Ava Moorhem

Professor Zugnoni

English 105-7

November 20, 2023

Reaction Paper 4

The quote, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world,” said by

philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, describes the importance of being able to articulate

and share your thoughts with other people. The language people use and the thoughts

they share are often the first things the people around them use to perceive or judge

them. This, however, can create friction between groups of people as language and

cultural barriers make it difficult for them to effectively communicate, leading to

misunderstandings, prejudice, and discrimination. The effects of language

discrimination can be observed in the essay How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria

Anzaldua. Throughout the essay, Anzaldua describes the various dialects of Spanish

that she has encountered and learned throughout her life, and the judgment she has

faced for speaking a dialect that many people do not recognize or respect. Throughout

her essay, Anzaldua encourages the reader to reflect on their own relationship between

their identity and language and to educate themselves to foster an open-minded

mindset to create cultural tolerance.

After reading How to Tame a Wild Tongue, a classmate and I had a conversation

about the writing, as we both thought the piece was particularly moving. The classmate

mentioned how the piece made her think of a moment in the popular TV. show Modern
Family, where one of the main characters, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, states, “Do you

even know how smart I am in Spanish?” A running joke throughout the duration of the

show had been how Gloria often struggled to remember words in English, or how her

accent made it difficult for the people around her to understand what she was saying at

times. While the show would often make light of the situation, this was the first time they

had directly addressed how the difficulties affected Gloria, rather than the people around

her. This scene closely relates to the ideas Gloria Anzaldua shares in How to Tame a

Wild Tongue. The language Anzaldua speaks is closely intertwined with her identity,

however, the people around her discredit her because her language does not align with

how both English and Spanish speakers believe her language should be. Both women

are held to standards that are impossible for them to achieve, as that would require

erasing a lifetime of experiences and established identity. The language we use is an

aspect of our lives that is continuously shaped by the people around us. Language can

only be built upon, not destroyed or removed.

One particular quote in How to Tame a Wild Tongue that stuck out to me was

“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.” As a whole, Anzaldua’s writing was very eye-opening to

me. As a native English speaker, living in a place where I rarely encountered people

who did not frequently speak languages other than English openly, I take for granted the

ease with which I interact with and navigate the world. I would not have considered the

language I use as a part of my identity before reading the above quote from Anzaldua.

However, I began to reflect on my time at Northwestern so far, and I began to realize

that many of the conversations I have had with people have, coincidentally, revolved

around language. With each new person I have met, I have talked with them about their

accent or mine and the regional slang that each of us regularly uses. It has been

interesting to compare how where we live impacts our word choices and speech

patterns. While Anzaldua was forced to navigate and respect other people's languages

without experiencing that same respect herself, it has been comforting to see people

recognize and celebrate the differences at Northwestern.

Language is an easily overlooked, but vital part of our identity. It is a reminder of

where we come from, and the people that came before us. No two people speak a

language the same, as each person's vocabulary is a collage of their life and

experiences. While differences can sometimes be frustrating, it is important to instead

focus on the diversity of expression and thought that these differences bring.