If John McWhorter and Gloria Anzaldúa were to have a conversation
on the importance of language and how it effects the people, they would definitely
disagree with one another. McWhorter’s thesis concludes that he feels that when
a language dies, it is not the death of a culture but it is a step in uniting
all cultures internationally. For example, he stated that, “The main loss when
a language dies is not cultural but aesthetic”. He feels that a language does
represent a culture but it is not the only thing. The language is only an underlying
representation to its history, beauty and the people that it represents. In Anzaldúa’s
reflection, she spoke of how her language has been oppressed since she was a
child, as well as through adulthood. ” Ethnic identity is twin skin to
linguistic identity - I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language,
I cannot take pride in myself,” she pointed out that language is the same as
self-identification. In multiple instances, Anzaldúa described herself
feeling attacked and ashamed for who she is because of how people would attempt
to oppress her language. For example, while she was attending a university, she
was required to take more classes regarding speech because of her heritage and
native tongue or when she was at school speaking with a nun who misinterpreted
her Spanish for talking back, resulting in her wrists being smacked by a ruler.
The oppression of her language left her feeling confused as to who she is.
McWhorter who said, “What makes the potential death of a language all the more
emotionally charged is the belief that if a language dies, a cultural worldview
will die with it,” which is what Anzaldúa disagrees with for
she feels this is what truly represents a person.
I agree with your opinion that the ideas of McWhorter and Anzaldua are in conflict with each other. I would also like to add that McWhorter doesn't just believe a language's death is aesthetic, but that it is also a sign of unification between people of different backgrounds. In his first paragraph, McWhorter creates an allusion to the Bible regarding the Tower of Babel, "In depicting the emergence of the world's language as a curse of gibberish, the biblical tale of the Tower of Babel makes us moderns smile." The idea presented by McWhorter references to the fact that the birth of different languages divided people against each other. He then later states, "At the end of the day, language death is, ironically, a symptom of people coming together," (par. 31). As when I made my claim, the phenomenon of language death demonstrates that people are becoming more connected to others: creating a better intermediate of communication as well as sympathy and empathy. However, according to Anzaldua, "Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity," (par. 27). If we continue to follow her train of thought, then people will lose a part of themselves without even being given a chance of discovery. As you mentioned, she herself was punished for choosing to retain her Chicana identity when being forced to learn English. In contrast, the death of a language reflects globalisation and the migration of different peoples, meaning that people themselves are choosing to acquire a new language and abandon their native one.
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