Blogger #2

Tonica Russell        Russell 1
Professor Reyes
English A
25 September 2015

          My impression of the article of Anzuldua and the video of Jamilia Lyiscott is that they are explaining how hard society makes it for us to fit in if we are not exactly what the world thinks we should be. It seems as the world likes to judge us by the way we speak. Like how Jamilia says ," I'm so tired of the negative images that are driving my people mad, so unless you seen it rob a bank, stop calling my hair bad." She's basically comparing how the world sees some black people if they come off as talking in slang, broken English, or whatever is not appropriate English to them. When I heard her say that, so much came to mind. It's a shame how people categorize into what they think we should be. Just because a person talks differently than the majority of the world gives no one the right to knock them of that. I mean if you think about it we all talk a little different. It's normal. People like to judge Latinos for speaking broken English but you have to give them credit for at least trying. For a lot of them, Spanish is their first language so of course any other language that comes after that is not going to be as great. They shouldn't have to feel less than because of how they sound. No one should.

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.

Grande 1

Shirley Grande

Professor Reyes

English A

23 September 2015

            “Chicanas who grew up speaking Chicano Spanish have internalized the belief that we speak poor Spanish. It is illegitimate, a bastard language. And because we internalize how our language has been used against us by the dominate culture, we use our language differences against each other. Chicana feminists often skirt around each other with suspicion and hesitation…We are afraid of what we’ll see there. Pena. Shame. Low estimation of self” Anzaldua has defiantly given me confidence to continue on speaking Spanish by eliminating the belief that we speak poor Spanish. Though Anzaldua relates this quote practically too Chicano speakers, this internalized feeling does affects other Spanish speaking individuals like me. Of course there has been numerous times were I’ve felt that Spanish was too good for my tongue, especially when I leave to El Salvador that’s where my actual Spanish ability is tested.

             It is not normal to have this feeling that we aren’t wary to speak our own language and to think that Spanish is my first language. I put Spanish into practice when I am speaking to my parents; someone is in need of a translator or parents of a friend whereas English is with my brothers, friend, school, work and everywhere. As I converse in Spanish, usually Mexicans notice right away that I’m not Mexican and ask me if I make Pupusas , I say yes. I am not troubled by my accent, it’s a daily reminder of my parent’s root in which makes me branch out. I thank them for also encouraging me to continue on speaking Spanish unlike what Anzaldua went through structural violence at a young age. There is no need to tamper with physical action just to force upon change. This impairment that “we are all equally” needs to be reevaluated.

Stanley Charles III

Ms. Rayes

English A

23 September 2015                                                           

Cultural language wiped away

English is the only languish I’ve known seen the day I could seek. But it does not come easy to me. I read it and hear it but it ain’t easy to understand. I speak what some my broken Language but it ain’t my first language, this broken English. One thing about English to me you must understand it is not my native language my language comes from a place in Western Africa I do not know where, but I know it has to.  It is to believe slaves were brought to America at the beginning of the 19 century. Slaves came from Western Sahara all the way to Angola this was known as a Slave Coast. The African people were not the only people enslaved so were Brazilian and Caribbean people along with people from Europe and Asia. But unlike immigrants from other places most Africans in that were brought so the United States had little or no records of their ancestor’s lives and histories. Gloria Anzaldua said “Yet the struggle of identities continues, the struggle of borders is our reality still.” Much of my culture has been wiped away during the slave era, never identify my true native language.

Draft blogger #2

                         

                

               Multiple languages 

     One important point of the article How to Tame a Wild Tongue" is that theirs all different types of Languages spoken and not all are perfect but still can communicate and understand with others. I think that the language we speak identify who or what a Person is. Also if they have any emotional feelings and the way we hear their voice tone. Jamila Lyiscott thinks that Language is something neutral and not political and how broken English can be ignorant and how articulate Americans sound foolish when speaking English. Anzuldua describes her upbringing in a dual culture society and how the English culture required her to reform to proper English annunciation and speech. Also Anzuldua describes how begin Mexican is a state of soul not one of mind. Well on my own opinion Lyiscott and Anzuldua speak different way of English and 

How theirs other ways to speak Spanish also and how we have three ways of speaking proper English Linguistic and regional accent to English.

Like when we at school we use proper English and for our job we use fluent English and for home or parents we use a different type of English. For me I use proper English for school and when I'm at home I speak Spanish they way how I was thought.

                                                         Multilingual

People are often judged by the way they speak. The video Lyiscott and the article How to tame a wild tongue both talks about how people are judged to be a certain character based on the language they speak.  Lyiscott stated '' Do not judge me by my language and assume I'm too ignorant to teach '' Anzaldua talks about how people are looked at differently based on the Spanish they speak. People are put in a certain category based the language they speak. I feel that we all speak several of languages when talking to a certain person. When talking to your friends you use  a different language with them than you would with your parents.

multiple languages

       When it comes to Language Anzuldua feels that language has to do with the way a person can feel. I think that what Anzuldua says about creating a language is true in a way because language interacts with time and place and helps  identify someone's place of origin or perhaps background. It is a reality that many languages exist and are spoken like French, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, etc. And of course the two in discussion here which are English and Spanish. We often think of English as being in America or being An American this is belonging to the U.S. But in reality we often ignore that some of this unique languages have their own versions of the language if we can say it that way.



         This article on Taming a Wild Tongue  by Anzaldua is as real as a language is. The question is why? I myself that Spanish is my home language and that had to learn English as a second language, have experienced  many of the examples that Anzaldua talks about in her article. For example I've meet people that say they don't speak Spanish because they don't want to be rejected by the English speaking community feeling that by speaking Spanish devaluates their personality or identity. A few times I've talk to someone in Spanish and they respond back in English. you might think well that doesn't mean they're ashamed of it, it may not all the time but when you're in that moment you can always tell if it is or not and I have experienced it. Ray Gwyn Smith said "Who is to say that robbing a people of its language is les violent that war?"

      
          Anzaldua said "Ethnic Identity is twin skin to linguistic identity-I am my language" some powerful words this are. Anzaldua is trying to teach us that speaking to different languages or more should be a reason to rejoice and celebrate rather than to to be ashamed or embarrassed about it. that being of many languages should make people proud not inferior. Anzaldua said "I will have my voice Indian, Spanish, White".  Having a talent or in this case knowing a language and not using it I think its a waste. knowing two languages is always better than just one, even if it is two different ways of speaking the same language. Anzaldua gives us a list of her different ways of speaking Spanish with different people too. She says I would speak standard Spanish with some people and standard Mexican Spanish some other people also.

         Jamila Lyiscott in her speech video 3 languages htt://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9fmj5xq_mc she talks about her opinion on speaking 3 languages and how she can change from one to the other depending  with the company she is with . Her point of view is that rather than being ashamed of communicating in a different language though the same just different quality of it from occasion to occasion, she's proud of it and even claims to be trilingual, her native language, slang English and formal English.there is no doubt language is a very impotant part of one's personality or identity. By one's language we can learn and determine people's place of origin, tradition, culture etc.