New Mexican Dialect
Dialect, most people would agree, is the first practical identifier of a person. Yes, there is an unholy amount to be said for visual judgements –physical appearance holds unconscious powers that vocals will never achieve- but when considering true, difficult-to-mask features of a person, one’s speech is the foremost artifact in identification that is, most of the time, genuine. Language is the binding that holds our whole book of life together: your language, and more specifically, your dialect, decides where your page is placed.
Unlike the majority of my peers here at UNM, I did not grow up in New Mexico, and thus am not a native speaker of Standard New Mexican English. I instead grew up in Texas: note that I moved every couple of years and have lived in almost every corner of the state, and so consider my dialect to be more or less blended. However, my primary dialect is still undeniably Texan, and like my New Mexican
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However I never thought that the two dialects –New Mexican and Texan- could be so tangibly different. Apparently, one does not have to even leave the desert to find that their vernacular is out of touch. Upon relocating to Albuquerque from Lubbock three weeks ago, I discovered that in this lexical shift lies innumerable fatal discrepancies (imagine my roommate’s shock when I first asked when we would be attending “supper”. My cheeks still burn at the memory.) Yet the most memorable divergence is undoubtedly the lack of “y’all”. The use of this clunky and rather unbecoming term was always fairly unanimous, even across demographics, in my Texan experience; it has always been a cultural norm for me, uttered without a second thought, much less a poking look. Now, when I’m speaking on the phone to my family 300 miles away, I hear a chuckle from my friends. Never before had I experienced any sort of criticism, joking or otherwise, over this
Use Of Diction In Richard Rodriguez's The Hunger Of Memory
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Summary Of Mexican American Culture
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Being A Mexican Culture Essay
916 Words | 4 PagesAmerican, Asian, Russian, Mexican; we all belong to an ethnic group. While some let their culture and ethnic background define them others allow it to shape your life. Being a Mexican-American I’ve had to simultaneously learn two languages at once; Spanish for when I’m at home or with family and English only at school and with friends. Growing up, my parents didn’t speak much English, so my sister and I had to step up as the family translator. Speaking Spanish is important to my family in many ways, not only is it a way for us to communicate with our family in Mexico, but also a reminder of where we come from.
Mexican American Identity Crisis Analysis
1490 Words | 6 PagesMost Chicanos have a weak connection to Mexico. A way parents establish a connection between Mexico and their children is by teaching them Spanish. Often students with similar Hispanic backgrounds use Spanish to communicate with each other and this has caused issues for schools. Teachers have started to reprimand students for speaking Spanish and forbidding the use altogether. Teachers’ reasoning has been that by doing so, it creates a fair environment for students who do not understand the language, but this has an effect on Hispanic students.
How To Tame A Wild Tongue Rhetorical Analysis
1356 Words | 6 PagesMy Rhetorical Analysis Language is a part one’s identity and culture, which allows one to communicate with those of the same group, although when spoken to someone of another group, it can cause a language barrier or miscommunication in many different ways. In Gloria Anzaldua’s article, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, which was taken from her book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, she is trying to inform her readers that her language is what defines her. She began to mention how she was being criticized by both English and Spanish Speakers, although they both make up who she is as a person. Then, she gave convincing personal experiences about how it was to be a Chicana and their different types of languages. Moreover, despite the fact that her language was considered illegitimate, Anzaldua made it clear that she cannot get rid of it until the day she dies, or as she states (on page 26) “Wild tongues can’t be, they can only be cut out.”
Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By Jamila Lyiscott
553 Words | 3 PagesThe United States is made up of some of the most diverse and interesting cultures in the world. Jamila Lyiscott proves this by showing her different dialects and how they are all equally important. Lyiscott believes that the way she speaks towards her parents, towards her friends, and towards her colleagues are all one in the same. Throughout the entirety of her speech, Lyiscott changes up her vocal patterns and dialects so that the audience can understand first hand what each of these dialects are. When she talks about her father, Lyiscott uses her native tongue, when she talks to her fellow neighbors and close friends she switches it up to a more urbanized dialect, and when she is in school she masks the other two dialects with a professional sounding language.
Similarities Between Mother Tongue And How To Tame A Wild Tongue
504 Words | 3 PagesThe power of language We all have some form of language limitations, no matter where we come from and what our background is. “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua both share similar themes in their stories that demonstrate how they both deal with how different forms of the same language are portrayed in society. In both stories they speak about what society declares the right way of speech and having to face prejudgment, the two authors share their personal experiences of how they’ve dealt with it.
