Spanglish

            Throughout the readings, I actually found the “Spanglish” elements of Gloria Anzaldua’s writings to be one of the most beautiful parts of the whole work. Throughout the piece, her main thesis is to attain a new type of culture: The New Mestiza. She describes this as a reinvigoration of the old culture, which migrated between two lands which are now separated by a border. Although I can’t read Spanish, I thought the small amount of confusion was well-worth it when considering its literary value. By employing a language that makes use of both English and Spanish, she rejects the xenophobia of both cultures, reflects the culture in which it was produced, and fends off what she calls linguistic violence.

            On the most basic level, she uses a mixture of Spanish and English words to reject cultural exclusiveness. She spends a large amount of time in the book chastising white culture for imposing their language onto Chicanos, but she is just as critical of the sometimes narrow-minded Chicano culture. She says that as a New Mestiza, she is a part of every race; for her identity transcends racial borders and can be found in elements of every culture. The book begins by describing the physical border between Texas and Mexico as bleeding the earth and goes on to say that because of her ethnicity, sexuality, and gender, she feels like she cannot belong in one place. Again, her identity is more substantial than oppressive racial categorization and she rejects the exclusivity of either culture by writing in a language that reflects both.

The use of a mixed language is also a serious reflection of the type of culture Anzaldua wrote it in. It reflects the ambiguity and double-consciousness of the borderlands culture in a way that is critical to the book. To make it clearer, the value of these brief passages of non-understanding is similar to the lacunas in the translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh. Although one may suffer slightly from not being able to understand or read small parts of the book, such a detriment is greatly outweighed by the contextual understanding of the history of the book itself. Just like one can enjoy the ancientness of Gilgamesh for its interpretative breaks, one can appreciate the cultural richness of La Frontera for its language mixing.

            Finally, her mixed-language use can best be defended by Anzaldua herself. In the latter half of the book, she speaks to her experience at the Pan American University and about the abusive nature of white education. She says that she was forced to take a speech class to rid her of her Spanish accent and make sure English was her dominant tongue. She describes this process as “cutting out” her “wild tongue,” clearly to admonish such practices. In rebellion, she returns not only to praise her culture, but to advance it unapologetically by interspersing words Spanish words throughout her book. By doing this, she not only makes the white readers reflect in part about feeling linguistically alienated, but she admirably disengages the intended results of her university’s “linguistic violence.”

            In essence, Gloria Anzaldua uses “Spanglish” to reinforce the critical theme of her book. It reflects the very tearing down of linguistic borders and she so ardently argues for the creation of an inclusive Mestizo culture. Yet, the mixed-language is also valuable to the reader as they try to understand the context of the text’s writing, similar to how the text-breaks in The Epic of Gilgamesh reflect its own history. She also mixes her language to refer back to the Pan American University’s attempts to correct and purify her English and show that her “wild tongue” will not be tamed. All in all, Anzaldua’s mixture of Spanish and English is one of the most engaging and rich parts of this work.