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How to Tame A Wild Tongue Analysis Questions
- Anzaldua's purpose was to convince people that speaking your native language is not something to be embarrassed about. She also wants to bring attention to how non-English speakers are oppressed by the Anglo-linguistic dominations present in schools and society.
- I skipped over most of the sections that are in Spanish because I cannot understand it at all. I have not taken Spanish in almost five years and the course I took was a basic introductory class. I wished I could understand as it seemed to follow the critical points in her essay. I was initially annoyed but then thought that it was unfair for me to expect everything to be in English just because I was not familiar with her language. She probably does this so readers will feel the same unfamiliarity and discomfort when forced into another language that is so different from your own.
- Most readers will feel excluded if they are not familiar with the languages Anzaldua talks about. The experiences she recounts are not familiar to most readers who are not Spanish speakers so only those familiar will truly understand her argument and be able to relate to it as well. It strengthens her argument because she often talks about feeling alienated so readers will feel the same sense of alienations. However, it is not Anzaldua trying to single out her readers but make her argument more understandable because most people would not have experienced the same things as her.
- English is a neutral language because she does not have to worry about the social standing associated with the languages she speaks. Because certain languages are considered inferior, she tries to avoid speaking it with certain groups of people. I agree as well because even for me, I try to avoid speaking my native language in front of people who speak the same language as me because I do not want to be judged for my poor grammar or accent.
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