How To Tame A Wild Tongue By Gloria Anzaldúa Analysis
1103 Words | 5 PagesFor instance, she states, “…we don’t identify with the Anglo-American cultural values and we don’t totally identify with the Mexican cultural values. We are a synergy of two cultures with various degrees of Mexicanness or Angloness” (85). This quote exemplifies what many Mexican-American think and that is, that we aren’t a part of just one culture, but rather a mixture of both. Furthermore, there are obstacles that a Mexican-American may face, such as discrimination from one or both cultures. This is seen when Anzaldúa says, “Pocho, cultural traitor, you’re speaking the oppressor’s language by speaking English, you’re ruining the Spanish language…” (77).
Quixote's Soldiers Summary
741 Words | 3 PagesIn order to write this book, the author clearly uses different manuscripts and papers that helped him to explain and show the situation of this social movement. He also uses and gets information from people that were living those situations, for instance in Chapter one, he mentions a note from Journalist Ruiz Ibañez: “Contrary to the common belief that those groups are composed of “punks” and hoodlums….”1. Related to him, he is an American historian and sociology that obtained his sociology and political science degrees in the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, as well. Currently, he is a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and he is president of the Center for Latino Policy Research. He wrote not only Quixote’s Soldiers but also, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986.
Rhetorical Analysis Of Mother Tongue
458 Words | 2 PagesRhetorical Precis #4: “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan Amy Tan’s purpose in her article “Mother Tongue” is to show the influence of her mother’s style of english. She also relates this to a more broad topic of the idea that there are many different types of english that people speak that are tailored to whoever they are speaking to. She begins this piece by stating plainly that she is not an english scholar. Instead of decreasing her credibility it actually increases it and paints this piece as a more personal set of observations rather than a bland overview of the entire language.
Mexican Americans Subculture
1632 Words | 7 Pages1. Who is this subculture group? Where are they from? The Mexican Americans are a population of Spanish speaking individuals whom inhabit an area of Southern Texas named Hidalgo County. This cultural group often refers to themselves as being “true Texans” while referring to those individuals who speak English as being outsiders.
Being A Mexican Culture Essay
750 Words | 3 PagesI’m the first generation of my family to be Mexican -American, but I have been introduced to the Mexican culture since I was born. I appreciate the difficulties my parents have faced to make me the person that I am today even though I wasn’t born in Mexico my parents have taught me the language and the culture which I’m so proud of being part of. For others being Hispanic is actually being born in any Latin American countries which is not true at all. Being Hispanic is much more than my cultural background it actually describes how much I appreciate my culture and how I get to experience things other people don’t. I fit into the Hispanic community through the experiencing the culture first hand ,participating in traditions and planning to include my culture in my future.
Tame Wild Tongue
757 Words | 4 PagesIn “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldua argues for the permission to define her own Chicano/ Feminist voice without being hindered by stereotypes and limitations. Gloria argues that, “wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out,” but specifically argues that different accents stir up one big culture. She says “We oppress each other trying to oust Chicano each other, tying to be the “real” Chicanas, to speak like Chicanos.” meaning each Spanish is a variation of two languages, and that there’s different ways she speaks to others in certain situations like having two tongues. Gloria also argues that she shouldn’t be embarrassed by her language and accent by saying “I am my language” meaning her language is what makes her special and unique.
Always Living In Spanish By Marjorie Agosin Analysis
1095 Words | 5 PagesThroughout generations cultural traditions have been passed down, alongside these traditions came language. The language of ancestors, which soon began to be molded by the tongue of newer generations, was inherited. Though language is an everlasting changing part of the world, it is a representation of one’s identity, not only in a cultural way but from an environmental standpoint as well. One’s identity is revealed through language from an environmental point of view because the world that one is surrounded with can cause them to have their own definitions of words, an accent, etc. With newer generations, comes newer forms of languages.
Essay On Language And Identity
878 Words | 4 PagesDialects are not just accents but also grammar, vocabulary, syntax and common expressions used. One is able to identify and distinguish between different people, different ethnicities and races as people speak different languages. Each human belongs to a community which makes them speak a specific language and dialect that represent their community and differentiates them from others. Language connects people to their community as they are connected to people that speak the same
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