Borderlands / La Frontera (3)

7 thoughts on “Borderlands / La Frontera (3)”

1. Like Gloria Anzaldúa, I switch between English and Spanish and like her I believe that “Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity– I am my language”( from Borderlands pg. 59). I view both languages differently because English is a tool I must master in order, to succeed in this country. However, Spanish is my home and the language of my community. I feel that Spanish is a language that is immensely passionate and affectionate but when I have utilized it in spaces that it’s not commonly accepted people see me differently. They hear the language and stereotypes come to mind but sometimes I use it on purpose in order, to challenge their perceptions. However I choose not to hide my language because to do so would be a disrespect to my heritage and lie to myself. I feel that if I was prohibited to speak my language it would be the same as asking me to give up my family. It is so rooted in my identity because I learned it as a child at the same time as English but learning English in school felt imposed and forced by teachers. Learning Spanish at home felt natural and it became my comfort zone. In high school like most Spanish speaking students I, succumbed to the idea that French is a more “cultured” language and decided to study it my Freshman year. Then I realized what Anzaldúa says “Spanish speakers will comprise the biggest minority groups in the U.S. ” and I want to continue to be a part of our tradition ( Borderlands pg. 59). Even though English is the language traditionally used to open doors to the places where success resides, that success is meaningless if I can’t also utilize Spanish to express the language of love I call home.

2. The last chapter “La conciencia de la mestiza / Towards a New Consciousness” speaks to the understanding and knowing of histories of struggles. Anzaldua states, “The struggle has always been inner, and is played out in the outer terrains” meaning that we first need to understand what we are internalizing because whatever that is it impacts the outside (Anzaldua, 108). This outside may be how people perceive us and how we perceive people. In order to promote change first we need to become conscious of our being, then we can begin the process of “inner changes, which in turn come before changes in society” (Anzaldua, 109). I see this mestiza consciousness as a new way of perceiving ourselves as an individual with history and as a person connected to other races. She also thinks that “we need to allow whites to be our allies […] through our literature, art, corridos, and folktales we must share our history with them so when they set up committees to help Big Mountain Navajos or the Chicano farmworkers or los Nicaraguenses they won’t turn people away because of their racial fears and ignorances” (Anzaldua, 107). She doesn’t mean that they would be helping us by understanding us but in fact by becoming aware/immersed into the literature and art they can better understand our culture and cease to be oppressors.

3. I never noticed how much Spanish was being used in each chapter. After Dr. Perez brought the topic up in class and after rereading chapter 5 and 7 I started to pay attention to the separation of languages. I just skimmed through them before because I don’t speak Spanish but there are so many parts that are not in English and now I feel distant from the writing and I don’t want to put in the extra effort to translate.
   Chapter 5 reminds me a lot of my mother because she too was punished for speaking Spanish, but not in school because she grew up in a Mexican neighborhood but at home. Her parents my grandparents wanted their children to be as American as the other students and being born in the United States was not enough. They felt the pressure of society just like the small narrative of the child being scolded by her teacher for speaking Spanish at recess.
   It’s sad to see that there was a day that Chicano literature was not allowed in schools and its even sadder to realize even in 2012 Arizona is going back to the old ways and banning Chicano works. Both time periods are very similar but I still believe teachers are going behind the backs of school officials to promote Chicano culture, just as the teacher at the end of Chapter 5 did with her students.

4. I think that everyone speaks more than one type of language. The way we talk to our friends is different from the way we talk to our family, peers, and bosses. I identify a space as being “home” where I have my own personal space where I can go to and not be disturbed or judge. It’s a place I know that will always be there no matter what. I think I identify a place as a “family” place as where I can to go for support and just talk about anything. The thing that both these places have in common is that there are always people there that I can talk to about anything and that they will always support me. With my grandmother and my friends’ grandparents I talk in Spanish, as that is usually the language that they address me in. although I’m not fluent in Spanish, I know enough to hold a conversation. I feel that not trying to speak Spanish would be a way to lose connection to my family. It is part of them that makes them who they are. When speaking in Spanish, I can definitely tell that I have to think harder about how to say something and I have to focus more on the speaker to try and get every bit of what they are saying.

