How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua

Language and Identity
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Language and Identity
The passage “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua examines the intersection of language and identity. As a bilingual and immigrant, Anzaldua demonstrates how non-native speakers are forced to confront negative attitudes from other social and cultural groups. The Chicano Americans, who have constructed their own identity separate from both Mexican and American cultures, through their border tongue have to constantly endure criticisms from both sides in a bid to prove their legitimacy. They are accused of both mutilating Spanish as a pure language and speaking the language of the oppressors (English). The fact that Chicano Americans are not accepted as either Spanish or Anglo has pushed them to identify themselves through their langu...