Jack Wilmott
4 September 2016
Prof. Young
Writing Skills Workshop 1100
1.
The
opening scene of Anzaldua in the dentist chair connects to the overall
point/message of the essay and title because it represents how the native
tongues of Mexican Americans are constantly being restricted by society. In the
scene the dentist is trying to hold her tongue in place in order to work on her
teeth but it keeps forcing its way back into place. This represents the fight
Mexican Americans struggle with every day because society is trying to
Americanize them by making them lose their accents and speak even though it’s
just not who they are.
2. 2. Anzaldua’s
use of Spanish throughout the writing made sense because it is a way in which
Mexican Americans are adapting to our culture. The purpose of it was to show
the pressures put on a specific group of people to change who they are and what
their culture is.
3.
3. Academic
English and standard Spanish can be defined as the same because they are both
the proper forms of speaking each language. Chicano Spanish can be described as
non-standard because it may still be the same language but there are many
differences in the way in which things are said. It also can be considered
no-standard because it is a version of the language that was made by a specific
group of people meaning not everyone that speaks Spanish would understand it. One
conclusion that can be made from referring one language as standard versus
nonstandard is that different people speak differently, and what one person
identifies as standard may differ from what another person who speaks the same
language considers standard. It has to do with how and where you grew up which
factors into how people are identified by others.
4. 4. Speaking
and writing in academic English is a necessary component of identity because in
many people’s opinions it shows your understanding of the language and whether
or not you have been Americanized. Speaking in academic English may not be
necessary when with friends or family but it is in the business world. For
example if you go out for a job and the person hiring you feels that you don’t
fully understand the language you may have a much less likely chance of getting
the job or you may be thought of as a different category of people in their
eyes.
5. 5. The
English language has many variations depending on where you live. The most
common variation in the U.S. which is commonly used in the business world would
probably be standard English. Another variation which is called ELF is a form
of English used by people who’s first language isn’t English. One more
variation I know of is British English which is the form of English that people
in Britain use. The language is the same but there are many variations of words
for example instead of fries people from Britain call them chips.
6. 6. Personally
I do not use a secret language or identity to talk to friends but there are
definitely certain words we use sometimes that mean different things to us than
those around us.
7. 7.When
talking to friends I use non-standard English. If I am in a conversation with
my mother or professor than I use standard English because it is more
respectful to speak that way to them rather than in slang like I would with friends.
8. 8. The
statement “I Am My Language” means that your primary language is a key factor
of what makes up who you are as a person. This statement connects to a person’s
identity because when being identified if you speak a different language than
the person you’re talking to than they categorize you into a group of people
different than themselves just based upon how you speak.
9. 9. The introduction and conclusion in the story
connect because in the intro the dentist is trying to control her tongue no
matter how stubborn it was being. Even though he kept putting it in a certain
position it naturally went back to its original place. In the conclusion it is
stated “When other races have given up their tongue, we’ve kept ours”. which
means that when other races were pressured to change the way they were they did
but, Mexican American’s stayed how they were no matter how much society tried
to change them like when the dentist was trying to force Anzaldua’s tongue into
a position it wasn’t meant to be in.
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10. The language you
speak definitely factors into your identity. This is because the language you
speak with can change the way you pronounce things, understand what other
people are trying to say, and can even have a major effect on how you live at
home with your family.
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11. Identity is very
important to me. Your identity controls what people think when they first meet
you and even when you are good friends. It is easy to say that Gloria Anzaldua
believes identity is important because of how strongly she feels about preserving
her tongue. One example proving that Anzaldua thinks identity is important is
when she states “A language which they can connect their identity to, one
capable of communicating the realities and values true to themselves”. Another
example showing that Anzaldua cares a lot about identity is when she states “If
a person Chicana or Latina has low estimation of my native tongue, she also has
low estimation of me.” This statement shows that she cares about what other
people think about her based on her identity because language is a major factor
of peoples identities.
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