week 7: #2

        Reading Anzaldua story “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua, about her identity and how it was shaped by her culture or religion and the history of her language was very interesting to read and hear how her identity shaped her. Connecting her story with my identity is a lot alike but there are some differences in between us. My identity is very straight forward I am full Sicilian but I was not born in Italy. My family grew up in Long Island, Brooklyn New York. Comparing my identity to Anzaldua and her identity speaking Latin and being Mexican and "Chicana" you can tell was struggles for her because of the way she was explaining the story and I can relate because I can speak full English and my family was born in New York but I do not know how to speak full Italian. Furthermore, my aunts and uncles all have accents and do speak full English. Gloria was a Mexican-American writer and relating to me, I am an excellent writer with full understandings of English but am only is speaking a little bit of Italian language. Gloria telling us in her story about her language and when it was almost "not okay" to speak Spanish or she would get something said to her. “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess-that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler"(103). Therefore, Gloria didn’t feel comfortable even speaking her own language in which she speaks daily. In my opinion, that is not right and not fair. If I were in Gloria position, I would have done something even though at the time it was a different time period. There should be a right to people who speak a language, can have every right to speak it at school and wherever they go. Today is different, all peoples identity shape who they are today and who they will become today. Learning or already knowing two languages is a 100% positive to have when having a job or getting a career to live your life successful.  My identity is known for myself and having the rights to a lot things and not be getting “yelled” at or having to be insecure about yourself because you are speaking your own language out at school. Today if a lady and man were in Gloria position, the world would be a whole racist community. Back in the day, people knew what their identity was but for the most part they did care if people were colored skin, spoke a different language, walked a certain way or had an ascent.  When able to speak two different languages, you can really feel and relate to Gloria because she basically talks about in her story that she is mistreated and unable to speak her own language even when she is just trying to tell the teacher how to pronounce  her name. When telling someone that speaks two languages to stop speaking another language other than English said is going to ruin the Spanish language. Although, Gloria went through a hard time with her identity and the way it surrounded her was very unfair. I made a connection to Gloria by having the two languages and the feeling of what people think about it and have to say