The Issue of Using Home-Language in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”

Some common ideas and issues that the author raises are how one language can be spoken in many ways. Gloria Anzaldua explains a situation when it comes to using different tongues for different situations. She states, “My home tongues are the languages I speak with my sister and brothers, with my friends. They are the last five listed, with 6 and 7 being closet to my heart. From school, the media, and job situations.” 

How does the author connects language and cultural pride or identity?

In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” the main theme throughout the story is a person’s language is the key to identity. Gloria connects language and identity by talking about her struggles growing up and how she had to overcome a lot of stereotypes because of her Chicano accent. She felt ashamed of her language and that resulted in her being angry frustrated and had certain problems with self-esteem. The problems that she encountered because of her language had a negative impact on her personal identity but Gloria finally realized that she cannot feel content with herself until she understands the “illegitimacy” of her language and accepts that fact. 

What do they convey about bilingualism?

In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” what Gloria conveys about bilingualism is that she can’t be true to herself until she is free to write bilingually and to switch codes without having always to translate while having to speak English or Spanish. She doesn’t want to have to accommodate the English speakers rather than having them accommodate her. She doesn’t want to feel ashamed of existing and wants to have a voice. 

What do they have to say about so-called 'proper' languages and dialects?

Gloria wants to be able to switch from English to Spanish in writing and speaking without translating and explaining to herself. She demonstrates this by incorporating it into her work. So when you read her story you can see her switching between English and Spanish. This is how demonstrates what she has to say about the so-called proper languages. 

Conclusion

The author went through the same problems as many of people do. An issue the author faces is that people have this idea that a person is wrong if someone says a word in English in a different way than what has been normalized. As a result of this she in the past have been ashamed of speaking her “broken language.” The author speaks up about this issue and argue that everyone should see all languages equally.