The writing by Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands, was incredibly interesting for me to read and analyze because of the mixture of language and culture that it highlights. As I was growing up in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, I went to a catholic school that was a huge mixture of different cultures. We had Caucasians, African Americans, Latin Americans, African exchange students and even more people from varying places. I bring this into the conversation because my grade school experience seems to be vary similar to those experiences of the people living in the Borderlands. There was a large language gap between most of us, but most of us knew at least basic english. This caused some interesting situations. There was a lot of misunderstanding between people who didn’t speak the same languages.

I was able to speak English and basic Spanish. Mostly I knew some verbs, some nouns and how to ask where the bathroom is. This did make it hard to get closer to the kids who spoke English as a second language or not really at all. I found myself running into this same circumstance while reading ” Borderlands. Anzaldua writes “La madre naturaleza succored me, allowed me to grow roots that anchored me to the earth.” (Borderlands, pg. 1-2) I did not understand the Spanish that was at the begging of this quote. This left me wanting to know what it meant, because I’m sure if she was going to put a Spanish phrase into a mostly English passage, that it’s probably important to the story being told. Some would just glance past this word or treat it like a place holder that they would mark for later and maybe come back. Some people might even become annoyed that she would have the nerve to add Spanish into their English, requiring them to do a little bit more work to find the meaning.

I recently learned about the Ottoman Empire’s army in World War One and their struggles with a discrepancy in dialects and languages. They would be moving to fight the Russians, run into a force that was speaking a language that they did not recognize and they would begin killing each other. What they did not know is that they were actually part of the same force, the Ottoman Empire. I feel as though Anzaldúa wanted people to feel this way while reading because it promotes a desire to learn about her culture. The number one reason for fighting seems, to me at least, to be because of people misunderstanding each other and in that misunderstanding, being afraid that the person on the other side of the misunderstanding is going to attempt to wrong you in some way. Anzaldúa states “The switching of ‘codes’ in this book from English to Castilian Spanish to the North Mexican dialect to Tex-Mex to a sprinkling of Nahuatl to a mixture of all of these, reflects my language, a new language, the language of the borderlands.” (Borderlands, pg. 2) So I do feel as though she was intentionally trying to make the reader curious, because she want to connect the languages and make them one strong language that can unite people from different places to also create one community that lives in peace and happiness.

Gloria Anzaldúa explains how her personal dialect was transformed and adapted to compliment her dual identity as a Chicano. Growing up on the east coast, I always believed you either spoke English or Spanish or both. I never realized that the borders between these languages aren’t black and white. Within these languages is subsets like the ones developed on the Texas-Mexico border that Anzaldúa speaks in the text. Anzaldúa recounts her confusion with her dual identity throughout her life, feeling rejection from native Mexican community as well as the Anglo community. Within the text, Anzaldúa switches in between these dialects throughout the text to emphasize the Chicanos need to create “a secret language”(77), one to make them feel as if they have something of their own. Chicanos are not just on the border, but spread across America. To these Chicanos “language is a Homeland closer than the Southwest”(77). For a reader like myself, who speaks little to no Spanish but fluent English, when the author switches in between language mid sentence a sense of confusion forces the reader to use context clues to put together the overall meaning of the sentence, or in some cases not even understand it at all. When this happens to me, I would feel frustrated but continue to read in hopes the following text would help me put pieces together. I felt lost and left out, afraid I was missing some significant point of the text that was purposefully left unavailable to me. For example, Anzaldúa describes the linguistic terrorism she’s felt towards the Chicano language. She describes a “cultural crucifixion”(80) that makes the the chicano people “Racially, culturally, and socially somos huerfanos”(80). Not being able to understand the main point of the sentence I felt I couldn’t fully understand just what she had meant to say. Perhaps this was to give the reader insight as to what she had felt her entire life, growing up speaking Chicano Spanish, Catillian Spanish and American English must have ocaisionally left her as equally confused as I was. However, a deeper meaning can also be found in her switch from language to language. Even when describing the oppression her people have felt from expressing and taking pride in their dual identity, she doesn’t stop blending the languages. This literary technique shows the pride she’s learned to take in her ability to be both Anglo and Mexican, even in the face of rejection from both communities.

