The author starts off “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” with a story that drags the reader in. She describes one of her experiences in dentist office with great detail. This helps draw the reader in to keep them interest in what you are saying. She then ties this into how her tongue is “wild” because she speaks many different languages different from other people. Anzaldua goes on to tell us how she, along with the people of her community, speak many languages and provides a long list of some of the languages. Most of these languages are not new, they are just new forms and are derived from English and Spanish. She explains the history of the geography and why some of these languages are around. Since the location of the Chicanos in these Spanish speaking states, they were often cut off from other Spanish-speaking areas. This caused them to branch out to different languages. Many new languages were formed, and the old ones continued to live on in some areas. What Anzaldua is trying to tell us by this is that language “is a homeland closer than the Southwest” and that it brings people together (55). Language connects people who are similar and makes them feel more at home because they are surrounded by the same kind of people. This could be used in writing to try to connect the reader to what you are saying by using a specific language. Anzaldua does this by uses her languages and including Spanish passages in the text.

One thing I found most interesting about this text was when Anzaldua mentioned that the Chicanos speak “many languages”. I found this so interesting because she then goes on to list  bunch of made up derivatives of the basic languages English and Spanish. It is indicated that these languages she lists pertain to only a certain communities in specific areas. For example, one of the languages she lists is “Tex-Mex”. This is clearly not an actually language, however she claims it is. This language is a combination of Texas and Mexican-Spanish and is only found in certain areas. This reminds me of the previous readings about discourse communities, in the way that these people intercommunicate and have a specific diction. I can agree with this idea because I have experienced a discourse community and the views of Anzaldua are similar to mine. One thing I agree with that she states is that language is what brings these people together. The use of language is a very important concept in all communities.

Anzaldua approaches the concept of rhetoric in a different way than the previous readings we have been looking at which is very interesting to me. She not only uses personal experiences to connect to the reader, but she includes different forms of languages, asks supporting questions, provides sufficient facts, and evidence to prove it all. I feel like there is no better way to inform and audience of the importance of language than the way she did. I am not saying this text was perfect, but the approach was different and I think I may try to uses some of her techniques in my future writing. Language is an important aspect in my life and Anzaldua made that very clear. I have learned to use and understand many forms of English, the same way the Chicanos did with Spanish.