Blog Post 9: Saddling Wild Tongues

In her text “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Gloria Anzaldua poses the question of how exactly “do you tame a wild tongue?” Anzaldua adds to this, wondering how to keep it quiet, how to bridle and saddle it, and how to make it lie down. These descriptions make a tongue out to be something that must be forced into submission, rather than willingly becoming civilized. A wild tongue must be shackled down by bridle and saddle, forbidden to speak the way it wants to, and is pushed down, rather than being given the choice to speak. Thus, to tame a wild tongue, one must prevent it from uttering anything wild, whether it’s expletives or “unfitting” language, forcing it to conform to the wishes of those around it. By removing the tongue’s ability to speak freely, you also remove its ability of self-expression and identity. Culture and personality come from the “wild” phrases that one chooses to utter and through the taming of the tongue, a voice loses its sense of self. However a person’s sense of wildness cannot be suppressed, no matter how much society forces their wild tongue to bend to their so-called “standards”. Despite facing a society that shackles its words, a wild tongue will ultimately find a way to make itself heard.

– Kenny Ly