In her text Borderlands /La frontera: The New Mestiza, Gloria Anzaldúa explains the anxieties that come with living on the border between both cultures and languages. The average person may not realize just how many dialects and variations of Spanish exist, as they have evolved out of need for secret independence. People are forced to create their own language when they cannot identify with their environment. Chicano Spanish came from the need for Mexican-Americans to be distinct and join together in their two-ness. This special vocabulary rose from the intermingling of English and Spanish. Syllables are contracted, vowels are left out, and outdated Spanish words are utilized to make a unique communicative device which only few may produce and understand.

Anzaldúa recounts the many times she has used English-Spanish hybrids in her everyday life and the different ways it has impacted her identity. Chicanos have grown up to believe that they speak poor Spanish, a messy jargon comprised of slangs and archaisms. Mexican Americans will look down upon certain dialects as being inferior to others and Anzaldúa explains that “because we internalize how our language has been used against us for the dominant culture, we use our language differences against each other” (pg. 80).  Native tongue has always been used as a quick classifier amongst groups of people as a result of the stereotypic judgements Americans have made since the birth of this country. Biases arise easily just based off of one’s preferred speech, knowing nothing more of the person. It is no longer just the majority who looks down upon the minority for their linguistic usage, but there is a certain within-group combat as well. It is hard to separate language choices from identity because they are so deeply rooted in our personal experience. Communication is an imperative component of human connection and without it, relationships would be impossible. Anzaldúa acknowledges this sentiment saying “ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity- I am my language” (pg. 81). Language based discrimination is problematic because one’s native tongue is held close to one’s heart.

Anzaldúa brilliantly demonstrated the complicated experience of being a Chicana on the border between cultures. She switches codes multiple times throughout the piece; sometimes moving in complete sentences, other times peppering varying languages into the same phrase. This is not to confuse the reader, but to give them a firsthand sense of how dynamic the bilingual process can be. She shows how Spanish and English can coexist in a way that can make communication more colorful and meaningful. Since the likelihood that every person who will read her passage will understand the Spanish phrases she inserts throughout, the secret nature of “Spanglish” remains in the reading. She intentionally switches without bothering to translate because it is an authentic representation of the seamless way in which these dialects are actually used. It may be frustrating for readers who have not been accustomed to the Spanish language, but it mirrors the experience migrants feel when they enter a foreign place where their native tongue is useless. This clever rhetorical strategy emphasizes Anzaldúa’s dream to be free and bilingual in America without needing to accommodate.

In the writing called Borderlands, by Gloria Anzaldua, she talks about the physical land of the Mexico-Texas border. This is a place where “psychological borders” take place between the residents trying to call this place home (Anzaldua 1). Living at this location shows the ups and downs of living close to two differing cultures, the Mexican and the Anglo. The flow of languages and dialects is mashed up into one “new language-the language of the Borderlands” (Anzaldua 2). This shows the difficulty and confusion that may occur while living in this area because one would have to know multiple different languages. She tells of how one needs to know English but be able to go to Castillian Spanish then switch to North Mexican to Tex-Mex to many other languages just by a matter of hearing someone new speak one. In her writings of Borderlands, she captures this idea of varying languages and the “language of the Borderlands” by having different characters speak different languages or one character speak multiple languages at once to show the confusion of the border. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, the narrator goes from English to Spanish in one sentence, and sometimes use both languages in the same sentence. At these parts I struggle to understand what is being said because I only have a basic understanding of Spanish. To help myself try to understand it, I try to use context clues around the Spanish sections like I would for an English word that I do not know. If I cannot figure it out by way of context clues, I simply move on and keep reading or if it is that important I will translate it with Google Translate. For instance, the narrator speaks of “braceros, I learned the North Mexican dialect” (Anzaldua 78). This shows two parts, how the narrator learned different dialects and how he or she easily switches between the two or more languages. The narrator learns different dialects from the people they encounter and they try to learn the languages as much as they can to be able to communicate with one another. Secondly, this shows how the people pf the borderlands just flow from one language to another effortlessly and almost like the languages were meant to be mixed together and spoken as such. Which is what the people of the real life Mexico Texas border do. The people mix the languages and speak in and out of multiple dialects because the people there have to know and do know multiple languages to thrive and be successful. For myself, not being able to read multiple lines of the writing was frustrating, but that might be Anzaldua’s intention. The feeling of being confused and lost and unable to understand what is being said because of the different languages. That is probably the real expectation though if I were to go visit the borderland. I would only be able to speak to the people that spoke English, but then I would be missing out of much of the culture of the borderland. And on top of that, if the locals start speaking in different dialects and start speaking “borderlands”, I would only be able to understand the bits and pieces of the English spoken.

