Gloria Anzald\u00faa poses an interesting question in her essay \u201cHow to Tame a Wild Tongue,\u201d she states, \u201cHow do you tame a wild tongue\u2026How do you make it lie down?\u201d In other words, how are people\u2019s voices and their identities being suppressed and made silenced? Throughout the essay, Anzald\u00faa states that people\u2019s voices are a part of their identity. Language and the style of speaking are interconnected in one\u2019s identity. It is a means of expression and self-identification. However, through oppression and by force, people\u2019s voices can be taken away from them. Their means of identification and individuality can be silenced by an oppressor. At times, this can last for generations until the people it affects lose their identification. Anzald\u00faa makes this evident in her essay by discussing the history of Spanish and English colonization and the effects it had on the Native American population. The colonizers forced the Native Americans to assimilate to Western ideals and culture. They stripped them of their identity and forced them into new ones. The colonizers \u201ctamed\u201d the Natives\u2019 \u201cwild tongue\u201d by force. They taught them that their beliefs were wrong and that the language they spoke was uncivilized. To tame a \u201cwild tongue\u201d the oppressor targets children because they are easy to influence. For example, in the United States, American Indian boarding schools were places that \u201ctamed\u201d the \u201cwild tongue\u201d of the Native population. In these schools, they were forced to learn English and assimilate to American values and ideas. If they were caught speaking in their native tongue, they were punished. As a consequence, the Native American populations lost language, culture, and ultimately their identities. Overall, the taming of \u201cwild tongue\u201d is the action of silencing one\u2019s voice and taking away their means of self-expression and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Anna Allen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gloria Anzald\u00faa poses an interesting question in her essay \u201cHow to Tame a Wild Tongue,\u201d she states, \u201cHow do you tame a wild tongue\u2026How do you make it lie down?\u201d In other words, how are people\u2019s voices and their identities … Continue reading