|
||
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. |
“Deslenguadas. Somos los del español deficiente. We are your linguistic nightmare, your linguistic aberration, your linguistic mestisaje, and the subject of your burla. Because we speak with tongues of fire we are culturally crucified. Racially, culturally and linguistically somos huérfanos—we speak an orphan tongue.”
- Gloria Anzaldúa
If Chicanos use English, they are traitors to their own identity, and often it becomes more complicated because “some writers are caught between the desire to identify with a Latin heritage and the insecurity with which they use the Spanish language” (Scott 61). Errors in their use of traditional Spanish alienate Chicanos from native speakers. Existing between English and Spanish leaves them stranded on a language border, which is impossible to fully cross. In some sense, Chicanos create a new language by juxtaposing the two languages. Chicano Spanish consists of taking English words and adding Spanish sounding endings. Chicano Spanish speakers use words such as cookiar for cook and watchar for watch. They are made to feel like they speak incorrect Spanish by native speakers.
Gloria Anzaldúa describes a sense of speaking a bastard language. Their language differences are used against them. Latinos experience their language from the time of their birth, whereas, Chicanos are censured and encouraged to disregard their Spanish language. Thus Chicano Spanish reflects the inability to express their Mexican heritage through language. English is viewed as an unmarked language, a way to become American. Gloria Anzaldúa explains the phenomenon of a neutral Chicano identity. Adversity between English and Spanish causes the Chicanos to become essentially cancelled. “A veces no soy nada ni nadie. Pero hasta cuando no lo soy, lo soy” (Anzaldúa). The seemingly contradictory characteristics of Chicanos prevent their conflicting sides from being reconciled. Anzaldúa represents the Chicano dilema by stating, “Nosotros los Chicanos straddle the borderlands. On one side we are us, we are constantly exposed to the Spanish of the Mexicans, on the other side we hear the Anglos’ incessant clamoring so that we forget our language.” This results in a separation of Chicanos from Mexicans. There is a distinction between Mexicans from south of the border and those north of it.
|
||
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. |