Borderlands, Chapter 5: How to Tame a Wild Tongue

Gloria Anzaldua                                                                                                                    Pages 75-86

            In this chapter, Anzaldua writes about language and how it manifests itself in her culture. She opens with the question of how to tame a wild tongue and concludes that it cannot be tamed. She notes that there are many strict rules on how women are allowed to speak which are not applied to men. She writes on how Chicano Spanish is condemned by both American and Spanish cultures. She continues, discussing just how vital this living, hybrid language is to her culture, stating that need for a “secret language” to identify themselves. She lists the many languages and dialects she speaks and which groups of people she speaks them with. She then explains many of the ways in which Chicano Spanish differs from mainstream Spanish. She talks about how Chicano Spanish is considered a bastard language and looked upon as unintelligent. Anzaldua reflects that she views someone's low estimation of her language as a low estimation of herself as a person. She then notes the excitement she experienced when reading and watching Chicano and Mexican books and film. Finally, she concludes that mestizos and mestizas are able to persevere and survive because of their patience, stubbornness, and malleability.

Is there an idea that makes you stop and think or prompts questions? Identify the idea and explain your responses.

            I found Anzaldua’s statements about what will happen by the end of the century to be quite interesting. First, she states that American students are encouraged to take French because it’s viewed as more dignified. This makes me wonder about what the state of language education was like when Anzaldua wrote Borderlands. For my whole life, it has certainly seemed that Spanish is the preferred and encouraged language to take. Then again, I do live in California, and we do have a very high number of Mexican immigrants. It makes me wonder if taking Spanish was not so common in California when Anzaldua wrote her book. It also makes me wonder if taking French is much more common in other states in the U.S. Until reading this, I've always blindly assumed that things were the same throughout the U.S. as the are in California. Anzaldua also writes that English will become the mother tongue of most Chicanos and Latinos. It makes me wonder what Anzaldua would say about the use of Spanish now that the century has come to an end. Has the use of the language declined since Borderlands was published? I wonder if, in her eyes, her prediction has come true or not.

            This chapter reminded me of the reading and discussions we’ve been having in my Italian class this quarter. Anzaldua writes about pochismos, which are words taken from English or distorted by English and used in Spanish. In Italian, these are called prestiti linguistici. Many Italians love these adopted phrases because they consider them fashionable and useful. On the other hand, many defenders of the language believe that if Italians stop using Italian phrases in favor of “fashionable” Western counterparts, the language will die off. This reminded me of Anzaldua's statement about languages only surviving as long as they are used. Anzaldua also writes about how the Chicano language gives people a sense of identity. This is the same in Italy, where dialects are so varied and so distinct that one can easily tell where another lives by hearing them speak. My professor explained that she could even tell where someone lived within a ten-mile radius. There is much debate on the use of dialects in Italy as well. Many defenders of dialectswould agree with Anzaldua’s writing, believing that the use of a common “secret language” of sorts is absolutely key for creating a sense of identity and belonging.