In Gloria Anzaldúa’s piece, Borderlands, many languages are used as a symbolism of the writer’s identity.  In the piece the author explains her upbringing as a borderland girl, sandwiched between the Americans and Mexicans made it so new hybrid cultures were formed from the contrasting cultures on each side of them. “Living on borders and in margins, keeping intact one’s shifting and multiple identity and integrity, is like trying to swim in a new element, an ‘alien’ element”. (Anzaldúa, pg. 72) Because of the vast differences of the people on either side of them they were forced to talk differently to different people and this is a major part of the personal identity of the author who came from there. The author lists 8 languages and dialects as one she uses the most and must know if she would want to communicate effectively in her home region. And this diverse form of speaking was something she was and is very proud of and is important.  It is the actual blending of different cultures and the source of interaction between many people who cannot communicate effectively without being diverse of language.

            I believe this is very valuable skill as it brings people together despite differences in their language. When I was reading the passage, I would come to words or sentences that were in a language that I didn’t understand. But because they were interwoven with English that I have known my entire life I can use clues to discern what she is saying which brings me closer that Spanish and Spanish speaking people. Even though I cannot exactly translate the text it is still possible to understand what she is saying, and I believe that is what she is trying to do in this passage.  Her childhood she was in a border region and her people brought together peoples of many different cultures together by language. By being able to speak to everyone despite different languages is an important skill to have and their use of hybrid language can aid people understanding a language they do not know and add to their skills in communication. This form of translation is an easy way to begin to understand a different culture without being able to speak to them and shows how people can do things in different ways and the importance of diversity is highlighted.

            In her childhood she recalls being punished for not speaking strictly English, “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess- that was good for three licks in the knuckles with a sharp ruler.” (Anzaldúa, pg. 75) While I can understand that the teachers want to make sure all students know and can articulate the common language, I do not feel that it is acceptable to punish someone for speaking their native language. Language is a strong component of a person’s personal identity and in the authors case it was an integral part of her communicating with the diverse people that resided in the borderland. Her speaking many languages is important to her own self-image and the lives of others because in her situation she needs to be able to speak multiple languages and dialects or the people on different sides of the border cannot mesh and ideas and culture would not be able to flow freely.

