In my opinion I feel like Anzaldua did a better job
providing her claim, because America is known for its diversity and denying a
language can be considered equivalent to denying a culture itself. For example,
she says that she would get disciplined at recess for talking Spanish. That can
put shame on someone and make them hesitant to freely speak the language they
want. I feel like it is not right for foreigners to feel pressured in only speaking
their language in secret. Part of having living in such a diverse country is
being able to proudly express yourself. I also speak a different language so I can
sort of feel where she is coming from. In addition my brothers and I mix Swahili
and English together to make one language like she stated that she does with “Spanglish”.
On the contrary, McWhorter says “Languages itself does not correspond to the
particulars of a culture”, however I believe language is a big part of culture
because it distinguishes you from any other group. I also agree that language
splits into two groups like saying “diss-kussting” or “dizz-gusting” over time
that can form different types of dialect as well as another culture being born.
All in all I believe that it goes against the first amendment (freedom of
speech) whenever a language is denied to any one person or a group of people.
I agree, I feel that Anzaldua is completely right with her claim that denying a people of their language is in violation of their first amendment as stated in the Bill of Rights. To deny a person of the language they had grown up speaking is oppressive and the American ideals that we are all born with are not to deny an individual of their rights, because of the mindset that many middle aged Hispanics were brought up with their children were never truly taught the language of their people. In my family’s case my grandmother sent my mother to an all-white school in an attempt to give her a better future, now my mother has trouble speaking in Spanish with native speakers as opposed to my grandmother who mainly speaks in Spanish other than when around her grandchildren. Like my cousins I know very little Spanish and the little we know is from overhearing the conversations between the older generations. The oppression of the Spanish speaking community in the United States has been so bad that many of the new generation know very little Spanish, this is detrimental to the survival of the geographical dialects that many older Hispanics know well.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Anzaldua did a better job providing her claim and the example you gave about recess did a great job in proving it. The fact that she would get disciplined at recess for speaking Spanish is a horrible thing. She was just a young child trying to live her life and enjoy her day and it seems terrible that she would be punished for this. Language is a main part of oneself and it makes up so much of how we are as people. I think that it is something that really should never even be thought of as being able to be taken away or silenced. Cultural diversity is one of the great things about living in place that we do and I think should really be respected and honored as something we hold dear. Freedom is something that is very commonly associated with America so something as important as language is just an awful thing to be silenced about and controlled when you should be free to speak any language you would like.
ReplyDeleteI, like most other people, also believe that Anzaldua proved her claim better. She states, “I remember being sent to the corner of the classroom for “talking back” to the Anglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name.” She believes that not even being able to correct the teacher from pronouncing her name incorrectly is a complete defiance of her first amendment rights. I also don’t believe a language dies when the last speaker dies. In my high school we still taught Latin, even though it is considered a “dead language.”
ReplyDeleteLike most I agree that Anzaldua has the more precise point, how can you have freedom of speech if you are restricting the language in which people are speaking in? Many of the languages we use today are mixtures of past languages that were combined to make one, like Anzaladuas’ example of Chicano Spanish. Even much of my family will speak a version they call Tex-Mex. For example when I try to follow my grandfather when he talks Tex-Mex, I do not know all the words he is saying but I can follow along with the conversation because there are many English words used. Even with people in America who speak English, many could argue that we are drifting away from English; with so many variations of slang and accents one person from the north west could talk and another person from the south west and they wouldn’t understand what they are saying.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying about Anzaldua proving her claim better. As you said, not being able to speak the language you want goes against the First Amendment. It’s not fair for someone to get punished for freely speaking his or her culture’s language. Also, Anzaldua says that her teacher said to her, “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” She got treated differently because she wasn’t born and bred in America and couldn’t speak fluent English perfectly. In America, it is still a problem today where people who speak different languages get treated worse than those who speak English as their first language. Language matters and culture plays a big part in language, so we must learn to understand each other better.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Anzaldua’s claims about how denying language is a violation of our first amendment. When someone denies another person or group their language I strongly believe that it violates their freedom of speech, but also takes away their identity. We live in a country where there are many different spoken languages. Language is how we communicate and when someone denies us the right to speak a certain language it is pretty much the same thing as them denying our basic right of freedom of speech. Denying language as Anzaldua say would be the equivalent of “cutting out our tongue” because we express ourselves through our language. Denying language doesn’t just take away our freedom of speech, it also takes our identity. Anzaldua says in her story that “I am my language” and that until we accept our language we can’t legitimately accept ourselves. I personally have seen this happen with friends who move to America at a young age and forget most of their native language and get ridiculed for forgetting their native language .
ReplyDelete