5. Language is made up of many things. Accents, vocabulary, tone, etc., all make up the collective language of a social group of people and the language of its individual members. Anzaldua mentions that a tongue cannot be tamed, it can only be “cut out.” Meaning it’s hard to mold someone’s speech and language to what one wants, it must be completely eradicated instead of altered. It is necessary for identity and communication, as Anzaluda examines, between Chicanos who might live farther from the border than others. Since I’ve been bilingual all my life, and have actually used my knowledge in English and Spanish to attempt to pick up a third language (French), I know that thinking is different for each language. As I get older and begin to establish myself in college and my future career path, it gives me less time for family and chances to speak Spanish, leaving me out of practice. It is then that I begin to think in “English” for my increasing lack in vocabulary, or arrangement of thoughts which I have always known and have always been told by my parents, is the wrong way of speaking Spanish. I know it’s created a bit of a language barrier between my family who can’t speak English, and I.

   The mestiza consciousness, as defined by Anzaldua at the beginning of chaper seven, is the conscious awareness of the mixture of cultures and spiritual values within a mixed-race woman. Anzaldua, like all Chicanas, is herself a mestiza, but in the process of collecting yet a newer consciousness by being a mestiza woman in the U.S. In this same chapter, Anzaldua defines a a male consciousness known as machismo. She describes it as a form of identity that constantly feels guilt, shame, and a loss of self-esteem and thus tries to make up for it by collecting a false sense of confidence and courage that often makes this man into a drunken brute. As a result, the macho’s shame turns to anger that is aimed at women.

6. Language has always been an important part to my identity. Spanish is my native language because both of my parents taught me this language first. My experience with this at school was never a bad one because unlike Anzaldua, I was never punished for using my Spanish language, I was even signed up in a bilingual program back in kindergarten. I remember that since I did not understand English very well at the time, I would wait for my teacher to give the instructions in Spanish to know what I was doing at first. I agree with Anzaldua in that there really are many forms of the Spanish language that have been adopted by Chicanos and Latinos. I also agree with that struggle that she mentions about not always knowing when to use which of these forms of Spanish. I have friends that know the Spanish language but for some reason never use it with other Spanish speakers. I have other friends who also learned Spanish as their native language, yet still pronounce Spanish titles or names with the North American accent. For some reason, maybe because it was my first language, I have learned to be more comfortable talking in a mixture of English and Spanish with my friends, however I have learned that when my friends use more Spanish in the conversation I begin to do so as well because otherwise I feel like I really am “agringada” as Anzaldua says. I learned in my Spanish linguistics class that when it comes to the Spanish language or any other language for that matter, we cannot call one form of that particular language standard and not the others because in reality that begins to show a connection between a language and the level of education for that language which should not be connected. Language is a form of communication and I think that is something we all learn regardless of our academic education, and this is something I was reminded of when I saw the word “standard” in chapter 5. Labeling any language as standard, really affects the learning of other languages, as Anzaldua says, by the end of the century most Chicanos and Latinos will be using English amongst themselves, but I hope that there is still enough Spanish speakers to pass down this beautiful language to some of the future generations.

7. Gloria in chapter 7 made a great point when she talked about the seven different types of Spanish. It was interesting when she explained how different Spanish speakers would look down on other Spanish speakers if they weren’t from a particular region or if they pronounced their words a different way (58) . Such separation in a group reminded me of the Chicana feminist movement where the women were divided in the group, when it came to the argument of whose issue is the most important to fight for amongst the women group. It was also interesting when she pointed out how Mexican-Americans don’t really want to be associated with being American, but they learn how to be Mexican from the Anglo world. At the same time they are trying to learn about their indigenous past from their Mexican heritage(85-87). This showed how the Chicano/as have to find ways to piece back together a culture that is disappearing, and the Anglo world that they are learning how to be Mexican from is actually the one encouraging the disappearing of their culture. I think this is very contradicting. In chapter 5 you see the pride Gloria expresses in having a language. This pride doesn’t seem to be understood by the Anglo culture that is encouraging her to think her language is bad, and for her to abandon her language(59). I think this can relate to the chicano men not thinking it was important for the Chicana women to have a voice about their opinions. However, such voice really meant something to the Chicana feminist.

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