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How To Tame A Wild Tongue Analysis

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Both essays, Mother Tongue by Amy Tan and How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua, seem to be different at first glance. However, when you look deeper into them, one would find similarities and differences at the same level. While it is more important that Tan and Anzaldua speak different languages, have different identities, and are immigrants from different countries. What’s more important is how they conform to the new society due to struggles they face because of the way they speak the dialects of their languages in America. In both essays, language is one of the themes that both authors focus on. Tan and Anzaldua are struggling with speaking their language. Amy Tan is struggling with her mom’s broken English, while Gloria …show more content…
According to her essay she acknowledges that her society does not encourage broken Spanish,. In the essay she say “While I still have to speak English or Spanish when I would rather speak Spanglish, and as long as I have to accommodate the English speakers rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate” (Anzaldua, 135). However, she rebels what culture wants her to do. Anzaldua is expected to speak clearly and dedicate herself to the American language. However, she speaks different forms of English and Spanish and is not ashamed of it and does not care if people judge her on the way she speak it.
Language is what causes both authors to be judged. Tan and Anzaldua both link their identity strongly to the language they speak. Both speak different forms of a language; however, people judge them based on the way they speak that language. They find their identity through language. Language shapes both, the individuals and society’s identity, culture and mindset. Also, society defines another's identity by the way they speak a language. Tan’s mom does not speak perfect English, so people look upon them as less intelligent. For

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