Chicano Spanish "sprang out of the Chicanos' need to identify ourselves as a distinct people," (77).

However, just as language unites a group of people as it did for the Chicanos, language also acts as a barrier between people and between cultures. Even when people of different cultures speak the same language, regional dialects and different accents serve to separate groups and individuals from one another. For example, most Spanish-speakers can identify a person's home country or even home town based on their accent or dialect, just as English speakers can tell the difference between someone from New York and someone from London. Similarly, with Spanish, people make judgments based on where someone is from. As Anzaldua noticed, Latinos often think of Chicanos in a derogatory manner because of their language. People from certain geographical regions look down on Mexicans and Central Americans in general because they felt heir language and therefore their culture is inferior.

Anzaldua presents a powerful case for becoming proud of one's heritage in spite of obstacles like shame or prejudice. "Until I can accept as legitimate Chicano Texas Spanish, Tex-Mex, and all the other languages I speak, I cannot accept the legitimacy of myself" (81). Therefore, self-acceptance and group identity come largely through the proud use of language. Using the example of the Chicanos, the author proves that language can be one of the forces linking people together to convey a sense of pride. Therefore, language is a collective experience, even when the language is as specific and localized as Tex-Mex. In fact, the smaller the group, the more important it is to reinforce identity. For example, when I meet someone from my home country, I become excited because finally I can speak naturally without being inhibited or without trying to use words and phrases that are from proper Spanish or proper English.