In Gloria Anzaldúa’s novel “Borderland/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,” she discusses many important topics concerning many Spanish-speaking Americans, ranging from Mexican-American to Latino-American to Chicanos. All of these different groups of people and different identities that she discusses all connect to how she, herself, identifies. Anzaldúa discusses, in great depths, her different senses of belongings among different groups across her many different identities. She discusses how she was made to feel like she didn’t belong amongst Anglo Americans, when she states, “I remember being sent to the corner of the classroom for “talking back” to the Anglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name. “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong,” (75). Anzaldúa also discusses how she is oftentimes made to feel like she doesn’t belong among other Spanish speaking groups. This is illustrated when she states, “‘Pocho, cultural traitor, you’re speaking the oppressor’s language by speaking English, you’re ruining the Spanish language,” I have been accused by various Latinos and Latinas. Chicano Spanish is considered by the purist and by most Latinos deficient, a mutilation of Spanish,” (77). Anzaldúa, however, doesn’t talk about her lack of feeling like she belongs, but rather, she discusses how others try to exclude her and make her feel like there is a distance between her and many various groups of people. Anzaldúa is proud of her different heritages and backgrounds, she is simply trying to show to the world how people have tried to make her feel different and unwanted in many different groups that she feels she fits perfectly.

“How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa has probably been my favorite piece that we have read so far in this class because it is the first article I have understood everything that the author is saying, despite the fact that she switches back and forth between Spanish and English throughout the entire work. I am double majoring in Spanish and Foreign-Language Education, and hope to become a Spanish teacher once I graduate, so the parts that were written in Spanish didn’t make this article more difficult for me, and I definitely understood exactly why she chose to write this novel how she did. Anzaldúa discusses the unfairness of her being put into a box on what she can and cannot do concerning what language she should speak and how she should speak it. Anzaldúa states, “So, if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity— I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself. Until I can accept as legitimate Chicano Texas Spanish, Tex-Mex, and all the other languages I speak, I cannot accept the legitimacy of myself. Until I am free to write bilingually and to switch codes without having always to translate, 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,” (81). The reason that Anzaldúa chose to write this language in many different languages and many different dialects is because she is done with being confined to these tiny boxes and being forced to switch codes in order to make one group happy and comfortable. Anzaldúa decided that accommodating English speakers is far less important than making sure that she feels legitimate and feels pride in herself, as a Chicano, English, Spanish, and Spanglish speaking, woman of color.

In Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands the author relays to the reader her experience as a Chicana girl growing up and now as an adult.  She, and her fellow Chicanos, were excluded from both their Spanish speaking communities and the English speaking ones. She describes how in school she would be punished for speaking Spanish, even at recess amongst her peers. And how those in her community who grew up speaking Chicano Spanish were told that their language was “illegitimate, a bastard language” (Anzaldua 80), and how many Chicanas had internalized those views and used them against each other. She outlines to the reader how, as a result of this internalization, Chicana girls were hesitant around other Chicana girls. She states, “To be close to another Chicana is like looking in the mirror” (Anzaldua 80). To many cultures, this would not be something that was undesirable or something to be feared, but because of the ostracization and prejudices against their language, it is not desirable to see the same broken spirit mirrored across from you.

The author identifies very deeply with her native tongue, and throughout the chapter she references it many times. She argues for the idea that until all of her languages are able to be recognized and spoken with the same level of respect as traditional Spanish, English etc. she will not be able to truly identify as who she is. She expressed this view succinctly when she said, “Ethnic identity is a twin skin to linguistic identity” (Anzaldua 81). She brings up the idea that until her language is fully accepted, to the point where she no longer has to accommodate English or Spanish speakers, or to choose one when she wants to speak Spanglish, her language, and, with that, her identity, will be considered illegitimate

Since Analzuda associates her personal identity so strongly with her language choice, I believe that she switches languages intentionally to represent the disconnect between what was classically accepted and what was not. I know for many readers, it was the English parts that were understandable, and the foreign ones that were not. In just this situation, it appears that the authors point was proved. If she wants to communicate with the vast majority of the country, she is going to have to be speaking English in order for them to understand. I also believe she may have used this technique as a sort of representation of the parts of cultural identification she missed out on because of her identity and language. Although that the reader could use context to try and piece together what they think the author was saying, we will always be missing a piece of it until we are able to see both languages equally well. And, in real life, Analzuda constantly had to choose between her language and fitting in, between her culture and the accepted culture, between her identity and the identity she was expected to have, and finally she decided that she was done with that, and the switching between languages I believe represents, at least as one function, the constant internal struggle she experienced throughout her life.

