Blogger Entry #2

            In the modern world today, we are expected to have a specific way of talking. We have a exact way of talk to be considered “articulate” and “American”. We are a nation filled with a major population of diversity. From the Latino population, to the African-American population, and more, we as a community have various ways of communicating with one another. But, within this country, we are taught that only one way is correct- or “articulate”. We are required to “tame” our wild tongue, as Anzaldua has worded it.

            In the United States, there are a handful of languages we come across everyday walking through the streets. Diversity is what we are known for. We have Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, English, and the list goes on. We have slang, and Spanglish- the combination of Spanish and English terms.  But it is never considered eloquent to the English majors, or English teachers, because it is not what their tongues were educated to say.  They were taught a proper way of communication. In the YouTube video with Jamila Lyiscott, she is presenting an argument through poetry. The argument concludes that she is articulate even when speaking in slang, or in her native tongue. Because she is articulate, she can speak freely in any way she pleases. She states, “I have decided to treat all 3 of my languages as equal because I am articulate,” when saying her 3 languages consist of her tongue from home, with friends, and when she’s in class.

            Each tongue has its own rules. Speaking from the Mexicana side, I do have an accent when speaking some words. Or when I am upset, my Spanish is rolling off my tongue as if it has been my first and only language. We are robbed of our own person because we are taught there is only one way or the highway when it comes to being articulate. We are people of different ethnicities and we are people who come from different homes with different way of being considered normal. Our language is what makes us, us. It is what we use to describe our feelings of emotion and our way of life. When a Chicano come up and says, “Wassup ruca, where’s your vato at?” That is their way of being articulate. That is the tongue they were raised with. In a home where that is considered the correct way of speaking, we must not take that away from someone with developmental speech classes just because some may not agree with their speech. Everyone is different, and maybe different is exactly the articulation we need.