Reading response questions to "how to tame a wild tongue"

Massimo Sarracino
September 9, 2014
Professor Young
ENGL 1100, Writing skills workshop
Reading Response Questions to "How to tame a wild tongue"

1. The opening scene of Anzaldua connects to the overall point of the title by showing how strongly she feels about her culture and nobody can stop her from feeling this way.

2. Anzaldua's use of Spanish in the essay was meant to show her true identity. It made sense to me because i can relate to the use of your language to express yourself.

3. Most languages have the standard dialect and then many other variations, depending what part of a country you are in. Academic English can be defined as Spanish (standard) and Chicano Spanish is a nonstandard that only certain people know based on where you are from. Some people may not like that there are standard and nonstandard dialects, but that is how most languages are and it helps to make things more diverse.

4. If your nationality is American and you want to express yourself that way, then you can absolutely show your identity by speaking/writing in Academic English. It is  not necessary, anybody has the freedom to express themselves however they want.

5. There are many types of English identities. Some are, ethnicity, age, gender, social status, nationality, etc.

6. I do not use a secret language with my friends, like Anzaldua says she does in her essay. But my friends and I have certain phrases that we use regularly, kind of like code words for actual words.

7. With my friends I mostly talk in standard English, but sometimes use a little bit of slang. When I am speaking to parents or a professor, etc. I will always use standard English.

8. The statement "I am my language" shows that you are dedicated to your identity and you are proud about it.

9. The intro and conclusion both talk about her "tongue" which is her language. She restates how she about her identity and that nothing can change her.

10. Of course your language can be a part of your identity, it separates you from everybody else. It makes you your own and you can easily express your identity by speaking your language.

11. Identity is very important to me, it shows others what and who you are. You can express it in many ways and it is good to do so. Anzaldua believes it is very important to express your identity. In the essay Anzaldua says, "we became aware of our reality and acquired a name and a language (Chicano Spanish) that reflected that reality." She is happy that she has a language of her own to express her true identity.