Gloria Anzaldua was a feminist
and Chicana who grew up in the south part of Texas. Growing up next to the
border, in her case, she was seen as unimportant even as a child for knowing
Spanish and for speaking it. It was not allowed at that time to speak Spanish
at school. In How to Tame a Wild Tongue, Anzaldua claims that denying a group
their language is both a violation of the 1st amendment and an act
of violence. I agree because the 1st amendment is there to allow us
to speak for ourselves. In paragraph 4 she shares with us, “I remember being
sent to the corner of the classroom for “talking back” to the Anglo teacher
when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name”. Something
as simple as that and her voice was denied on how her name was pronounced. Spanish
was seen wrong in the country of the United States back then; they were looked
down upon. She goes on to mention “At Pan American University, I, and all
Chicano students were required to take two speech classes. Their purpose: to
get rid of our accents”. She along with all other Chicanos were judged because
of their accents. But why would you punish somebody for speaking two languages,
for being bilingual? Anzaldua also claims that the violation of the 1st
amendment is an act of violence. “Repeated attacks on our native tongue
diminish our sense of self. The attacks continue throughout our lives”, she demonstrates
how she believes it is an act of violence. It effected the childhood of the
Chicanos. The pressure placed on all Chicanos by their parents and by the whole
system. They were all trying to kill the Spanish language in them. They wouldn’t
value her language but yet she stood proud. She helped prevent the diminishing of
Chicanos by standing proud herself. She goes on to say in paragraph 26, “But
for a language to remain alive it must be used”. In my eyes, I considered her
to have had pride in who she was.
Honestly, I have to agree with your statement of how Gloria Anzaldua explained of “denying a group of their language” is a violation of the 1st Amendment for the reasoning being that you don’t have the opportunity to express your culture and race just because another race (Anglo Americans) have their obligations to revision their own “America” for their own benefits and not other ethnicities (Chicanos). In Gloria point of view she believes that it isn’t necessary to discriminate a race just because they don’t talk a certain way that most people in America talk. When Gloria described a time when she remembered “being sent to the corner of the classroom for “talking back” to the Anglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name.” shows some discrimination on the teachers part knowing that she is punishing Gloria for a honest mistake. If this is a violation to the 1st Amendment and the majority of people are agreeing with this violation (Anglo Americans) and disagreeing to Gloria’s statement, then does that mean we as people are allowed to violate other Amendments in the Constitution.
ReplyDeleteThe issue about Gloria’s statement is that it would result in violence knowing that you’re taking away someone’s language from them. Not only that, but your also taking someone’s dignity that defines Chicano's as a race of their own. I agree of how you gave Gloria to explain her standpoint that causes violence by, “”Repeated attacks on our natives tongue diminish our sense of self.” If you take a certain ethnicity dignity how will define them in the future for people to remember.
I also have to agree with you because it is a violation of the 1st amendment by denying a group of their language because they have the freedom of speech. No matter what language you speak were all using language to communicate and for some it may be in Spanish, English, French etc.. so why limit it to one language because other ones may make you uncomfortable due to your lack of understanding? That is what Gloria Anzaldua is attempting to say when explaining to her audience the struggle she went through growing up by speaking a different language. As a child she was told "...our[Chicano] language is wrong(415)", causing self esteem issues and always feeling the need to adapt to society's perception of the correct way. Even in her school setting growing up she got into trouble growing up for correcting a teacher on the pronunciation of her name but the teacher saw it as a lack of respect. Anzaldua has dealt with this type of limitation of her language her whole life and the constant embarrassment of her culture and who she is. By forcing others to confide in what makes us comfortable with our style of living makes a part of those to be taken away from them. It is an act of violence because it is repeated attacks on a group of individuals who are being censored and are forced to be "American".
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with all three of you all, I also believe that denying a group and/or for their language and cultural beliefs is a violation of the first amendment. The first amendment entitles freedom of speech, religion, assembly, press, and petition which Gloria Anzaldua clearly explains is broken when she states that “Attacks on one’s form of expression with the intent to censor are a violation of the First Amendment.” This world is meant to be made of individuals which is what creates individuality and without people being able to express themselves the way they might have been raised in their culture, it denying them that right. I am all about individuality and believe that, it is how the world is supposed to be. Every person is meant to have an opinion on statements but people are also allowed their basic freedoms to express themselves in their own way. What the school systems were trying to do when they were trying to “get rid of our accents” is completely, absolutely wrong and should not have even been allowed because every person born a United States citizen has unalienable rights such as freedom of speech and religion that can not be taken away from anyone!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your argument on how Gloria Anzaldua believed that denying a group their language was an act of violence that violated the first amendment. According to Gloria, “Chicano Spanish sprang out of the Chicanos’ need to identify ourselves as a distinct people.” Speaking this language was a part of Gloria’s identity. By having an overpowering majority, such as Anglo English speakers, limit the use of language identities become invalid; therefore, oppressing the individuals who speak such language. Oppression of an individual or group of individuals is considered to be violent in nature. Gloria also explains how her freedom under the first amendment is violated. “Chicanos and other people of color suffer economically for not acculturating.” Acculturating is defined as assimilating into a different culture, typically the dominate one. Gloria claims that those who do not effectively assimilate into the Anglo American culture are at a disadvantage. Something as simple as speaking your native language can be seen as a setback in achieving economic stability. This being said there is an unwritten law on what language is required to be spoken in order to succeed. When an American is at a disadvantage for the way he or she speaks, there is a misunderstanding of the term equality under the law that is used to describe the American government.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post Jasmine, along with everyone else who has commented. I really liked how you said the "1st amendment is there to allow us to speak for ourselves." because that is what it is supposed to do, we should be aloud to speak our language and not have to hold back or learn a new language just because "this is america." Our language makes us who we are. Anzaldua also mentions that once she was "caught speaking spanish at recess" and got three licks to the knuckles. Another time she was showing her teacher how to pronounce her name and was told "if you want to be American, speak american. If you don't like it, go back to Mexico where you belong." Again they are taking away her culture by telling her not to speak spanish and basically that if she wants to stay in America then she needs to start speaking english. At the end of the story like Jasmine said "she had pride in who she was." she stood up for herself and did not let her language die, despite all the negative things she had to go through. Anzaluda also says "when other races have given up their tongue, we've kept ours" stating that she will never stop speaking her language.
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