My perspective while reading Borderlands was somewhat unique, in that I am a white American who is able to fluently speak Spanish, as well as understand most of its many dialects. As my experience with the language is more academically and socially based, rather than in familial and cultural heritage, it was both enlightening and thought-provoking to live the cultural implications brought about by the structure of the language and the issue of American Anglicization. In the beginning of the text, Anzaldua utilizes a hybridization of English and Spanish, often referred to as Spanglish within Spanish-speaking communities. This decision is an extremely effective rhetorical choice, as it not only catches the majority of monolingual readers off-guard, but conveys her experience of being caught between the two cultural worlds and the accompanying discomfort by forcing the reader to attempt to decipher the foreign passages of the text. However, it is important to note that Anzaldua never leaves the reader completely in the dark, as she often contextualizes the Spanish interjections immediately afterwards to provide a general sense of what is being conveyed. For example in the beginning of Borderlands, Anzaldua states, “Even our own people, other Spanish-speakers nos quieren poner candados en la boca. They would hold us back with their bag of reglas de academia.” Even if one does not understand the Spanish phrases, the idea of being restricted by the limitations of one’s own culture is clearly transmitted to the audience. The different dialects and their perceived social status has always been an area which interests me. While I was already familiar with the dialectical nature of prescriptivism and descriptivism, as well as the resulting use of different conjugations to appear more distinguished, such as the -ra/-se dichotomy and the use of archaic conjugations such as truje y vide in Chicano Spanish, the influence and the role of this linguistic evolution as it pertains to the attempts to Americanize Latin-Americans was still surprising in its extent. The concept of the Veil as described by Du Bois when discussing the idea of double-consciousness immediately comes to mind as Andzaldua describes how different labels are employed depending on the context of their multiple and pluralistic identities: “When not copping out, when we know we are more than nothing, we call ourselves Mexican, referring to race and ancestry; mestizo when affirming our Indian and Spanish (but we hardly ever own our black ancestry); Chicano when referring to a politically aware people, born and/or raised in the U.S.; Raza when referring to Chicanos; tejanos when we are Chicanos from Texas.” The complexity of a Latina identity is able to be at least superficially appreciated by simply observing the plethora of separate and distinct classifications and subcultures listed above. Yet, as Andzaldua continues to elaborate upon the concept of mixed identity and the Borderlands, she qualifies the association of oneself with such identities: Because many Latin Americans do not identify nor belong to only one major cultural group, they don’t fully or completely belong to any of them; living sin fronteras, as a crossroads without clearly defined boarders may be liberating in certain ways. However, when placed in the context of forced assimilation, it becomes a sinister tool used to strip individuals of their uniquely eclectic identities. This is the struggle of Andzaldua and those like her who are forced to live a culturally nomadic lifestyle on the boarderlands of hispanic and Anglo-American lifestyles.

In Borderlands by Gloria Anzaldua, she explains the impact that borders have had on her life and the challenges that she has faced and that many people still face today. But she also describes borders as not just physical barriers between states or countries. “Borderlands are physically present wherever two or more cultures edge each other, where people of different races occupy the same territory, where under, lower, middle, and upper classes touch, where the space between two individuals shrinks with intimacy.” (pg. 74) This quote essentially means that while there are physical borders, there are also imaginary borders between social classes, races, and genders. She describes how she is a border woman and that she grew up living between two borders. She says this in-between area is, “not a comfortable territory to live in, this place of contradictions. Hatred, anger, and exploitation are the prominent features of this landscape.” (pg. 74) The impact that borders has had on Gloria’s life as well as many others’ lives is one that needed to be addressed and was in this story.

