Christa Fieeiki

Civic Engagement Project

April 23, 2015

Throughout the article, How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua, she focuses her main
idea on how the Mexican origin or as she likes to call themselves Chicanos are being judged by how they
use their language in everyday life such as in school or even on the recess playground. At the beginning
of the story she briefly tells a story about how at recess she was trying to tell a teacher how to pronounce
her name while talking in Spanish and she ended up being sent to the corner for apparently talking back
to the teacher. The main point that Anzaldua is trying to get across to her is that she is who she is as a
person because of her language. Her language is her identity, but she is victimized for speaking Chicano
by whites, Hispanics, and the people of her own heritage. She discusses the several different types of
languages she has picked up over the. She was told at a very young age that her language was wrong, but
at the end of this piece, it is clear that Anzaldua will remain proud and faithful to her language and will
no longer be made to feel ashamed of existing. She is therefore saying that she will have her own voice
based on who she is and what languages she speaks to overcome the fears of the silent traditions being
present in society.
How to Tame a Wild Tongue is a chapter from an autobiography titled, Borderlands/ La
Frontera: The New Mestiza written by the author, Gloria E. Anzaldua in 1987. Gloria Anzaldua was born
September 26, 1942 in southern Texas. The Chicano Movement of the 1960s; also called the Chicano
Civil Rights Movement which began in the 1940s with the goal of achieving Mexican American
empowerment. (Chicano 1) Because this movement began when she was born and lasted up to her 20s
Im sure it had a great influence throughout her life. She devoted herself to reading and writing and soon
received a degree from Pan American University and the University of Texas. She became a leading voice
of Chicana literature, which leads to her to write many award winning pieces that continue to inspire and
influence those struggling to embrace their culture.

Personal Opinion:
And I think, how do you tame a wild tongue, train it to be quiet, how do bridle and saddle it? How do
you make it lie down?
I found the following paragraph interesting because she was contradicting these questions. She
was not going to tame that tongue; she wasnt going to be oppressed by other people saying she had to
speak English. She didnt believe you had to speak a certain way or do certain things to be accustomed to
American. One thing that surprised me was how her teachers and even her mother were telling her, If
you want to be American or successful in life you have to speak English and not have that Spanish
accent. Which is far from true, many immigrants have become successful embracing their culture.
Wild tongues cant be tamed; they can only be cut out.
Right here she was expressing how people were taking away her tongue because they were telling
her to not only speak English but to speak it right, so she feels that theyre ripping her tongue away. The
beginning of this piece was all about her experience growing having a teacher and mother telling her she
needed to change her ways and forget her Hispanic heritage.
If you want to be American, speak American. If you dont like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.
This was a phrase the teacher told her but I thought it was pretty funny how she was telling her to
go back where you belong though was born in Texas. You would think that her mother would teach
her to embrace her Mexican culture but instead her mother bugs her about speaking with an accent.
Telling her that the education she is gaining is worthless if she has an accent; all of it doesnt matter
because you have an accent and you wont be able to get a good job with an accent. Both teacher and
parent were telling her to speak American and speak it right.
This was basically what How to Tame a Wild Tongue was all about. Like I mentioned at the
end she was proud of her language and ended up saying this was her language, this is what she talks and

who she is even if others think it isnt correct. Overall she teaches us that it is important to accept and
your heritage, because doing so is an important of self-acceptance. Culture is what defines and separates
one society from the next and it is important that the individuals in a culture embrace their culture. People
arent Americans because they live in America but because we all share similar beliefs about our country
and it are those beliefs that help us to identify ourselves with one to another. Our heritage and culture both
separate us and solidify us.
Counter Argument:
Like I mentioned earlier, I think that the main argument of this piece was that she believed she
was who she was as a person because of her language. Language is her identity. In the beginning of the
piece Anzaldua tells of an incident in her younger years where her mother tells her that she wants her to
speak English without an accent. Also telling her the education she is gaining is worthless if she has an
accent; All of it doesnt matter because you have an accent and you wont be able to get a good job with
an accent. I strongly disagree with her mothers statement. I believe everyone has a chance at success.
Like Jimmy Carter said I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or
environment which we live There are many notable examples of immigrants who have come to the
states and achieved success despite their obstacles of language. For example Sergey Brin, co-founder of
Google and born in Moscow, as well as Jerry Yang, founder of Yahoo who was born in Taipei, Taiwan and
many other successful immigrants that didnt let a language barrier get in the way of becoming
successful, let alone getting a job. Therefor I do not believe an accent can prevent you from getting a
good job or achieving your goals.

Civic Engagement:

Civic engagement refers to the ways in which citizens participate in the life of a community in
order to improve conditions for others or to help shape the community's future. This term has been used to
date primarily in the context of younger people. (Adler 1)
I had the opportunity to help as volunteer at Mana Academy, a non-profit, K-12 college preparatory public
charter school in West Valley City, Utah. Their mission is to close the opportunity gap by nurturing
lifelong learners who are rooted in their native culture and preparing them to be leaders of tomorrow. I
felt this piece, How to Tame a Wild Tongue went along perfectly with what Mana Academys mission is
as a school and as teachers. I was able to witness a diverse culture of students who were encouraged to
embrace their culture. Volunteering every Wednesday since February 4, 2015 up to today, I was able to
see the children grow and learn not only about their own culture but about each other. I worked with a
Mrs. Russells first grade class, helping them read, write, and even dance. They had a certain hour for
dance class where they went to another room and the dance instructor taught them a variety of common
Spanish dances, as well as Polynesian numbers. It was so fascinating to watch them enjoy their culture as
well as anothers. Before they began dancing we would all sit in a circle and each stand up to say our
Hello, my name is in their native tongue. It was exciting to see such young kids embracing their roots
and also see the teachers and volunteers encourage them and teach them. In the piece by Gloria Anzaldua,
she mentions how her teacher and mother discourage her from speaking Spanish or even English with an
accent but she disagrees and encourages people to embrace their culture because language is your identity
and you shouldnt be ashamed of it. I really enjoyed the opportunity I had to work with these students and
also encourage them to love their culture and realize that each person is different but can still be a
cohesive community through our individuality. Overall this was an incredible experience that I dont
think I would have taken if it wasnt for this Civic Engagement Project, I would definitely do this again
when I am available.