Certain parts of this narrative written by Anzaldua are in a language that is not English, which I think is a very interesting move to make as a writer, but in this story’s case I think it makes complete sense. The story is written on the basis that physical and imaginary borders exist in the world we live in today and it has a major impact on many lives across the globe. So for Anzaldua to write certain parts of her story in Spanish when the story is intended to be read by Americans that speak English is a genius move in my mind. Although the parts written in Spanish are nearly impossible for me to read considering I only took two years of Spanish in Junior High School, it only helps the author emphasize her main point of the story. When I come across those points in the story written in Spanish, I sort of skim over that sentence and find the next portion in English but, then I feel as if I have missed a part of the storytelling that could impact the way I interpret the rest of it. Sentences like, “Deslenguadas. Somos los del espanol deficiente.” (pg. 80) are ones that I have no idea what they are saying and could impact my understanding of the text.

By writing certain parts of her story in Spanish, Gloria Anzaldua is emphasizing the point she is trying to make that borders, both physical and imaginary, exist and that they impact anyone who may be on one side of a border but needs to be on the other side to truly understand what is in front of them. Physical, race, economic status, gender, and language are all examples of just some of the types of borders that are prevalent in our world today and Gloria Anzaldua does a fantastic job of demonstrating this concept in her story, Borderlands.

In her text, Borderlands /La Frontera: The New Mestiza Gloria Anzaldúa talks about her life and identity of a child of the border. She talks about her various identities and how feel stretched and lost in between. The big point that is made in the text is the importance of language and identity and how those two interplay and intertwine. She expresses this by saying “For some of us, language is a homeland closer than the Southwest” (page 77). Anzaldúa explains the forces that came together to create the languages that are unique to the Chicanos and how this becomes instrumental to structuring her identity. Similarly, she speaks of the anguish of having that taken away from her, and of the erasure that is forced upon her.

A powerful tool that Anzaldúa uses throughout her writing to illustrate her point is the usage of her native tongues throughout her English text. The dynamic is essential to the piece and conveys the message in ways that structured arguments cannot. I have personally never taken Spanish a day in my life. What I know of the language is nothing more than common knowledge and mainstream culture, or whatever similarities to familiar English words I can scavenge. And yet, the fact that I couldn’t understand exactly what was being said didn’t really matter. The author translated often enough when needed. Most importantly those words or phrases were surrounded with context that delivered the feeling. Instead of feeling frustration when I didn’t understand the words, I was curious. Furthermore, it was more important for me to understand what the author was trying to convey through those words, which was deeper than what the phrases meant at face value. When she writes about the differences in language between Chicanos and other Spanish speakers such as “We leave out initial syllables, saying tar for estar fqy for estoy, hora for ahora cut›anos and puerforrlqueïios also leave out initial letters of some words.) We also leave out the final sylla- ble such as pu for parc” page (79), I honestly cannot appreciate those differences. To me as someone who does not speak Spanish they are both equally foreign. However, I can appreciate that there is a difference and that distinction is enough to create an impact.  

There could be several reasons as to why the author has chosen to incorporate her different languages into the text. While writing a piece that argues for the importance of language in forming her identity, it is only fitting that she uses them in her text. I think it is more of an act of liberty though than an act of defiance. I don’t think the author’s aim is to mimic the frustration of a language barrier. I conclude this from her statement in the preface “But we Chicanos no longer feel that we need to beg entrance, that we need always to make the first overture—to translate to Anglos, Mexicans and Latinos, apology blurting out of our mouths with every step. Today we ask to be met halfway. This book is our invitation to you—from the new mestizas” (page ?)

As a person who is very bilingual, I recognize the need to speak in the tongue that is being denied to you. I also relate to how she expressed language as to be center to one’s identity. There is a certain freedom and pride to reclaiming your language, almost like adding back a piece of who you are. A language not only functions for communication, but it conveys specific feelings and connotations. It carries history and culture and the evolutionary story of its people. Anzaldúa quotes Ray Gwyn Smith as he says, “Who is to say that robbing a people of its language is less violent than war.” (page ?) and I couldn’t agree more.